What I’ve learned in coffee in 2025
They all say coffee is subjective and depends on person to person but it’s more complex than this, a person’s perception about taste profile changes so drastically based on numerous reasons.
So does this make coffee notes irrelevant or buying fancier equipments can be the only solution. Understanding the coffee but keeping space for improvements is the solution.
From my personal experience a good grinder and a great coffee is somewhere you should invest mostly in. That’s it! Thats the answer.
No not really, you might want to invest in a scale and a good kettle but here is the place you can don’t have to invest heavily.
Another dimension is a cupware and a server. Having a great carafe usually makes you swirl your coffee easily and helps you to lower the temperature of your brew but still it doesn’t hold that much of a value that you have to spend crazy amount of money.
Cupware is an interesting parameter, you might want to invest in a good ceramics/glass (whatever suits your budget) as it does apparently changes your perception of the brew. Ceramics have lower thermal conductivity which keeps your brew warmer for a longer time. I can’t comment on the cups which claim to enhances aroma or flavour because I don’t own any yet. But personally I do prefer a wider rim cups as I can smell aroma more clearly and the coffee gets well distributed.
But with server and cup you should go for whatever floats your boat.
I think personally the accessibility to invest in varieties of coffee was a great advantage of me, the spectrum of coffee gave me enough opportunities to assess coffee notes and nature well. This is my best advice to anyone who wants to have more understanding of coffee is drink different varieties of coffee.
- Buy smaller packs
- Split coffee bags with your friend
- Invest in coffee subscriptions ( like coffeevine )
Thankfully a great grinder makes the brewing so easy and deterministic, a good grinder has a even particle distribution and creates lesser fines.
I personally like my hand grinder 1zpresso Kultra, it brings lot of clarity and sweetness for me and I do prefer using hand grinder over electric grinder for pourover (just a personal preference). Another parameter which I want to touch on but it’s nerds is the water. I usually put a drop of MgCl2 solution (10ppm) if I feel my brew has lesser acidity but a RO filtered water is enough usually.
That’s it, it can be totally different for you and I personally encourage you to follow your gut over any random stranger person on Internet.
Thanks and happy brewing!