Are we too fussed about the notes in the coffee?

I have to admit I do not have a “go to” coffee and have run for years on various different subscriptions (hasbean, square mile, blue coffee box, dog and hat, etc.) and I really enjoy that. Sometimes I get the tasting notes incredibly clearly and other times I don’t, but it doesn’t worry me and I don’t particularly go chasing them. How I drink my coffee (pourover, aeropress, coffee pot, cortado, americano, flat white, latte and only occasionally straight espresso) is driven by the beans but I’ll usually know from my first cortado how I’m going to end up liking them and will end up sticking to one brew method at home for that bag.

I am very much in the light/medium roast camp and do not enjoy the “burnt” taste I find with a lot of dark roasts. I do have a soft spot for more “acidic” coffees, but will mostly drink them as a cortado. I absolutely love the change between coffee bags when there is such a stark difference it makes you sit up and go “wow” at the fact they are both coffee… made the same way! When I make coffee for friends, or on the rare occasion I drink straight espresso, I will usually choose a coffee with more chocolatey/sweet tastingnotes because they seem to be what people mostly enjoy and I find the notes incredibly useful to guide me.

A little rambling, I guess in conclusion I use the notes for guidance but don’t chase them, particularly as I’m using (don’t hate me) hard tap water run through a peak water filter… but that’s another topic entirely!

cjbailey1 A little rambling, I guess in conclusion I use the notes for guidance but don’t chase them, particularly as I’m using (don’t hate me) hard tap water run through a peak water filter… but that’s another topic entirely!

You sir must be a rarity…..well done for sticking with it.🤪

DavecUK not wanting to take this off topic but… I kickstarted it but didn’t end up using it for quite a while so still have filters left. I have had a few bad filters from the early batch (leaking resin) which have been replaced as well so they mean I have some additional over what i bought. I do find I get less buildup of limescale with the water and I also find it does give a cleaner cup. I don’t think I can justify an RO system from both a space and cost perspective and I (personally, not hating on those who do) really hate the idea of using bottled water from an environmental perspective. I am not certain what I will do when I run out of filters. I have thought about it a few times but haven’t come to a conclusion.

LMSC totally unscientifically and anecdotally. I have a PIDd silvia which I have had for many years and am quite consistent in the overall usage of. It’s purely down to the fact I have stripped her enough times to know roughly what I expect each time and the last time I did it, which is the first since consistently using water through the peak filter, there was noticeably less to my untrained eye.

cjbailey1 Lot’s of people seem to use the Zero water jug and then re mineralise as req for whatever coffee type they’re making.

Finally found it, notes in coffee

😂 What do you mean “finally found it”? This was written 300 years ago…

(worth watching for the staging as well as the singing, unless you are allergic to Baroque music)

I am indeed a happy Zero water user, although the plan was to use this as a stop-gap until my Skuma water unit arrives. Having said that I still have a few filters left so might continue using it until these are all gone

I was looking at the skuma as a possibility, but will look at the zero jug as well. With the zero jug it seems there is the need to make a concentrate, store and mix this relatively accurately. I like the idea with the skuma of not having to faff with the output (although the concentrates look expensive) which would probably be am easier sell to my wife as she uses the machine when I’m away on work. The downside is the long term unknown of it being a speculative product still.

cjbailey1 With the zero jug it seems there is the need to make a concentrate, store and mix this relatively accurately

I make up batches of 5 litres of zero water (I am using 2 × 5 litre former Ashbeck bottles for this) and add 320mg of sodium bicarbonate to each bottle to raise the alkalinity to an appropriate level and that’s it.

The Skuma will dispense pure RO water without the minerals added too, so I will probably adopt the same approach when using it (adjusting the sodium bicarbonate as required). Without using the unit it is difficult to know what I will need to add to the water and how repeatable it is. If the water is in the correct KH and GH with the mineral solution that will be ideal as it will remove any need to add anything to the water.

I know exactly where I stand with the Zero jug which makes life quite easy.

cjbailey1 the concentrates look expensive

I haven’t seen the prices expected for the Skuma concentrates, but I got

• 1 kg KHCO₃ for £6.99
• 0.5 kg MgSO₄ · 7 H₂O for £3.99
• 300 g Ca citrate · 2 H₂O for £12.45

I can mineralise hundreds of thousands of litres of water… with different recipes!

Just to echo some comments on here. Now in the 20+ of roasters I’ve tried. Some of the tasting notes have been very accurate, some have been vaguely on point and some I suspect just marketing.
I have found though the companies that have done the best descriptors, have tended to garner my repeat business. What I mean is the ones that have allowed me to build a trust of what their notes mean in the cup have allowed me to return and purchase various single origins to my taste and preference.

I also think technique, equipment, water, grinder have all had major effect on the tasting notes. I usually run every bean through multiple tried and tested recipes, ratios and brewing methods (available to me) and then I make an informed choice by the end of a 1kg bag of what I thought of it.

I’ve started now focusing mainly on my favourites and exploring their range and even some blends.

In the end use it as a guide and judge everything whether you want another cup of it the next day 🤪

dutchy101 Hi. I’ve just got my zero jug which was supposed to be long term solution but now thinking it’s a stop gap until. Skuma I’m thinking of ordering (not that I’m copying with Minima and Zero already 😂.) But importantly, how do you measure in your bicarb? Do I need more scales?