Dialing In Specialty Coffee
Diagnose extraction flaws by taste and take control of brew variables. Learn how particle size, processing methods, and water chemistry transform your daily cup from dull or bitter into vibrant and balanced.
Like Duolingo, but for Dialing In Specialty Coffee. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes end to end, roughly 5 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Diagnosing and Controlling Extraction and Calibrating Beans and Chemistry. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Dialing In Specialty Coffee
- Polar fruit acids and salts dissolve almost immediately in brew water.
- Sugars and complex carbohydrates extract next to provide sweetness and body.
- Astringent tannins and heavy plant fibers yield only after prolonged water contact.
- Under-extraction cuts off early, leaving unbalanced tartness and no sweetness.
- Over-extraction pulls out harsh polyphenols that cause mouth-drying astringency.
- Balanced extraction marries initial acidity with dissolved sugars to soften the cup.
- Under-extracted cups leave a hollow, quick finish that drops off immediately.
- Over-extracted cups leave a sandpaper-like, lingering dryness across the palate.
- Lingering finish tactile cues resolve confusion when intense flavors mask balance.
- Channeling forces high flow through cracks while bypassing dense, unextracted pockets.
- The bypassed coffee grounds contribute hollow, sharp under-extracted sourness.
- The over-washed channel pathways yield bitter, astringent over-extracted compounds.
- The first cup captures high acid concentrations, intense aroma, and salty density.
- The first slice lacks dissolved sugars, making its acidity taste searing and sharp.
- Sweetness peaks in the middle slice, while woody bitterness dominates the final slice.
- Fines migrate downward to pack gaps and create hydraulic resistance
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 Dialing In Specialty Coffee 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 dissolves right after fruit acids to give your brew sweetness and body?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
Where Dialing In Specialty Coffee takes you
- 1
Diagnosing and Controlling Extraction
- Diagnosing Extraction by Taste
- Manipulating Flow Rate and Grind Distribution
- 2
Calibrating Beans and Chemistry
- Adapting Recipes to Bean Processing and Density
- Harnessing Water Composition and Temperature
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Dialing In Specialty Coffee is taught in the The Pirate style: arr, learning be an adventure!. 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.
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Move beyond basic brewing by learning how to diagnose extraction, adjust variables intentionally, and unlock the distinct flavor profiles hidden in specialty beans.
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 Better Coffee
Move beyond following rigid recipes and learn how extraction mechanics shape every cup. Diagnose sour or bitter off-notes, tune your grind and flow, and brew coffee with intention.
Brewing Coffee by Taste
Move beyond rigid recipes and learn to dial in any bean using taste diagnostics, extraction physics, and bean processing knowledge.
Start Dialing In Specialty Coffee today.
Download Tomo, search Dialing In Specialty Coffee, and play your first lesson in under a minute.