• Beans: Guatemala (Asociación Chajulense, Quiché)
  • Roaster: Rise Up Coffee Roasters (Easton, MD)
  • Origin: Guatemala
  • Roast level: Medium (3/5)
  • Roast date: 7/22/2025
  • Purchase date: 7/18/2025 from Green Valley Marketplace in Elkridge
    Freeze date: n/a; Thaw date: n/a
    First cup: around 8/20/2025; Last cup: TBD
  • Elevation: 1100 to 1800 MASL; Certifications: Fair trade, organic
  • Tasting notes: Low-toned, with pungent earthy and cedary notes supporting tart citrus and fruit. Rich acidity; milky but lively mouthfeel. Sweet-toned and deep in the finish.
• Previous bags: July-August 2024, April 2024
• Switch with Ode grinder (immersion method):
  • 20g coffee / 300g water
  • Ode: 3
  • Water at 95°C
  • Close drain / pour 50-60g bloom and agitate / at 0:45, pour to 300g / swirl / steep until 02:00-02:10 / stir once or twice in both directions and open drain / should finish around 02:50-03:00

My struggles with brewing these beans are well-documented in my two prior posts. I think a lot of it has had to do with not knowing what to expect from the beans on one hand, as well as my still-evolving palate for coffee. I don’t recall reading the above tasting notes prior to today (they are listed on the web site, but not the bag) and they were rather eye-opening. I think I was interpreting “rich acidity” and “tart citrus” as “unpleasant bitterness”, but I now suspect that’s how the beans are supposed to taste. It certainly explains why I constantly thought the cups were either bitter or weak. I would compensate for perceived bitterness by dropping the water temperature or making the grind coarser, both of which made it taste weak and under-extracted.

For this bag, I have brewed all of my cups with the Switch, using an immersion method. I initially went down the same rabbit hole as before, trying to eliminate “bitterness”, first dropping the temperature to 90, and then 85. Then I tried increasing the grind setting from 3 to 4 (coarser). All of these were watery and lifeless. Eventually, I realized that the problem was more likely with me than the coffee. It’s not so much “bitter” as it is tart, kind of akin to an India Pale Ale. Those were decidedly an acquired taste for me, and so it has gone with this coffee.

I still think that immersion works better than pour-over for this coffee. At grind 3, the water drains through way too fast. Knowing what I know now, though, I wonder if a pour-over would turn out well if I used a really fine grind, like 2 or under. Not sure if I’ll try that with this bag or not. It’s also worth noting that these are the only single-origin beans from Guatemala that I’ve ever brewed. I’m curious if others will behave similarly.

8/30: My curiosity got the better of me, and I tried making a few pour-overs with a fine grind. I went all the way down to 1+1 (one click from the finest setting on the Ode) and brewed with the Switch, keeping the drain closed for the bloom and finishing the pour at 02:00 per my usual recipe. With this setup, it finished draining down at around 02:50. Results were mixed — the first two cups were pretty good, but the final two were weak and watery. Not sure where I went wrong with those, but it does reinforce my theory that immersion is the way to go with these beans (either that, or they’re going stale). I have 36g left, so I’m going to take the rest to work and brew it in the AeroPress. Also, if I buy these again at some point, I’m going to look for a bag that is no more than a week past the roast date.

• Beans: Bolivia (Cooperativia Agropecuaria)
  • Roaster: Brewing Good Coffee Company (Savage, MD)
  • Origin: Bolivia (Caranavi, La Paz)
  • Roast level: Light
  • Roast date: 7/15/2025
  • Purchase date: 8/3/2025 from BGCC in Savage Mill
    Freeze date: n/a; Thaw date: n/a
    First cup: 8/11/2025; Last cup: 8/27/2025 (AeroPress)
  • Process: washed; Elevation: 1200 to 1850 MASL; Varietals: Catuai, Caturra, Typica; Certifications: Fair trade, organic
  • Tasting notes: Raisin cookie, apple, grape, toffee
• Switch with Ode grinder (1 cup):
  • 20g coffee / 300g water (1:15)
  • Ode: 2+2 to 3
  • Water at 100°C
  • Single Cup V60 Pourover with 50-60g bloom and 60g pulses – keep drain closed until end of bloom – Finishes around 03:00
• Switch with Ode grinder (immersion method):
  • 21 to 22g coffee / 300g water
  • Ode: 2
  • Water at 100°C
  • Close drain / pour 50-60g bloom and agitate / at 0:45, pour to 300g / swirl / steep until 02:00-02:10 / swirl again and open drain / should finish around 03:00-03:10
• AeroPress with JX grinder (best cup so far):
  • 18g beans, weighed out at home
  • JX: 16
  • Water at 100°C (BonaVita electric gooseneck kettle)
  • Travel AeroPress Recipe (no scale)

