[vundercind]

I’ve long assumed that the main effect of the bloom is to soak the grounds so the rest of the water you pour in goes through slower, and all the other alleged effects were minor compared to that.

But maybe the CO2 removal stuff really is a big deal.

[kitotik]

> But maybe the CO2 removal stuff really is a big deal.

It’s definitely a thing. There are some super light roasts that if you try to brew them without enough resting time, you can sort of cheat by just grinding the coffee about 30mins before you brew for a hacky quick degas. It really helps get rid of that grassy vegetal taste.

[romafirst3]

There should be no grassy taste, that’s a roast defect and comes from inconsistent roasting. You should find a better roaster. You can roast really light and not get that taste, but you need to be consistent.

[kitotik]

Maybe grassy wasn’t the right term. I don’t mean under developed, it’s kinda bitter and sharp without any sweetness. I’ve experienced this with pretty legit roasters like apollons gold. It seems like the lighter the roast, the more time it needs to degas before it hits the sweet spot.

[romafirst3]

I've found that lighter roasts don't degas/bloom anywhere near as much as coffees that are taken even a little more darker (like talking about the difference between super light and light). I think this continues up to second crack. I'd guess that the breaking down of the cell walls in the bean has something to do with it, more roast more breakdown = more C02. I actually think the C02 is just probably not even created in lighter roasts.

[jascination]

There was a post here a few months ago saying that blooming prevented static electricity build up within the coffee grounds which made them clump together (or something like that anyway), I thought it was interesting.

[notatoad]

That’s not the bloom phase, that’s misting the beans before grinding.

[aidenn0]

TFA seems to agree with you; it says that bubbles are an indication that the coffee was unevenly wetted.

[e40]

I’ve taken to stirring my coffee as I pour the hot water in. Definitely seems to ensure that all the coffee grounds ate wetted.