Rules & regulations: log the brew before diagnosing the universe

[Eran Galor]

Brewer and filter: exact brewer size/version and exact paper/metal filter
Grinder, burr and calibration: grinder, burr set, current setting and how zero/calibration was established
Bean, roaster, process and roast date: coffee identity, roaster, processing method and roast date
Dose and water mass: weighed coffee and total brew water
Temperature and water profile: brew temperature plus water source/mineral profile if known
Pour/agitation schedule: bloom, pours, stirring/swirl and timing
Drawdown time: total time and any obvious stalls or unusually fast phases
Expected and perceived flavour: what you were aiming for and what you actually tasted
Changes already tested: one-variable changes already tried and what each did

Start brew topics with that block. Keep it at the top and then write like a human. Nobody should have to ask six posts later whether the coffee was roasted yesterday, whether your “V60” is actually a Switch, or whether your grinder zero moved after cleaning.

For diagnosis, one reply means one experiment. Change one variable, say why, and say what result you expect. If the questioner tests it, come back with what actually happened. That is more useful than ten people shouting “grind finer” from different time zones.

Beans and manual brewing stay together here on purpose. A recipe is not independent of the bean, roast date, grinder, paper and water. Splitting “beans” into another forum would divide the same experiment into two search results and make both worse.

For product comparisons, people who actually owned both products go first. “I own A and love it” is useful, but it is not an A-vs-B comparison. For roaster reports, recent reports from the searcher’s country go above older foreign reports because transit time and availability are part of the answer.

Titles can sound human. They do not need to begin with the full product name. Put the searchable technical details in the block; use the title to tell people what the actual question is.

A few possible improvements are intentionally postponed until the forum has enough real use to justify them.

[Coffee-Kriti]

Could the editor insert the technical block automatically when somebody starts a topic? I can already see people remembering eight fields and forgetting the ninth.

[Eran Galor]

Probably, but postponed for now. I want to see which fields people actually skip before we turn the composer into a form.

[Fermenter]

Would it help to require water hardness instead of just water source? That variable can dwarf the recipe.

[Eran Galor]

Not as a hard requirement yet. If someone knows GH/KH, excellent. If they only know the bottled brand or that it came through a Brita, I would rather have imperfect information than no post.

[Barroom Radio Nights]

mandatory alkalinity certificate before you are allowed to complain about sour coffee. the dream

[Marginalia]

Could roasters have one permanent thread each? It would concentrate dated reports instead of scattering them.

[Eran Galor]

Good idea, postponed. Some roasters will earn enough traffic for that; others would become empty monuments with one heroic post from 2024.

[Dhrupad Notes]

Keeping beans and brewing together is the correct choice. The recipe is evidence about the bean and the bean is part of the recipe.

[Wrench And Jab]

finally a rule against telling everyone to grind finer with zero context lol

[Eran Galor]

Yes. ‘Grind finer’ is allowed. ‘Grind finer because X, and expect Y’ is useful. The second one gets priority.

[Quiet Stacks]

A simple ‘tested’ marker on replies might become useful later, especially when the original poster returns.

[Eran Galor]

Agreed in principle. For now, the questioner can say what they tested in plain text. We can add machinery when the machinery solves a demonstrated problem.

[Wire And Gloves]

what if the expected flavour is coffee and the perceived flavour is also coffee

[Author]

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