Alright, let me walk you through my morning grind session with exactly 200 grams of beans. Woke up craving something better than my usual rushed brew, so I grabbed my kitchen scale and dumped whole beans straight from the bag. The digital numbers jumped around like crazy – hit 197g first try. Scooped three extra beans to make it spot on. Felt oddly satisfying seeing that perfect 200.0g flash on the screen.
The Grinder Struggle
Pulled out my burr grinder (the one collecting dust since last Christmas). Settings confuse me – numbers from 1 to 40, no clue what’s right. Started at 15 because YouTube said “medium.” Hit the button and BRRRRRR – sounded like a chainsaw choking on rocks. Coffee dust flew everywhere. Opened the lid halfway – uh oh, looked like powdered sugar. Too fine. Dumped that mess into a bowl for cold brew experiments later.
Second Try & Lightbulb Moment
Cleaned the grinder, reset to 25. Dropped another 200g batch. This time it growled deeper, slower. Grinds bounced in the catcher like brown sand. Did the pinch test – held shape briefly before crumbling. Perfect visual? Who knows. But my nose got happy – suddenly smelled blueberries from those Ethiopian beans. Never noticed that pre-grind!
Quick tip:
- Weigh AFTER grinding too! Caught my grinder hoarding 5g of grounds like a sneaky bean thief. Tapped the side hard until it coughed up every last bit.
Brewing Tests & Disaster Averted
Poured all 200g into my French press. Added water heated to 93°C – measured with that digital thermometer I impulse-bought. Stirred like making cake batter. Set timer for 4 minutes. Got distracted by cat memes. Looked up – timer said 6 minutes! Lunged at the press like it was a grenade. Plunged hard. Tasted expecting charcoal… but surprise! Smooth chocolate notes, zero bitterness. Guess those extra minutes weren’t the endgame I feared.
Final takeaways?
- 200g forces you to actually measure instead of eyeballing – game changer
- Grind consistency beats guessing “medium” every time
- Cats and timers are mortal enemies
Gonna try 200g with pour-over tomorrow if my caffeine shakes settle down.