I don’t run across Bolivian coffee beans all that often. As a matter of fact, I’ve only ever had them as part of a blend that I had last fall/winter. This is the first time I’ve ever brewed single-origin Bolivian beans. My first cup, at grind setting 3, was pretty good, with a nice balance of body and acidity. Grind 2+2 was similar, but the draw-down took several seconds longer, and I felt the caffeine a lot more. Both cups were better than the pour-over I got at the shop (same beans), so I must be doing something right. 😀 I might go back to setting 3 for the next few cups.

8/19: After getting inconsistent results with pour-over for a few days, I switched to an immersion-style brew per above. Grind 3 was a little bit lacking, but grind 2 seems to produce a pretty good, well-balanced cup. I’m curious what would happen if I steeped it, say, a minute or so longer.

8/20: Steeping an extra 30 seconds in the Switch produced no marked improvement in flavor, but did seem to extract more caffeine, so I think 2 minutes is probably the better bet. Later in the day, I tried AeroPress (per above) and it produced a really nice cup — probably the best I’ve brewed so far. Seems that immersion might be the ticket with this particular roast.

• Beans: Ethiopia Sidamo Durato Bombe
  • Roaster: Gracefully Coffee Roasters (Baltimore, MD)
  • Origin: Bombe Kebele Village, Sidamo, Ethiopia
  • Roast level: Light
  • Roast date: 7/10/2025
  • Purchase date: 7/22/2025 from Gracefully curbside café
    Freeze date: n/a; Thaw date: n/a
    First cup: 7/29/2025; Last cup: 8/10/2025
  • Milling process: natural; Drying process: raised beds; Elevation: 2050 to 2150 MASL; Varietal: Ethiopian Heirloom;
  • Tasting notes: Blueberry, Strawberry, Watermelon
• Switch with Ode grinder (1 cup):
  • 22g coffee / 300g water (1:13.6)
  • Ode: 2
  • Water at 100°C
  • Single Cup V60 Pourover with 50-60g bloom and 60g pulses – keep drain closed until end of bloom – Finishes around 03:30

One of the cool things about buying beans from Gracefully is that the guy who sells them to you is the same guy who roasts them. While I was there, I asked if he had any brewing tips for these. The gist of what he told me was: brew them at around 1:13, bloom for 45 seconds, and shoot for a 3.5 to 4 minute total brew time. Based on that, I started these out at grind setting 2, which finishes right around 3:30. 1:13 is stronger than I’ve brewed anything in recent memory (dark roasts excluded) but I have to say that my first few cups have been pretty darned good. I’m working on perfecting my “swirling” technique to try to get as flat a bed of grounds as possible, which I think helps to produce more even and consistent extraction. The Switch helps with this, as it keeps the water in the cone during the bloom, which makes for more effective swirling. I’ve also been using slightly more bloom water lately (closer to 3x weight of the grounds, which is what I was doing a while back before cutting that down to 2x).

I really like this the way it is, but if I were to adjust anything, I may try grinding a little finer still. I’m curious if another 15-20 seconds of draw-down time will make any difference in the taste. I’ll also confess that 1:13 is a tad stronger than I’m used to nowadays, so I might just see what it’s like at 1:14 to 1:15. I wonder if a lower ratio would bring out a little more fruitiness.

