⚙︎ Tools · for coffee nerds

Brew smarter, not harder.

Nine interactive utilities for dialing in your cup — real recipes from Hoffmann, Kasuya, and Rao; the SCA Brewing Control Chart and Golden Cup math; water-quality diagnostics; and an interactive flavor wheel. Sources cited inside each tool.

9tools
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free to use
01Tool

Brew Ratio Calculator

Real recipes from named experts — Hoffmann V60, Kasuya 4:6, Rao Spin, Hoffmann French Press. Set dose, get grams + pour schedule + bloom timer.

Brew Ratio Calculator

Recipe

Real recipes from named experts. Pick a method, set your dose, get the grams and the pour schedule.

percolation

immersion

espresso

2.1 × 240ml cups
15g30g50g

Adjusts ratio by ±0.5 around the recipe baseline (1:16.7).

Coffee

30g

Water

500.1g

Ratio

1:16.7

Temp

93°C / 199°F

Grind

Medium-fine · Comandante ~25 clicks

Time

3:30

Pour schedule

  1. 0s

    Bloom · 60g

    Pour 2× coffee weight. Swirl.

  2. 45s

    Pour 1 · 300g

    Up to 60% by 1:15. Steady spiral.

  3. 1:15

    Pour 2 · 500g

    Up to 100% by 1:45. Stir gently, swirl bed flat.

  4. 3:30

    Drawdown · 500g

    Drains by 3:30. Pull when dry.

Hoffmann's reference V60 recipe. Forgiving, clean, repeatable. Adjust grind first if it's drawing too fast or too slow.

02Tool

Grind Size Guide

Microns, physical references (kosher salt, beach sand, sea salt flakes), and per-grinder dials for six popular grinders.

Grind Size Guide

Grind

Microns, physical references, and per-grinder settings — speaks both no-grinder novice and gearhead.

Medium-Fine
PowderMediumExtra Coarse

Microns

600900

µm typical

Feels like

Kosher salt

Test on your fingertip

Grinder settings

Comandante C40

20–25

clicks

1Zpresso JX-Pro

8–10

internal

Baratza Encore

18–22

1–40

Fellow Ode Gen 2

5–7

1–11

Niche Zero

28–32

0–50

Mahlkönig EK43

8–10

0–11

Approximate — each grinder unit has slight burr-alignment variance. Use as a starting point, dial from there.

Too sour or weak? Finer (more extraction). Too bitter or harsh? Coarser (less extraction).

03Tool

Brew Troubleshooter

Two questions about what you tasted → mapped to the Brewing Control Chart → which knob to turn. Strength vs extraction, the right way to think about it.

Brew Troubleshooter

Diagnose

Two questions about what you tasted. We map it to the Brewing Control Chart and tell you which knob to turn.

Brewing Control Chart

Sour ←Extraction→ Bitter
Answer both questions to see your fix.
04Tool

Extraction / TDS Calculator

Refractometer reading + dose + beverage weight → extraction yield %, plotted on the SCA Golden Cup chart with a specific verdict.

Extraction / TDS Calculator

Advanced

Plug in a refractometer reading + dose + beverage weight. Tells you exactly which box you're in on the SCA Golden Cup chart.

1.25%
0.6%1.25%1.8%

g coffee

g brewed

Strength

1.25%

TDS

Extraction

18.8%

EY

Brewing Control Chart

SCA Golden Cup

Ideal
14% EY26% EY1.7% TDSExtraction →

Ideal

You're inside the SCA Golden Cup box. Sweet, balanced, properly developed. Don't change anything.

  • Lock this recipe in. Same bean, same grinder, same scale.
05Tool

Water Quality Calculator

Punch in your tap water's TDS / hardness / alkalinity. Compare to SCA targets, get a fix path — pitcher filter, Third Wave Water, or DIY mineral recipe.

Water Quality Calculator

SCA standard

Punch in your tap water numbers (TDS pen / city water report). We'll tell you whether it's brew-ready and what to do if not.

mg/L

ppm CaCO₃

ppm CaCO₃

TDS

180 mg/L
0Ideal 150500+
In range

Calcium hardness

80 ppm CaCO₃
0Ideal 68200+
In range

Alkalinity

50 ppm CaCO₃
0Ideal 40200+
In range

Use your tap water as-is

Run it through a basic carbon filter for chlorine, then go. You're in spec.

