Decaf, V60 Single Cup

1:16, coarser and cooler than a caffeinated brew.

Grinder
Fellow Ode 2 On your grinder
Grind setting
3.2 On your grinder
Dose
20 g
Water
320 g
Water temp
200°F / 93.3°C
Brew time
3:00
Ratio
1:16.0
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1:16, coarser and cooler than the caffeinated V60. The decaffeination process opens the bean up, so it gives up its solubles faster: 3.2 and 200°F rather than 3.0 and 203°F.

If it drains much faster than 3:00, the bean is more porous than expected. Go finer rather than hotter.

This is an evening cup, so it does not need to be a project. It should taste like coffee, not like an apology.

Brew process

  1. Rinse

    Rinse the filter and preheat the mug.

  2. Bloom 0:00 · 50

    Bloom with 50 g at 200°F. Wait 40 seconds; decaf degasses less, so the bloom is quieter than you are used to.

  3. Pour 0:40 · 180

    Pour to 180 g in slow circles.

  4. Pour 1:30 · 320

    Pour to 320 g.

  5. Drawdown 3:00

    Drawdown should finish around 3:00.

If it's not right

What you seeWhyWhat to do
Hollow and papery Over-extracted, which decaf reaches sooner than you expect. Go coarser and cooler.
Sour Under-extracted. Go finer.
Both at once The grind is inconsistent, or the bean is stale. Decaf stales faster. Check the grinder, and buy smaller bags more often.

Beans for this

Every bag I have written up for the Hario V60

If your bag is lighter or darker than that

20 g to 320 g is about 1:16. Everything below is relative to this recipe's own numbers.

A lighter roast than this recipe

Temperature
Go hotter. A lighter roast is denser and gives up less at the same temperature — take it to the top of the range, or just off the boil.
Time
Give it longer. Another fifteen to thirty seconds of contact, whether that is a slower pour or a longer steep.
Grind
Grind finer, one step. Light roasts under-extract before they over-extract, and sour is the failure you will meet first.
Dose
Leave the dose alone at first. If it is still thin after the other three, add a gram or two.

A darker roast than this recipe

Temperature
Go cooler. A dark roast is brittle and gives up everything it has immediately — back off five degrees or let the kettle stand a minute.
Time
Cut it short. Stop the brew at the first sign of it slowing down; the last of the drawdown is where the ash comes from.
Grind
Grind coarser, one step. Bitter and hollow is the failure you will meet first, and coarser is the fix.
Dose
You can use slightly less and lose nothing. A dark roast tastes stronger than it is.

The roast it was written for

Temperature
The temperature on this recipe is written for exactly this roast. Start there.
Time
The time is the time. Change it only after you have tasted it once as written.
Grind
Grind is still the one thing worth moving. Everything else in the recipe is fixed so that it can be.
Dose
The dose below is what these numbers were dialed at.

More on what the words mean: light, medium and dark roasts.

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