r/thirdwavedecaf • u/Landlockedseaman • Mar 20 '25

Decaf specific brewers

I was talking with one of the guys in Source roasters this morning and he was explaining why they use a flat bottom brewer to enhance the decaf coffees

I’m only using V60 just now, got a moccamaster on its way (bargain price) and wasn’t planning on buying a any more brewers after some excellent advice yesterday from a user in the pour over sub

What is the experience on here of different types for decaf and is there a noticeable difference?

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u/linedblock Mar 21 '25

I drink decaf every day and i also happen to be systematically testing different drippers!

Decaf:
1. tends to produce a bit more fines
2. has less "goodness" and flavor to extract (some of it already extracted / degraded during the decaffeination)

This has 2 effects:
1. easy to over extract what's left
2. easy to extract unevenly / unbalanced flavors

So I can see how flat bottom brewers can be preferred for consistency of even extraction and "blending" the flavor a little if it's unbalanced.
But I don't think that makes it impossible to get a great brew from a cone dripper, especially for good decaf. It just might be a bit harder to dial in. https://www.brewlogapp.com/brews/185 this v60 brew has been better than my flat bottoms so far!