This reminds me of visiting a locally-famous coffee shop where the barista won some international competition for best-tasting coffee. The line was long, but I was told it was well worth the wait.
He has this whole process to make a pour over: carefully weigh the beans, three precision kettles set to different temperatures, carefully pouring, weighing, timing the water from each kettle—he even discards half of the first extraction. All of this is because different compounds are extracted at different rates based on temperature, and the first one is considered an off-flavor if it’s too strong but enjoyable nuance in the right amount. The line was long because the brewing process was long, and he could only focus on one cup at a time.
In the end, by the time the freshly-brewed cup got to me, it was lukewarm disappointment. It might have been the best-tasting coffee ever if hot, but it needed an Ember.
He has this whole process to make a pour over: carefully weigh the beans, three precision kettles set to different temperatures, carefully pouring, weighing, timing the water from each kettle—he even discards half of the first extraction. All of this is because different compounds are extracted at different rates based on temperature, and the first one is considered an off-flavor if it’s too strong but enjoyable nuance in the right amount. The line was long because the brewing process was long, and he could only focus on one cup at a time.
In the end, by the time the freshly-brewed cup got to me, it was lukewarm disappointment. It might have been the best-tasting coffee ever if hot, but it needed an Ember.