Overheard a barista say 'bloom time matters more than grind size' and it clicked for me

I was waiting for my order at a local shop in Portland last Tuesday when the barista told a customer that skipping the bloom is why their pour-over tastes sour. I went home and tried a 45-second bloom on my usual beans instead of just rushing through, and honestly the difference was huge. My morning cup has been way smoother ever since. Has anyone else found that adjusting bloom time fixed a flavor issue you blamed on your grinder?

2 comments

2 Comments

alice8087d ago

Wait, has anyone tried a longer bloom like 60 seconds on darker roasts? I read somewhere that darker beans need more time to degas because they're roasted longer. @evangarcia your point about the co2 pockets makes total sense to me now, I always thought it was pretentious timing but it's literally physics. I did a 50 second bloom on a medium roast from a local roaster here in Portland and it tasted totally different, way more balanced. Now I'm wondering if I need to adjust my pour rate too or if bloom time alone is the magic fix for most people.

evangarcia8d ago

I read this thing from a coffee scientist at some roastery in Seattle that said the bloom is basically when all the co2 escapes and the water can actually get to the grounds. So if you skip it or rush it, the water just runs around dry pockets and you end up with that sharp sour taste. I used to make fun of my buddy who would time his pour with a phone timer, figured he was just being extra. But then I tried it myself, let it sit for 45 seconds like that barista said, and my whole morning routine changed. The grind size was fine all along, I was just not giving the water a chance to do its job.