Everyday Beans Podcast - Mostly About Coffee and Other Stuff

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I know my brew ratio down to the gram, but for the longest time I never thought twice about my water's PPM. In this episode I walk through my own slow, sometimes stubborn journey toward actually understanding my water, why I ignored it for so long, and what changed once I finally picked up a ten dollar TDS meter.
I talk about the difference water chemistry makes compared to gear, brewers, and even the coffee itself, why tap water quietly wrecks more cups than we realize, and how I went from testing my water at 155 to 160 PPM with Third Wave Water down to my current sweet spot around 80 PPM using my own mineral profile mix. You'll hear how I dialed in that number through trial, error, and a lot of unglamorous testing, plus a couple of analogies that explain why water gets ignored in coffee content even though it might be the most important variable of all. If your coffee has been inconsistent and you can't figure out why, this one might be the missing piece.
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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 share the personal story behind one of my most cherished coffee brewers - my April Brewer from Copenhagen. This isn't your typical equipment review. Instead, I take you through the adventure of visiting Denmark in 2021, the frustrating yet rewarding journey through Copenhagen's streets with a dying phone, and the determination to find the April Coffee shop rather than simply ordering online. I talk about wandering through unfamiliar neighborhoods, getting lost multiple times, questioning whether I'd make it in time to meet my brother, and ultimately discovering the minimalist shop that reminded me of a tiny Apple store.
By listening to this episode, you'll discover why the story behind your coffee equipment matters more than the gear itself, and why experiences create deeper connections to the tools we use daily. I also share observations about Copenhagen's coffee culture, meeting fellow coffee enthusiasts at the shop, and the valuable lesson that sometimes the journey to acquire something is more meaningful than the thing itself. Whether you're a coffee geek or someone who appreciates the value of intentional experiences over convenience, this episode will inspire you to go on your own coffee adventures and create stories worth remembering.
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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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In this episode, I sit down with two pitchers of homemade water in front of me, one dialed for sweetness and one dialed for acidity, and ask a question that's been nagging me for a while. Can you actually coax sweetness out of a lightly roasted coffee, or is the coffee just going to do what the coffee is going to do? I walk through why third wave water stopped cutting it for me on light roast, why I landed on 100 ppm instead of the 155, 250, or 300 you see floating around out there, and why I started making my own water from three ingredients that cost less than a bag of coffee. I also get honest about my complicated relationship with light roast, how it used to be my jam, how it feels one-noty to me now, and why I keep coming back to it anyway.
More than a water breakdown, this is a reflection on the bigger question lurking underneath every gear purchase and every brewing experiment. Are we manipulating coffee too much? Am I really growing as a palate, or am I just bending every cup to fit what I already want? By listening, you'll learn why water is the biggest determining factor in what ends up in your cup, how a lower total dissolved solids target can let coffee speak for itself, and why the real work of this whole coffee journey may have less to do with the beans and more to do with understanding yourself. If you care about light roast, water chemistry, or the philosophy of brewing, this one is for you.
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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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Most coffee gear guides rank kettles, grinders, and brewers. In this episode I flip that on its head and rank the skills instead, the ones that actually decide whether your cup is great, not the equipment sitting on your counter. I walk through a tier list of the habits I think matter most: tasting a coffee across its full temperature arc, trusting your second sip over your first, deliberately brewing outside your comfort zone, and asking why a recipe works instead of just chasing the numbers.
By the end of this episode, you will know exactly what to pay attention to the next time you brew, whether that is noticing how a coffee changes as it cools, understanding why your first cup of the day tastes different from your second, or learning why the best thing you can do for your palate is sometimes to leave your own kitchen behind. If you have ever wondered what separates someone who just follows a recipe from someone who actually understands their coffee, this is the episode that lays out the difference.
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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'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.
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