Everyday Beans Podcast - Mostly About Coffee and Other Stuff

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I've been following the same coffee "rules" for years, the 30 second bloom, the 1:16 ratio, the 200 to 205 degree water, and I never stopped to ask where any of it came from. In this episode I break down why I think most of us are running recipes we inherited from someone else instead of ones we actually tested. I walk through what happened when I finally questioned my own defaults: a coffee I almost gave up on because I stuck to a ratio that wasn't mine, a dark roast that came alive at a temperature I'd been told to avoid, and what changing grind size actually did to the cup. I also bring in an unexpected parallel from a completely different kitchen experiment I've been running on the side, because it turns out the same principle applies far beyond coffee.
If you've ever wondered whether the brew ratio or bloom time you've been using is actually right for you, or if you're just repeating something you picked up online, this episode will give you a framework for testing it yourself. You'll learn why the "why" behind a recipe matters more than the recipe itself, how to run your own side by side comparisons without needing expensive gear, and why the most interesting coffee conversations I've had lately have been with people whose recipes look nothing like mine. This one is about giving yourself permission to question everything you've been told about brewing, and building a process that's actually yours.
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Go deeper than the episode, in the newsletter: https://itsmellsbetterthanittaste.com

For tips, tricks and still trying to figure it out: https://www.youtube.com/@everyday-beans

For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com

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I love dark roast coffee, and in the specialty coffee world that pretty much makes me an outlier. In this episode, I dig into why dark roast earned its rough reputation, the gas station coffee, the diner pot, the stuff sitting on a warmer for hours, and why that reputation only tells half the story. You'll learn how the beans behind a dark roast, not the roast degree itself, are usually what's actually responsible for a flat, lifeless cup.
I also walk through the roasting experiment that changed how I think about dark roast for good: roasting the same bean light, medium, and dark, and watching an African coffee come alive in ways I never expected at that roast level. I get into why the industry keeps chasing light roast innovation while ignoring what dark roast can do, and I use a steak analogy to explain why "doneness" isn't the enemy people think it is. If you've written off dark roast because of one bad cup, this episode will give you a reason to try it again with a more interesting bean behind it.
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Go deeper than the episode, in the newsletter: https://itsmellsbetterthanittaste.com

For tips, tricks and still trying to figure it out: https://www.youtube.com/@everyday-beans

For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com

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I used to stress over a two degree swing in my water temperature more than I stressed over my pour or my grind. Two hundred degrees, two hundred and two degrees, I treated that gap like it was the difference between a great cup and a wasted bag of beans. In this episode I walk through what actually changed when I stopped chasing that level of exactness, including a small brew ratio experiment I ran across 1:15 to 1:17 and what it taught me about extraction, and why the swing that actually moves the needle is a lot bigger than most of us think.
You'll learn where water temperature genuinely does affect flavor, why I've shifted to measuring my brews weekly instead of daily, and how loosening my grip on the numbers made my coffee more interesting instead of worse. If you've ever wondered whether your scale, your refractometer, or your two degree kettle setting is actually earning its keep, this one's for you.
Support the show
Go deeper than the episode, in the newsletter: https://itsmellsbetterthanittaste.com

For tips, tricks and still trying to figure it out: https://www.youtube.com/@everyday-beans

For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com

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In this episode, I take a hard look at the Orea brewer, a $70 manual pour-over with interchangeable flat bed and cone-shaped bottoms, and ask whether that price tag is actually expensive. I break down the real cost-per-use math, comparing manual brewers to automatic drip machines like the Moka Master, and talk through what you are really getting for your money: control over temperature, grind size, filter choice, and extraction. I share why I chose the wide version of the Orea specifically and what I have already learned putting it through 20 to 30 brews in less than a week.
I also get honest about something most coffee enthusiasts do not want to say out loud: the gear accumulation cycle. I have been there. Ten-plus brewers in rotation, multiple filter types stacked up, grinders lined up next to more grinders. After years of brewing and roasting, I have had to sit with the real question: does the equipment actually matter as much as the coffee? By listening to this episode, you will walk away with a smarter framework for thinking about the cost and value of your next brewer purchase, and you will hear an honest perspective on when the gear stops being the point.
Support the show
Go deeper than the episode, in the newsletter: https://itsmellsbetterthanittaste.com

For tips, tricks and still trying to figure it out: https://www.youtube.com/@everyday-beans

For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com

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For a long time, I made small changes to my brew and tasted nothing. In this episode, I talk about why incremental tweaks, the kind every recipe and every guide tells you to make, are often the worst way to actually learn your coffee. I walk through why pushing to the extremes, brewing something intentionally over-extracted and then intentionally under-extracted, teaches your palate more in ten minutes than weeks of tiny adjustments ever will. I also share a real example from my own bar this week, dialing in a new dark roast, and connect it to a lesson I picked up years ago on an autocross track.
You'll learn why your palate struggles to register small changes, how to use the extremes on purpose to find your reference points faster, and why the incremental fine-tuning that everyone tells you to start with is actually where you end up, not where you begin. If you've ever felt frustrated dialing in a new bag of coffee, or wondered whether you're actually tasting anything different at all, this episode gives you a simpler, more honest way to explore it.
Support the show
Go deeper than the episode, in the newsletter: https://itsmellsbetterthanittaste.com

For tips, tricks and still trying to figure it out: https://www.youtube.com/@everyday-beans

For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com