Tag: ruby

Listening

Album - Double Infinity by Big Thief

Brew Notes

Early morning, second cup. The kitchen was quiet with daylight settling in, and I paused for a brief moment of levity while sniffing the unicorn mug before pouring.

Pre-warmed the Switch and filter, then stuck with the Easy Immersion routine: a predictable 1.8.3 grind and no intentional changes. I only realized after the cup that the brewer or my Patagonia mug may not have been fully cleaned between the first and second brew, as the water was a bit brown in the pan.

This coffee tends to produce milky swirls during the pour-in before immersion.

In the 2nd pour (200-256 mL), an even foam ring with very fine bubbles formed; a darker central island remained visible as I topped it off.

Spent bed showed slight stickiness at the bottom, with a few patchy holes consistent with prior brews of this coffee.

Observations

• Aroma (dry grounds): unexpectedly complex; layered, but difficult to separate into distinct notes.
• Aroma (cup): distinctly wet and subdued rather than aromatic.
• First sip (black): light and easy drinking; caramel-forward.
• Second sip: gentle sweetness; impressionistic, kaleidoscopic rather than sharply defined.
• Chocolate note: closer to milk chocolate than dark.
• With cream: significantly fuller and more integrated; flavors enter smoothly rather than striking.
• Acidity: restrained; possible hint of orange zest without brightness.
• Sweetness: soft, caramel-like.
• Body/mouthfeel: increases notably with cream; flowing rather than coating.
• Visual extraction read: calm center with an even perimeter suggests localized channeling rather than global over-agitation.
• Overall gestalt: friendly, coherent, quietly expressive.

Reflection

This cup reinforced how well the coffee accommodates cream, gaining body and dimensionality without losing its gentle character. The aged roast and visually calm extraction traded brightness for flow and cohesion. The faint brown tinge in the pre-warm water leaves an open question about between-cup cleanliness subtly shaping the cup more than grind or timing.

[ ruby · organic-august · switch · immersion · cup2 · morning · reflective ]

Observations

• Context: 4:38 a.m. pre-dawn; listening to Psychic Geography — DOVS.
• Bag notes: honey, berries, orange zest, milk chocolate.
• Roaster profile: easy-drinking, emphasis on bright sweetness; medium to light body.
• Components: Organic Ethiopia Worka Chelbessa; Organic Guatemala COIPEC.
• Roasted on: 11-06-2025 (MM-DD-YYYY on bag).
• Aroma (wet): sweet, nutty.
• First sip: more bitter than yesterday, consistent with the finer grind; still enjoyable and not overwhelming for the morning.
• Second sip: cinnamony notes; with focus, a hint of dried orange zest becomes perceptible.
• Acidity: on the sides of the tongue; reads as malic.
• Sweetness: honey notes largely absent; sweetness is muted.
• Bitterness: not bold; compared to Parable Coffee Co. Mocha Java, this lacks backbone. Bitterness presents as dry rather than structural.
• Body/mouthfeel: thin, aligning with the roaster’s medium to light body.
• Aftertaste: lingers toward the back/roof of the mouth.
• Overall: restrained, calm, easy-drinking; a slight creaminess visible when pouring into the mug.
• Reflection: the uneven bed—clear patches where grounds didn’t cling to the filter wall—made me wonder how much under-extracted coffee was effectively missing from the cup, contributing to thinness and dry bitterness rather than sweetness.

Brew log

• Preheated mug and dripper with the gooseneck before grinding/measuring.
• Kept a spoon out during dosing; removed a tiny fraction of grounds to hit target weight.
• Initial pour used a clockwise motion, fairly quick, aiming to finish by ~1:00–1:10.
• By 1:20: 256.4 g water in.
• 2:30: dropped the switch.
• During agitation, noticed a milky, frothy, light-colored layer on the surface—more pronounced than yesterday.
• 3:30: bed fully drained; bed looked chunkier and less uniform, with small clear patches along the filter wall.
• Filter: conical paper.

[ pre-dawn · dovs · ruby · switch · first-cup · immersion ]