8/10: With the exception of the last cup, I brewed all of these exactly the same way, and it was remarkably consistent from cup to cup. With the Hario Switch, lately I’ve been using slightly more bloom water and really agitating the heck out of the grounds (trying not to splash too much up the side of the cone). That seems to get a more “active” bloom going and also settle the bed down. My 300g cups have all finished right around 03:30. For the very last cup, I had about 9g of extra beans, so I brewed a 420g cup using 5 pulses and pouring a little more water per pulse. It took a full minute longer to drain down, and the resulting cup seemed slightly thin-bodied for some reason. It also seemed to have more of a caffeine hit (I drank the same amount, 300g, as all of my other cups). I’ve noticed the less-body-more-caffeine phenomenon before, and I wonder if it has something to do with the longer draw-down time. I will have to make a mental note for the next time I get a cup like that. If I buy these beans again and have occasion to brew a larger quantity, I may try a simple 2-step pour instead of using multiple pulses, in hopes of limiting the draw-down to between 03:30 and 04:00. Another option would be to use a standard V60 instead of the switch. Overall, though, I really enjoyed this roast.

• Beans: Jamberry (blend)
  • Roaster: Gracefully Coffee Roasters (Baltimore, MD)
  • Origins: Colombia, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Costa Rica
  • Roast level: Light to Medium
  • Roast date: 7/10/2025
  • Purchase date: 7/22/2025 from Gracefully curbside café
    Freeze date: n/a; Thaw date: n/a
    First cup: 7/22/2025; Last pour-over cup: 8/3/2025
  • Process: Natural process
  • Tasting notes: Mixed berry jam, honeyed apricot and chocolate covered almonds
• Switch with Ode grinder (1 cup):
  • 20g coffee / 300g water (1:15)
  • Ode: 3+2 to 4
  • Water at 100°C
  • Single Cup V60 Pourover with 50g bloom and 60g pulses – Finishes around 02:45
• AeroPress with Prismo and JX grinder:
  • 17-ish grams coffee / 250-ish grams water (1:14 to 1:15)
  • JX: 16
  • Boiling water
  • Metal + single paper filter
  • Pour enough to wet beans; agitate; bloom until 0:45; pour to 0.25″ or so of top of cylinder; stir back and forth 7-8x; steep until 2:45 to 3:00; repeat stir; press slowly

I was in the mood for a fruit-forward coffee, and this definitely lives up to that billing. It’s the first full bag I’ve opened since I bought the Hario Switch, and as such, has served as something of a “guinea pig” as I test out a few different brewing methods.

• For cup #1, I kept the drain closed for the bloom phase, and open for the pour-over phase. This was a good cup with a nice mouthfeel — probably my favorite of the first 3, actually.
• For cup #2, I kept the drain closed for the bloom and for the initial top-up to 120g, then opened it for the rest of the pour. I wasn’t crazy about how the bed ended up — there was a thicker ridge of grounds left at the high water mark, which the ending swirl didn’t take care of. Maybe I should swirl it right before I open the drain. Whatever the case, the cup tasted fairly similar to cup #1, so there’s probably not much point in brewing it this way going forward.
• For cup #3, I tried a full-immersion brew. After the bloom, I kept the drain closed and poured all the way to 300g without stopping. Then, I swirled, steeped until 02:30, and opened the drain. It took around 30 seconds to drain down, finishing at 03:00. The cup was fine, but tasted a little bit over-extracted. I would probably want to use a coarser grind if I was going to brew it like this regularly. My real goal here was to see how it tasted, and to see if the size 3 Switch could accommodate a full 300g immersion brew. The answer is yes, with plenty of room to spare.

Based on these results, I’ll probably end up using method #1 for subsequent cups. I likely will also try brewing a cup or two in the regular V60, to see how it compares to the Switch cups.

7/27: This afternoon, grind setting 3 with method #1 produced a better cup than the coarser settings I had been using initially. There was more of a roasty flavor to balance out the fruity acidity. The fruit flavors came through a little more prominently as the cup started to cool. The draw-down took a few seconds longer, as well.

