Recipe 1: Citrus & Berry

A Recipe: A Wild Berry from Zheng(鄭莓)

顔淵問爲邦。子曰：「行夏之時，乘殷之輅，服周之冕，樂則韶舞。放鄭聲，遠佞人。鄭聲淫，佞人殆。」 Yanhui asked about governing a state. The Master said, 'Follow the calendar of the Xia, ride in the state carriage of the Yin, wear the ceremonial cap of the Zhou, and for music, use the Shao and Wu. Banned the songs of Zheng and kept artful flatterers at a distance. The songs of Zheng are licentious, and artful flatterers are dangerous.'

I named it like a bonsai.

At first, this extraction looks ridiculous. But I bet you'll like it if you try it at home. If you prefer darker and deeper coffee, don't try this. This extracts light, acidic notes.

1. This extraction is not for dark-roasted beans.
2. It is not a standard extraction. It was designed to keep an orange-like flavor.
   • It took almost a year to complete this method:
     • Last October: First experiment.
     • Last October to April: Experimented with various amounts of water.
     • May to June: Experimented with the same recipe in two different environments (a highlight burner and a gas stove).
     • July to August: Experimented with ice water and chilling times in a freezer.
     • September to October: Experimented with paper filters (a wet one and a dry one).
     • October: Completed this final recipe.
   • A. Water: 83–87% of the official recipe brought out the best acidity.
   • B. Ice: Ice water was the best form. Iced water was bad. Using only ice was fine, though. Using only cold water was fine, but it was worse than using only ice. Fill 70% of the upper chamber with ice, then pour the exact amount of water mentioned above.
   • C. Highlight burner: Turn your highlight burner to high, and when you can feel the heat on both hands from a distance of one foot, it's ready to be turned down to low.
   • D. Gas stove: When you use a gas stove, low to medium heat is enough.
   • E. Paper filter: A dry one is better. A wet one will ruin the flat top of the coffee grounds immediately.
   • F. Extraction time: If your extraction time exceeds 5–6 minutes, stop boiling your pot. Your heat setup is invalid.
   • G. Coffee ground particle size: 0.25–0.4mm was the best. 0.5mm works. 0.7–1mm produces a watery and sweet extract. It was not preferable to me, but it didn't taste bad.
   • H. Tamping: Never tamp your coffee grounds when you use a WDT tool or a matcha whisk.
   • I. Distribution: Add the coffee grounds in several batches while tapping the basket lightly to align them. Before pouring in the grounds completely, gently loosen any clumps with a WDT tool. You can even use a soft matcha whisk that is not too large. Loosen them once more, and use a knife to level off any overflowing grounds.
   • J. Calibration: Your gas stove may differ from mine. Please write an experiment report "with a picture" for a month on your mobile while adjusting the configurations. You'll find the best one.
   • K. Adjustment order: Adjust the fire -> Adjust your cooling time -> Adjust the amount of ice -> Adjust the particle size -> Use a different WDT tool -> Adjust the amount of water -> Change your beans. (Normally, the process will end when you adjust the particle size.)
   • L. Other beans: Now apply that recipe to other beans. My recipe works poorly with dark-roasted beans.
3. If you are using a Moka Express, this is invalid.
4. You should pour the ice water away before extraction. Extra water will dilute the coffee.
5. A freezer should be at -18°C (0°F) or below. In my case, I used -23°C (-9.4°F) for this.
6. It won't work well with Full City roasts or darker.
7. This works better with natural-processed beans.
8. Medium-light roasted Ethiopian natural beans are the best fit for my recipe.

Simulations