I started pour-over wrong for six years
For six years my morning routine was a recipe I copied off the internet in 2020: 1:16, 94°C, three pours, go. The ratio was never the problem. The water was.
I live in an area where the tap water comes out somewhere between "mineral" and "gravel." I had been blaming the grinder, the filter shape, the beans — anything with a price tag. Then a friend poured me a cup at her place with the exact same beans and my exact ratio, and it tasted like the thing I'd been failing to make. The only variable was the kettle's input.
The fix was embarrassingly small: a pitcher of filtered water with a measured pinch of baking soda (I know, I know — the internet is right about magnesium and wrong about most dosages). The bloom stopped being a sad grey pancake and started being a dome. Sourness stopped meaning "underextracted" and started meaning "this roast is light, enjoy it."
The second fix was behavioral: I used to pour the first 50 grams and check my phone. The bloom wants forty-five uninterrupted seconds. It is, genuinely, the least demanding mindfulness practice I have ever been given, and I still skip it when I'm late.
Six years, two changes. The kettle forgives faster than the espresso grinder ever will.