Don't Give Up on Your Coffee Yet

I gave up on a Nicaraguan coffee — and I'm so glad I did, because that mistake led to one of the most surprising brewing discoveries I've had in years. In this episode, I walk through my experience with a strictly highly grown, European-prepared, organic Nicaraguan coffee that simply refused to cooperate at every ratio I tried. I tested it as a light roast, a medium roast, and a dark roast. I pushed the water chemistry, I switched brewers, I adjusted grind size — and nothing worked. So I moved on.

One morning, brewing a cup for my wife without measuring, I took a sip and was completely stopped in my tracks. The coffee I had written off was suddenly alive — clear, lively, and telling me everything I'd been trying to hear from it. The culprit? A 1:10 brew ratio, something I had long avoided because it typically produces an overpowering, brute-force cup. But for this particular coffee — washed, high-altitude grown, with slow-developing sugars — the 1:10 ratio was the key that unlocked everything. By listening to this episode, you'll learn why some coffees actually need a stronger brew ratio to reveal their best flavors, and how one unexpected accident reminded me to always push past brewing comfort zones before giving up on a coffee.

Transcript

[00:00:19] I gave up on it. You would have to.

[00:00:26] I tried mostly anything and everything that I could with this coffee. I've already talked about it before — Nicaraguan, strictly highly grown, European prepared coffee. It's organic, too, if you care about that.

[00:00:50] I tried everything on this coffee. Nothing was really working. I actually did give up on it. I'll tell you the truth. I was just making it for my wife at the time — she usually likes it a lot stronger. I think she's gotten used to me diluting it to the 1:15 ratio that I customarily use.

[00:01:21] So this one day I didn't really measure, and I gave her her coffee. I didn't even think about mine — I just took a sip and I was shocked. I was confused. I was wondering where this came from. I looked at the packaging, the box I put it in, and I was wondering: is this the exact same coffee? Something about it feels different.

[00:02:00] I just sat there mesmerized — that's what we say when we're really confused and we don't know what's going on, especially somebody who brews coffee every day like I do. I just sat there wondering what was going on, kept sipping and drinking, thinking about how this was possible. I was sure it wasn't a 1:15 ratio. I didn't measure it out, but something just didn't seem right. I don't know if I made another cup that day, but I know for sure the next day I did.

[00:02:43] Here's the thing about this. I roasted it a couple of different ways. I roasted it as a light roast — not really something I get down with — as a medium roast, and as a dark roast. So I was on a quest to see why that was the case. Was it a fluke? Was it the water chemistry just lining up perfectly without me even noticing? Was it the multiple pours I did? I started second-guessing myself throughout the whole situation.

[00:03:34] So I kept it simple. I know there's a ratio that I don't mess with as much — mostly because for the most part, a lot of coffees are just going to present the way that they do. But I gave it a try, gave it a whirl. I tried 1:10. I think this one was a medium roast. I put it through its paces — not that many paces, essentially just one actual brew.

[00:04:13] When I did that — brewed the cup, drank it again — I was completely shocked again. The coffee started coming alive. Something that it never did before. I could start tasting the notes on the bag, what the importer was telling me they were tasting during their cupping. It was still subtle, but it was more present. I could see it clearly. It's like an out-of-focus camera somehow getting into focus. Like somebody talking to you that you can barely hear, and now you can hear them clearly. That was this Nicaraguan coffee right here. I was really shocked.

[00:05:16] So I tried it at a light roast — 1:10. Dark roast — 1:10. I was really going crazy, couldn't believe it. Then I started second-guessing myself even more. I'm thinking: why did this work? I didn't want to try 1:15 again. I didn't want to be disappointed by this coffee because it truly does disappoint at 1:15 and beyond. It's just not there.

[00:05:47] And it wasn't a fluke. I tried different brewers — still tasty, sometimes a little bit sweeter than others. Didn't even have to try any boosters. There's still something about the booster that doesn't rub me the right way with this one, but that's a story for another day.

