Brewing Coffee by Taste
Move beyond rigid recipes and learn to dial in any bean using taste diagnostics, extraction physics, and bean processing knowledge.
Like Duolingo, but for Brewing Coffee by Taste. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Dialing In Extraction and Selecting and Reading the Bean. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Brewing Coffee by Taste
- Sourness dominates when water stops before dissolving balanced sugars
- Over-extraction pulls heavy polyphenols that dry out the palate
- Optimal cups extract long enough to capture solubilized carbohydrates
- Astringency is a tactile drying sensation, not a basic tongue taste
- Water cutting channels through dry grounds pulls parching tannins
- Bitterness registers as a flavor, while astringency coats the mouth
- Fast-dissolving organic acids extract into the brew first
- Sweet carbohydrates dissolve steadily in the middle phase
- Harsh, woody plant fibers dissolve last under prolonged contact
- Finer grinds increase surface area to speed up flavor extraction
- Finer particles pack tighter, slowing water flow through the bed
- Coarsening the grind speeds drainage and reduces extraction time
- Channeling lets water bypass dense spots, leaving them under-extracted
- Water rushes through fissures, over-extracting narrow paths
- Uneven water flow combines sharp sourness and bitter dryness together
- Brew ratio controls dissolved solids concentration in the final cup.
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Brewing Coffee by Taste the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What happens when you let water brew with coffee grounds for way too long?
Get it right to open this lesson and 10 more in the app.
Where Brewing Coffee by Taste takes you
- 1
Dialing In Extraction
- Diagnosing Extraction by Taste
- Tuning the Extraction Levers
- 2
Selecting and Reading the Bean
- How Processing Shapes Cup Flavor
- Decoding Specialty Coffee Labels
2 sections · 4 units · 11 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Brewing Coffee by Taste is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More Food & Drink on Tomo
Brewing Specialty Coffee
Learn to taste, dial in, and brew specialty coffee like a seasoned barista. Master the levers of extraction, diagnose flavor flaws, and understand what makes specialty beans unique.
Specialty Coffee: Flavor and Extraction
Move beyond basic recipes by mastering extraction mechanics, post-harvest processing, and origin profiles. Learn to diagnose off-flavors by taste and match your brew method to any bean.
Dialing In Great Coffee
Step past basic brewing and learn to troubleshoot every cup like a specialty barista. Master extraction variables, train your palate to diagnose off-flavors, and demystify how bean processing and water chemistry shape your cup.
Dialing In Great Coffee
Move beyond basic brew recipes to control the mechanics that determine coffee flavor. Learn to diagnose extraction flaws by taste, balance water chemistry, and read bean processing to brew with intention.
Dialing In Your Coffee
Move beyond basic brewing by learning how to diagnose extraction, adjust variables intentionally, and unlock the distinct flavor profiles hidden in specialty beans.
Crafting Better Coffee
Bridge the gap between basic brewing and craft-level execution by mastering extraction, water chemistry, and bean diagnostics. Learn how to taste defects accurately, adjust brew parameters intentionally, and navigate coffee varieties and roasts with confidence.
Start Brewing Coffee by Taste today.
Download Tomo, search Brewing Coffee by Taste, and play your first lesson in under a minute.