7/31: Tried standard size 2 V60 this afternoon with grind setting 3. Draw-down finished around 02:40. The cup was very under-extracted. The immersion-style bloom phase I’ve been doing with the Switch definitely makes a difference. Based on everything I’ve tried to date, it seems like the grind coarseness needs to vary directly with the immersion time (e.g. no immersion == finer grind, longer immersion == coarser grind). Not really a huge revelation there.

8/2: Grind 3+2, 23g coffee, 300g water (1:13) — Another accidental brew this morning. I forgot to close the switch drain during the bloom, so instead, I closed it for the rest of the pour. Rather than pouring all at once, I used my usual pulse technique, finishing the pour at 02:10. Lastly, instead of steeping it afterwards (per cup #3 notes above), I swirled and immediately opened the drain after pouring all the water. I definitely wasn’t fully awake this morning, but the cup turned out pretty good. It did not seem over-extracted like cup #3. It was very strong — I had intended to use more water for a ratio closer to 1:15, but forgot (the beans are almost gone, which often means brewing a couple of larger cups to avoid ending up with leftovers). I may brew the final cup the same way, maybe with 10-20 more grams of water.

AeroPress notes (8/4): I brought enough beans to the office to make 2 cups. The first was on Wednesday 7/30, and the second likely will be Wednesday 8/6. Nowadays, I mostly use the AeroPress when I’m away from home, either at the office or traveling. As I typically lack access to a scale and (sometimes) a kettle, I eyeball the variables I can’t control precisely, like bean/water ratio, water temperature, etc. In spite of that, I’ve found that the AeroPress produces good cups fairly consistently with a wide variety of beans. I’ve been using essentially the same brew method for over a year now (shown above), and should probably create a page for it at this point. The funny thing is, after all of the tinkering around I did with the AP over the first year or so that I owned it, the technique I use now is very similar to that shown in the “how to use” instructions on the AeroPress web site. The biggest differences are (1) Prismo cap to stop initial drip-thru; (2) 45-second bloom for light to medium roasted beans; (3) longer steep time; and (4) second stir immediately before pressing.

I bought myself a Hario Switch this week. The Switch is essentially a V60 dripper with a rubber base and a lever-operated stopper. This provides more control over how long the water stays in the cone, so it can be used to make immersion-style brews as well as standard pour-overs (and combinations of the two methods). I like to brew a wide variety of different coffees, and while most of them work really well with the standard V60, with some of them, I struggle to get consistent cups. Most of the time, the issue is with weak/under-extracted brews, more often than not when I brew a single cup at a time. My hope is that the Switch will allow these coffees to steep a little longer, so getting even extraction is less dependent on timing and pouring technique. Or something like that. The Switch I bought has a glass cone, and is a size 3, which is the largest available. An article I read somewhere online recommended going with the size 3, because it can hold more water should I ever decide to try a full-volume immersion brew. I don’t have a standard size 3 V60, either, so the switch also gives me an option for brewing larger pour-over batches (e.g. for guests).

I used the switch for the first time today, with the coffee I had on hand (Zeke’s Beans of Summer). I ground 19.5g of beans at Ode setting 3+2, and brewed them with 300g water (1:15.4). To start, with the Switch’s drain closed, I poured 50g bloom water, agitated, and steeped until 0:45. Then, I opened the drain and followed my standard single-cup V60 technique the rest of the way. So, the bloom phase was the only variation from my usual way of doing things. This had more of an effect than I had expected: the finished cup had a more robust mouthfeel, and seemed a little “better” overall, than the other recent V60 cups I’ve brewed with these beans. Perhaps the “immersion bloom” is helping to wet the beans more evenly and leading to more consistent extraction. It will be interesting to see how subsequent cups turn out.

7/18: This afternoon’s cup was the third that I’ve brewed like this, and I’d put it up against anything I’ve brewed in the past 2 years. The only thing I’m doing differently is blooming with the Switch drain closed, and that seems to have made a huge difference. I’m starting to think that I may be onto something here.

7/23: When appropriate, I’ll post further Switch brewing notes with my entries for specific coffees. I’m thinking I’ll brew most of my switch cups using either the above technique (immersion bloom followed by standard pour-over) or by doing a full-immersion brew with the drain closed, which I have yet to try. The interesting thing about the latter is that it will let me steep the coffee for any length of time, just like a French press or AeroPress.