TDS: Within SCA acceptable range.

Calcium hardness: Within SCA acceptable range.

Alkalinity: Within SCA acceptable range.

06Tool

Roast Date Freshness

Pick the date stamped on your bag. See where you are on the degas curve and how to brew at each stage — peak window, fading, past prime.

Roast Date Freshness

Freshness

Pick the date stamped on your bag. We'll tell you where it falls on the degas curve and how to brew it.

Peak window

12 days past roast

Brew now

The whole reason single-batch roasters exist. Aromatics fully expressed, cup is sweet and balanced. Our take: a well-stored bag stays in the peak window for roughly four weeks — through day 28 you're still tasting what the roaster intended.

Degas curve

day 0 → 70+

0–4d Resting5–28d Peak29–42d Fading42d+ Past
Brew tip: Brew exactly to your recipe. No compensation needed — this is when the bean tastes how the roaster intended.
07Tool

Cost Calculator

Real cost per cup at home vs your favorite cafe. The math is brutal — but it's good for you.

Cost Calculator

$$$

Real cost per cup, real monthly + annual numbers, and how long good gear takes to pay itself off.

g coffee

2

Per cup

$1.00

Per month

$60

Per year

$730

Monthly habit cost

Home
$60/mo
Sub
$48/mo
Cafe
$330/mo

Brewing at home saves $270/mo (~82%) · $3240/year

Gear payback

at your monthly savings

Brewing scale (Acaia Pearl)

$165

<1 mo

payback

Comandante C40 (hand grinder)

$270

1.0 mo

payback

Fellow Ode Gen 2 (electric, filter)

$345

1.3 mo

payback

Niche Zero (electric, all-arounder)

$700

2.6 mo

payback

Fellow Stagg EKG (variable-temp kettle)

$195

<1 mo

payback

VST LAB Coffee III refractometer

$525

1.9 mo

payback

08Tool

Coffee Compass

Plot extraction × strength to navigate where your cup actually is — and which knob to turn next.

Coffee Compass

Dial In

Visual map of Lockhart's Brewing Control Chart. Taste your brew, tap the zone it's in, and follow the arrow back to the sweet spot.

Weak

UnderOver

Strong

Tap a zone on the compass to see what to adjust.

09Tool

Flavor Wheel

Explore the SCA flavor categories interactively — click anywhere on the wheel to drill in.

Coffee Flavor Wheel

Tasting

Explore coffee flavors from broad categories to specific tasting notes. Click any segment to learn more.

CoffeeFloralFruitySour / FermentedGreen / VegetativeOtherRoastedSpicesNutty / CocoaSweetBlack TeaFloralBerryDried FruitOther FruitCitrus FruitSourAlcohol / FermentedOlive OilRawVegetativePapery / MustyChemicalPipe TobaccoBurntCerealPungentPepperBrown SpiceNuttyCocoaBrown SugarVanillaOverall SweetSweet AromaticsEarl GreyGreen TeaChamomileRoseJasmineHoneysuckleLavenderHibiscusBlackberryRaspberryBlueberryStrawberryRaisinPruneCoconutCherryPomegranatePineappleGrapeApplePeachPearGrapefruitOrangeLimeLemonSour AromaticsAcetic AcidButyric AcidIsovaleric AcidCitric AcidMalic AcidWineyFermentedOverripeButteryOliveUnder-ripePeapodFreshDark GreenVegetableHay-likeHerb-likeBeanyStaleCardboardPaperyWoodyMoldy / DampMusty / DustyMusty / EarthyAnimalicMeaty / BrothyPhenolicBitterSaltyMedicinalPetroleumSkunkyRubberTobaccoSmokyAcridAshyBrown, RoastGrainMaltToastAniseCloveBlack PepperRed PepperCinnamonNutmegCardamomPeanutsHazelnutAlmondChocolateDark ChocolateMolassesMaple SyrupCaramelizedHoneyVanillaVanillinSweetButterscotchToffeeNougat

Click any segment to explore flavors