One of the benefits of this manual brewing method is that it allows you to control so many variables, and as I have written about ad nauseam, the more you control, the better. Not only do you get to determine the outcome of your experience, but you also give yourself the ability to duplicate that experience.

“Look in your filter basket after brewing your next pot, and see if the grinds have a consistent wet appearance.

Are there dry spots? Is it very wet in the middle and only kind of wet on the edges? Is there a hole bored down through the center of the basket? These are signs of ineffective brewing.”