• Beans: Brazil — Daterra Sweet Yellow (8oz)
  • Roaster: Amity Coffee Roasters (Greenwood, DE)
  • Origin: Brazil (Campinas)
  • Roast level: Medium
  • Roast date: 6/24/2025
  • Purchase date: 6/29/2025 at T. S. Smith Orchard Point Market in Bridgeville, DE
    First cup: 7/7/2025; Last cup: 7/12/2025
  • Process: wet
  • Tasting notes: Chocolaty/Nutty
• V60 with Ode grinder:
  • 20g coffee / 300g water (1:15)
  • Ode: 4
  • Water at 99°C
  • Recipe: Single Cup V60 Pourover with size 1 cone, 50g bloom water and 60g pulses – finishes around 02:40

This is the third bag I’ve had from Amity, all of them single-origin beans, and all of them purchased at T. S. Smith while en route either to or from Bethany. The bags here always seem to be fresh, I guess partially because the roaster is only 4 miles away. One of these years, I should make the slight detour to Greenwood to stop there, as I suspect they’ll have a wider selection of beans.

My first and second cups (1:15 at grind 4 and 99°C water) were nice and smooth, and I agree with the stated tasting notes. Unless something convinces me otherwise, I’ll just keep brewing them like this.

7/9: Had my first bad cup this morning- guessing poor technique was the culprit, as I poured a little on the fast side and the draw-down finished faster than usual. The cup was weak and under-extracted. Next time, I am going to try 50g pulses to try to get a longer draw-down time. I have a feeling that if I can keep water in the cone until 03:00 or so, I should get better extraction.

7/10: 50g pulses did stretch things out a bit, but didn’t improve things much, nor did a finer grind (setting 3). I noticed a lot more grounds than usual stuck in the grinder chute after the last couple of cups, so before I brewed this afternoon’s cup, I brushed the chute out as best I could. Then, I went back to how I initially brewed it, except I nudged the grind one click finer to 3+2. The resulting cup was better than yesterdays’, but still didn’t seem quite as good as my first two.

7/12: I brewed two larger cups to finish the bag up (350g water at 1:15) and I used grind setting 3+2 with the size 2 V60. As I’ve very frequently noted, the draw-down was slower than with the smaller cone, finishing at 02:55-03:00, and it seemed like the cups were a little better extracted. I still feel like they could have been better, though — if I buy these beans again at some point, it may make sense to try immersion instead of pour-over.

• Beans: Breakfast Blend (8oz)
  • Roaster: Local Coffee Roasting Company (Roxana, DE)
  • Origin: Colombia, Papua New Guinea, and Ethiopia
  • Roast level: Light
  • Roast date: 5/19/2025
  • Purchase date: 6/23/2025 at 3 Blonde Bakers in Bethany Beach, DE
    First cup: 7/1/2025; Last cup: 7/6/2025
  • Process: n/a (blend)
  • Tasting notes: fruity
• V60 with Ode grinder:
  • 19.5g coffee / 300g water (1:15.4)
  • Ode: 3+1
  • Water at 100°C
  • Recipe: Single Cup V60 Pourover with size 1 cone, 50g bloom water and 60g pulses – finishes 02:40-02:45
• Previous bag: July/August 2023 (V60, AeroPress #1, French press, AeroPress #2, AeroPress #3

This had decent flavor at 1:16, grind setting 4, and 50g pulses, but seemed a little weak. Setting 3 with everything else the same did not thrill me (for lack of a better word, it just seemed dull). For cup #3, I upped the ratio to 1:15 and (just to feel like I was changing something) bumped the grind to 3+1 and brewed with 60g pulses, as noted above. This was an improvement: it had more flavor and body than either of the first two cups. It’s definitely on the mild side (vs bold) and contrary to what the bag says, I didn’t notice a ton of fruitiness or acidity. All in all, though, it’s not bad, and in line with what I’ve come to expect from coffees sold as “breakfast” blends. This is my second bag, and the first was noteworthy in that it was the first time I ever brewed pour-over coffee. I also experimented with at least 3 different AeroPress recipes with that bag, and brewed at least one cup in the French press. Given that these are sold in 8-ounce bags, it’s safe to say I probably didn’t brew those beans the same way more than once or twice. I learned a lot in the process, but overall, I suspect that I’ll get more consistently good cups this time around.

