Everyday Beans Podcast - Mostly About Coffee and Other Stuff

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In this episode, I take you inside one of the most misunderstood variables in specialty coffee: water. I open up about my journey from tap water skeptic to someone actively building my own water chemistry from scratch, and why that evolution was not only inevitable but necessary. I talk about how I stumbled back into Third Wave Water after finding a forgotten package in the back of a shelf, how it immediately changed what I was tasting, and why, after more than a year of using it, I started noticing that every cup was beginning to taste a little too similar. I share what that observation triggered in me, and why 163 PPM felt too heavy for the kind of clarity and sweetness I was chasing.
I also walk through why I decided to move away from pre-packaged water mineral profiles and start building my own, using a target of around 100 PPM and a philosophy organized around two profiles: sweetness and acidity. Rather than matching water to roast level, I believe the coffee itself should tell you what it needs, and I want the control to actually respond to that. By listening to this episode, you'll understand why water is not just a background variable but one of the most powerful tools in your brewing process, and you'll start thinking about what your own water choices are actually doing to your cup.
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For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com

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

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A coffee recipe is really just a stack of small decisions, and after years of brewing I have stopped pretending they all carry the same weight. In this episode I rank the brewing variables that actually earn their place in my routine, from the two I treat as non-negotiable down to the ones I now hold loosely. I walk through why water sits at the very top for me, how I use an "in between" mineral profile that blends an acidity build and a sweetness build, and the simple dilution trick I use with packet water to bring my PPM down into a range that lets the coffee speak instead of the minerals. I also explain why I keep blooming my coffee even though I cannot tell you the full science behind it, and why "it works, so I do it" is an honest enough answer for a home brewer.
From there I get into ratio, drawdown, temperature, and grind size, and where each one landed on my list. You will learn why I gave up being a strict 1:15 person once I met coffees that came alive at 1:10, how I read drawdown as information rather than a target to hit, why I recommend changing water temperature in five or ten degree jumps instead of tiny increments, and how to find your grind size range and then stop fiddling with it. If you have been trying to control every variable at once, this is a practical case for protecting a few decisions and letting the rest stay flexible. And there is one thing I never ranked at all, which might be the most interesting part.
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For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com

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

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I asked a simple question a while back: do you chase the coffee, or do you chase the gear? Most people said coffee. I said coffee too. In this episode I make the case that we might both be wrong. I walk through the cycle every coffee drinker knows by heart. You get a new bag, you read the notes, you get excited, you dial in a recipe, and somewhere around the second or third brew the thrill quietly disappears. You still have most of the bag left, and you already know what it is. So what were you actually chasing?
My answer is comparison. The joy of coffee is not conquering a single bag, it is placing one coffee next to another and noticing the difference. I talk about keeping comparison notes, why writing down what you taste starts to reveal patterns, and how those patterns eventually stop being about the coffee and start being about you. I share what happened when I came back to a coffee I had roasted months earlier with a better palate, different water, and more experience, and why it still tasted familiar in ways I did not expect. You will learn how to turn boredom into information, how to build a palate through comparison instead of chasing novelty, and why the notebook you keep about coffee is really a notebook about yourself.
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For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com

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

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After two months with the Timemore Sculptor 78SS grinder, I've discovered what might be the only grinder most coffee enthusiasts will ever need. In this episode, I break down my honest experience with this $800 grinder equipped with standard burrs, comparing it against my collection including the legendary EK43, the Fellow Ode Gen 2, and several hand grinders. I share how this grinder completely changed my approach to dialing in coffee through its unique speed control feature and surprisingly usable grind range that spans from espresso to pour-over.
Throughout this review, I discuss the practical realities of owning this grinder—from the fluffy, low-fines coffee grounds it produces to the specific challenges I encountered with espresso extraction. I explain how adjusting RPM speeds essentially gives you multiple grinders in one, and why most of the 18+ grind settings are actually usable compared to other grinders on the market. You'll learn about the grinder's design features including the magnetic catch cup, automatic knocker, and why the hopper size is both a feature and a drawback. By listening to this episode, you'll understand whether the Timemore Sculptor 78SS is the endgame grinder for your home coffee setup, how to approach dialing it in for different brew methods, and why I believe this grinder can grow with you regardless of whether you're brewing light, medium, or dark roasts.
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For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com

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

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In this episode, I get honest about something I usually don't talk about: most days, my own coffee brewing is boring and simple. I walk through my actual go-to recipe, a short bloom, one main pour, a pulse or two, and water around 200 degrees Fahrenheit, and I explain why I only start experimenting once a cup stops tasting right. I also unpack why I've spent so much time pushing you to find your own recipe and go deeper into the coffee rabbit hole, and why that advice was never meant to be a requirement.
If you've ever felt behind because you use one simple coffee recipe instead of chasing every brewing tip and ratio online, this episode is for you. I talk about why a recipe that works is enough, why endless tips can turn into noise, and why an automatic drip machine is a perfectly valid way to make great coffee. Whether you are a tinkerer who loves testing every variable or someone who just wants a good cup and to move on with your day, you will walk away with permission to trust what already works for you.
Support the show
For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com

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