[00:06:14] I just sat there and thought about this coffee and why this worked. I even did another video telling people it's probably best to try your coffees at a couple of different ratios — more than just what you think you should. Because if you think about it, none of us really mess around with a 1:10 ratio. It's too harsh. It's too strong. It clouds the coffee so much that it's just too in-your-face. Not subtle at all. Just brute force. You don't really know what to make of it.

[00:07:01] But this coffee, for some reason — I don't know if it's because of the way it's grown, how the sugars develop more slowly at high altitude, probably because it's washed. Washed coffees tend to have that tendency where you have to push it a little bit further just to get the taste out of it. Could also be the way it was prepared.

[00:07:32] There are no nasty bitter notes on this coffee. That's probably why I don't like it as much at lower ratios — because it is what it is. It tells you exactly what it is. There are no defects, no funkiness, no craziness. It's just straight and narrow. It tells you exactly what it is if you get close to it, if you allow it to come to you. But at a 1:10 ratio, this coffee — the taste is so clear, so lively compared to its counterpart at the 1:15 ratio that we normally stay in the pocket with. Or 1:16, even 1:17. Don't do 1:18 — that's just too far down the rabbit hole.

[00:08:34] It's like 1:10 is a danger zone. And I thought about it quite a bit. Because I used to live in the 1:10 ratio. I used to stay there. And when I did, it was fine. The coffees were fine — especially chocolatey, nutty coffees. I didn't have any issues with what I was tasting. It was just a little strong in the beginning, and then after a while it would die down.

[00:09:13] But those fruity coffees, those acidic coffees — 1:10 will hurt you. Hurt your soul, hurt your stomach, hurt everything about you. It's true. You know it when you've made something a little too strong, especially a Kenyan, Ethiopian, even a Colombian. That acidity just won't quit. It's right in your face. That's what we're used to, and that's what we see.

[00:09:52] But this coffee, I tell you — it spoke to me. It told me its darker secrets. It told me about its life. It told me everything I'd been wanting to know from the very beginning. But here's the thing: I didn't allow it to be who it was. I simply gave up on it. And a lot of times when I talk about coffee, when I get a new coffee, I give it a couple rounds of brews — and if it doesn't taste right, I'm done with it.

[00:10:41] I'll develop a protocol for a coffee and I'll figure it out. But I will say this: you have to push past your comfort zone sometimes. When something doesn't work and you're trying different things, sometimes it's not about the grind size. It's not about the temp. It's not about the water. It's not about the brewer. Sometimes it could just be the ratio — and even a ratio you're not used to playing around with.

[00:11:19] Because even at 1:10, you can just bypass it if it's too strong — add a little bit of water. And I kid you not, this Nicaraguan organic, strictly highly grown, European prepared coffee lives and dies at the 1:10 ratio. It does. And some coffees are going to be like that. Just because it's strictly highly grown, organic, or washed doesn't mean you need to follow a specific protocol. All I'm saying is: just try it all.

[00:12:06] You may be shocked and surprised by how much the coffee truly comes alive. Because that's what it was in this case. That's what it did for me. It may not work for another coffee — it really didn't work for my Ethiopian that I tried a couple of days ago. Too sharp, too acidic. That coffee breathes really well at 1:16. But this Nicaraguan? Absolutely amazing at 1:10. It just truly comes alive.

[00:12:43] I'm sorry, Nicaraguan coffee. I did give up on you. And I'm glad that this happy accident happened — because now I can tell others about how great you are. How amazing you are. How special you are. And more than anything, give others an opportunity to try a different approach when it comes to brewing that coffee. Because 1:10 may be exactly what you need — especially if the coffee isn't talking to you, isn't singing, isn't presenting itself in a way you can actually enjoy. But then again, it could also just mean it's not a good coffee. Try everything. Get out of your comfort zone.

[00:13:43] Talk to you later. Bye.