7/4: Yesterday afternoon’s cup at 1:15 tasted just a tiny bit too strong. Strong can be good if it’s a bold roast, but doesn’t work well with a milder coffee like this. It tasted fairly well-extracted, so it seems it’s just a matter of dialing in the strength. 19.5g/300g (around 1:15.4) worked well this morning. I’ll keep brewing it like this for now.

7/6: Had just under 32g of this left, so I brewed it with 500g water (around 1:16). I used a size 2 V60, 70g bloom, then poured to 300g, swirled, poured to 500g, and swirled again. It finished at around 02:50 (just a hair faster than a single cup), and tasted fairly well-extracted and a little less strong than most of my single cup brews. I got my best cups of this (to my taste) brewing at 19.5g/300g, per my 7/4 note. Of the two LCRC blends I bought this year, it’s kind of a toss-up as to which I liked better: this, or the medium-roasted Locals Blend. Next up, I have a half-pound bag from Amity Coffee Roasters, who also hail from Sussex County, DE.

• Beans: Locals Blend (8oz)
  • Roaster: Local Coffee Roasting Company (Roxana, DE)
  • Origin: Colombia, Guatemala, and Ethiopia
  • Roast level: Medium
  • Roast date: 5/19/2025
  • Purchase date: 6/23/2025 at 3 Blonde Bakers in Bethany Beach, DE
    First cup: 6/24/2025; Last cup: 07/01/2025
  • Process: n/a (blend)
  • Tasting notes (from web site): milk chocolate, stone fruit
• AeroPress with JX grinder:
  • AeroPress with Prismo, scoop, metal filter, and paper filter
  • 1 heaping scoop of beans (roughly 16g to 17g)
  • Around 250g of “pretty hot” but not boiling water (ratio 1:15 to 1:16)
  • JX grind setting: 16
  • Pour enough water to cover grounds; agitate; bloom until 0:45 or so; fill cylinder up to around 1/4″-3/8″ from top; stir 7x front-to-back with AeroPress paddle; steep until 02:45; stir 7x again; press slowly
• V60 with Ode grinder:
  • 20g coffee / 300g water (1:15)
  • Ode: 4
  • Water at 95°C
  • Recipe: Single Cup V60 Pourover with size 2 cone, 50g bloom water and 60g pulses – finishes 03:00-03:05

I can’t let a trip to the Delaware shore go by without getting some beans from LCRC. These are a little farther past roast date than I would typically buy, but retail availability is limited, so you take what you can get (within reason), and to be honest, unless it’s a dark roast, a month old is still reasonably fresh. This was my first time trying this particular blend. I’ll be grinding most of the beans with the JX and brewing them in the AeroPress. I started at grind 16, which is the fine end of the “AeroPress” range on the JX grind chart. The first cup was very robust and nicely balanced. I’ll be happy if all of them taste like this. Stay tuned!

6/29: I arrived home with enough beans to make a few pour-overs. V60 at 1:15, grind setting 4, and 95°C water was comparable to the AeroPress cups I’ve been brewing. It was maybe a tiny bit stronger than I like (at least in the summertime), so I may try it at closer to 1:16 next time.

It’s been a year since I’ve had the Delaware and Beach blends, so it’s difficult to make a fair comparison, but I think this could be my favorite LCRC blend that I’ve tried to date. Next up is a bag of Breakfast Blend, which I haven’t had in 2 years. Next time we go to Bethany, I want to stop at Parsons Farm Produce outside Dagsboro, to see if they have fresher bags and/or a wider selection of LCRC beans than 3 Blonde Bakers. T. S. Smith Market in Bridgeville used to carry them as well, but hasn’t had them the past two years.