Searching for Terroir in Coffee

I like drinking coffee.

I prefer black filter coffee, which I brew at home myself. At a cafe, I will usually take a double espresso or a hand-brew, depending on my mood and subtle cues from the place. I think I have ordered a milk-based drink maybe five times in my coffee journey, so I am not a fan.

Equipment

• Comandante C40 MK4

• Fellow Stagg EKG

• Hario Drip Coffee Scales

• Aeropress (Original)

• V60 02 Neo

• Bodum Chambord French Press

• Brita water filter

Coffee

I have been fortunate to try a diverse selection of coffees. I typically opt for something new, interesting, and funky (non-washed). Currently, I am subscribed to Skylark (which I recommend quite highly). I use their roaster's choice because it is often something a bit crazy.

I like all taste profiles, as long as the taste is traceable and the cup tastes less like coffee (if you know what I mean). As I have been getting used to all those fermented lots, I often lean towards washed coffees these days.

Brewing

I am in the UK. Water from my tap is around 250 TDS, and about 210 after Brita.

I don't vary grind size much across my brewers. I am mostly aiming for about a 3:00 drawdown on my V60 02 with 30 g of coffee, using my pouring approach, and I keep that as a reference. It is 26 clicks on my Comandante.

My brewing technique for my brewers mostly follows James Hoffmann's YouTube videos. However, I noticed that his recommendation to use boiling water tastes off with almost every bean I tried with Finnish tap water and filtered UK tap water. So, I dropped it to 93 °C and it got way better. I don't stir in my V60 with a spoon, either.

Cafes

I've visited quite a few cafes, which is making me slightly uncomfortable. Here is a list of places that I enjoyed. Again, I like black filter coffee, and that's how I selected the places.

Helsinki

• One Day (Fredrikinkatu 51)

Paris

• Substance (30 Rue Dussoubs)

• Tanat — Archives which used be called Kawa (96 Rue des Archives)

Oxford

• Society Café (12–16 St Michael's St)

• New Ground Coffee (6 Ship St)

Hamburg

• Public Coffee Roasters (Wexstraße 28)

Frankfurt

• The Holy Cross Brewing Society (Fahrgasse 7)

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