May be of interest to some folks. Partially about competition brewing, but more about the differences between the kinds of coffees that are brewed for competition and those folks are generally drinking at home, and how a recipe optimized for one doesn’t necessarily carry over to the other.
One aspect that I think is only partially surfaced in the video is a partially ideological difference that some folks in coffee are into re: alt process coffees and whether some of the more out there fermentations are “artificially” flavoring the coffee. Hedrick bemoans the ascendency of alt process coffees in competition and has done so in the past, and I assume part of the reason he put out this video is that in this case the routine he consulted on is specifically about re-asserting the value of washed coffees.
There are much stronger versions of this take out there, for example I watched a video from Patrik Rolf of April talking about how alt processing detracts from the “purity” of third wave coffee, and that was so obnoxious it immediately prompted me to order some more coffees with more out there fermentations.
Bonus: Another video from a competitive brewer talking about non-transferability of competition recipes and also just generally about not being beholden to a recipe.
His point about scoring metrics makes me think about Goodhart’s Law. People will aim to optimize for metrics being sought and ‘an enjoyable at home cup of coffee’ will be pushed to the wayside even if, which is probably doubtful, that was what said metrics were supposed to capture.
As far as ideas about ‘pure’ coffee… I find discussions about purity to be a bit suspect when we are talking about a processed product. In my mind traditional is often a better word to use than pure as it is a processed product. That aside about terminology out of the way I think at the end of the day it comes down to what you enjoy, there is no God of coffee out there decreeing from on high that coffee is supposed to be prepared a certain way. I may not enjoy what you enjoy but you do you and I’ll do me. Life is much too short to get worked up that other people are enjoying coffee the ‘wrong’ way.