The Levers of Quality
The Levers of Quality
I always think of Federal Reserve members—academic, high on their own importance. How quickly an AI bot will be able to pool economic data, adjust the overnight lending rate, tweak money supply, and fine-tune the discount rate. It’s going to be so much better. They don’t really have that many levers to pull when it comes to normal economic adjustments.
Same with coffee.
So then, Hanalei Coffee guy, what are the factors in a good coffee? I’m going to answer this in random bullet point form. But before I do, it’s worth throwing some time at what “good quality coffee” actually means.
If you’re a dark roast guy and someone sends you a bag of medium roast beans massaged daily by enlightened monks in the pristine mountains of Costa Rica (or, of course, Kona), you’re not going to like it. So rather than get swindled into buying the wrong beans, know first what you like.
The biggest divisions:
Dark vs. medium
Fruity vs. chocolatey
Smooth vs. bitter
Fruity vs. chocolatey
Smooth vs. bitter
The Levers:
1) Freshness – Yep. If you’re an espresso drinker with a home setup, you’re probably more obsessed with roast dates than Legacy Media is with calling Trump a fascist. But if you’re buying coffee for other brewing methods, anything less than three months old is fine.
Things get more nuanced with high-end specialty coffee—like what we sell. For those, consume within five weeks. Flavors don’t pop as much beyond that. And yes, for that obsessive email recipient wondering about the golden window, it’s 1-3 weeks post-roast.
2) Water – I’m writing this from an apartment in a ski town in Japan, sipping on our sister company’s 10% Kona Blend. Best I’ve ever tasted this blend. Chalk it up to excellent water quality.
Contrast that with our roastery in Lihue, where we’re dealing with industrial-grade water—giving the coffee a metallic edge and making flavor profiling feel like playing darts blindfolded. A good filter is a must.
There’s a whole next-level water nerd world where you can buy minerals to get your brew just right. Kind of an annoying level of detail. But it’s true—good water makes a huge difference.
3) Grind – We’ve covered grind size in another post, but the short version:
Too coarse = sour (under-extracted)
Too fine = bitter (over-extracted)
Also, grind just before brewing. A good grinder (one that gives a consistent grind size) is key.
Too fine = bitter (over-extracted)
Also, grind just before brewing. A good grinder (one that gives a consistent grind size) is key.
4) Beans – An amazing cup of coffee starts with an amazing coffee plant producing amazing beans. Just like with anything top-shelf, quality ingredients matter.
It’s impossible to get a top 5% coffee experience from an average bean. What that means for you depends, but elevation is a good marker—higher elevation, better coffee.
5) Recipe – This one is interesting.
The moment I mention weighing your coffee like an annoying Instagram barista, people get irritated. Truth is, you just need some way to get the ratio right. Could be a scoop, a grinder with a preset amount, or a scale.
Once you dial it in a few times, you’ll feel what works. And yeah, putting in twice the amount of coffee will absolutely change your experience.
Putting It All Together
If you already know what you like:
If you already know what you like:
- Buy high-elevation whole beans roasted within a few weeks.
- Grind just before brewing with a good grinder.
- Use decent water (filtered if needed).
- Know your coffee-to-water ratio.
- Don’t overcomplicate it—unless you’re obsessive.
- In which case, call me, and let’s geek out.
“Take your time, hurry up / The choice is yours, don’t be late.”
— Nirvana, Come As You Are
— Nirvana, Come As You Are