USPS has been thwarting my efforts to have a consistent supply of my favorite beans in the house so I have been playing the field. The local organic grocery carries Counter Culture. Their Forty Six had the most recent "Roasted On" date so I grabbed some. This is a darker roast. Plenty of roast flavors and can easily be bitter, maybe even burnt! I knew this, I have had it in the past but I bought some anyway. There is something about the blend that I like. Something from 1994, High School, perhaps.

My strategy was to lower the temp, grind course and pull a 2:1 ratio in 22-25 seconds. Best I could get out of the beans came from that, or so I thought.

Last weekend I drove down to DC to get some Blue Bottle Hayes Valley. I've been at this HB game for a few years and I haven't had it yet. That's a gap in my education that needed fixing. The barista at Logan Circle was very helpful in sharing his shot parameters. The americano I ordered had that deep rich chocolate taste. The barista said it was pulled at 20 in, 16 out, 32 seconds.

So I drove home thinking about that. 20 in 16 out! Somewhere on the drive home it clicked for me. You've got a very roasty coffee and want to limit the bitter, roasty flavors? Under extract. Drastically under extract! Having learned my HB craft in the past 5 years, in the age of the medium roast, where the light roast is de rigueur, this strategy was not in my bag of tricks.

At home, with a pound of CC Forty Six in my hopper I dialed in 198, 18 in, 20 out, 34 sec and Boom! Drippy, drippy, chocolatey yum. Not bitter, yes roasty but far more under control than when I was pulling it 2:1.

I am so stoked that I learned this, I am a bit embarrassed to admit that this was not in my extraction bag of tricks but oh well. Now I know!

Right now, I am really loving this style of coffee. What blends do you love to stuff the basket with and pull short?