Technivorm Moccamaster

My coffee pot finally died, so it was time to upgrade. I toiled between the Bonvita and Technivorm. In the end, I liked the looks and company of the Technivorm best. I got the model with the thermal carafe.

I've had it about a week and did some testing too, maybe ran ten pots through. I'm using good beans and grinder, but am still getting some bitter notes. the grind size is course, like kosher salt. Does anybody have any good use-case practices they'd like to share? fortunately I have Counter Culture close by and they run a coffee clinic for an hour on Fridays. But I'd like to here from anyone here as well.

Talking about pour over method?

Mine prefers various grind sizes depending on roast and, more importantly, age of roast. Within 1-3 days of roasting, it seems to do better with a more coarse grind like you are describing. As it ages and gets closer to a week old, I drop the fineness 3-4 notches. Too far and you get almost a salty note. I also close off the filter drip and let it bloom for the first 20-30 seconds, then let it free flow. It makes really good coffee with most roasts. I home roast my own coffee and have learned the sweet spot for the Technivorm too. Mine seems to do best with City + to Full City roasts.

Water! No really good coffee have ever been made from unfiltered tap water(unless you live in Norway where they have awesome clean water).

If the beans, grinder and coffeemaker is fine, the next level is filtering the water or using bottled stuff. Imo of course.

Lars

So, I've used the Technivorm Moccamaster a few times (as it is the coffee maker that my parents have), and my concern is that it may be something to do with the coffee maker itself. I've experienced something similar, where I have run several different varieties through it (Dark/Medium roasts mostly from folks like Peets, Black Horse, Philz, Four Barrel), and they all seem to come out with a bitter taste, although a bitterness that oddly reminds me of wet cardboard. I don't want to say it's the machine, but that's about all the info I have. Not sure if this is helpful, but figured I'd throw it out there.

Chris

Making coffee is easy. Making good coffee is a science!

I spoilt myself for my 40th bday and got a top of the notch espresso machine. It took me half a year to find the beans for my taste. I have only bought and used very good and expensive roasted beans but the results were SOOOOO different. Also, note that the weather has an effect on the coffee/grinder, meaning you will have to adjust your grinder depending on temperature and humidity!

Do you rinse the paper filter first?

Do you have an instant read thermometer? Can you temp the coffee as it's brewing? Brewing at too high a temp will bring out bitter notes as you probably know.

Don't assume the manufacturer has it set right. Learned this lesson the hard way on a Jura impressa.

Regardless of the source of your beans maybe you need to try different beans?

Thanks everyone. I increased the grind size and the off notes seem to subside.

Yes I use bottled filtered water, warm unit up by running 1/2 pot of water over filter. I think o need to try fresh roasted coffee see where they takes me.

Sounds like you got the basics right. In my humble experience beans need a week of rest after roasting before they taste right.
Also, don't expect perfect coffee like the coffee chops can produce unless you are prepared to spend a lot of money.
Just be happy that your coffee is better than 95% of what the rest of the world consumes.

Lars

Lars, I don't see why the MM could not produce a near perfect golden cup. I think its a matter of getting a few variables dialed in. I've never tried fresh roasted beans, I heard they off gas more than caned whole beans. I don't want to get into roasting my own, but you guys know me.

The journey is kinda exciting though. It's akin to wine and food for that matter. Can't wait to spend some time at the Counter Culture clinic this Friday. I'm going to bring with me: ground beans, whole beans and brewed coffee for FB.

Mucho, it's an awesome journey! It was only ment as friendly advise. A really good grinder for example could set you back a couple of grand.
But it is a lot of fun and you seem right on track. A clinic is a great idea imo. Hope you have fun and please share your journey with us here at the forum!

Lars