Tuning Your Brew
Move beyond following recipes and learn to manipulate the variables of extraction to fix any cup of coffee.
Like Duolingo, but for Tuning Your Brew. 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 The Mechanics of Extraction and Advanced Variables and Origin. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Tuning Your Brew
- Acids and salts are the most soluble compounds and dissolve into the water first
- Over-extraction pulls out heavy tannins and plant fibers that create a drying astringency
- Under-extraction leaves behind the sugars that would normally balance the sourness
- Bitterness increases as the brew time extends past the point of sweetness
- Identifying under-extraction by its specific flavor profile
- Recognizing the sensory markers of over-extraction
- The sweet spot occurs when acidity is ripe rather than sour and bitterness is a subtle backbone
- Strength (TDS) refers to the concentration of solids, while yield refers to what was taken from the bean
- Balance is achieved when no single flavor note overwhelms the others
- A high dose of coffee with too little water results in a strong but under-extracted brew
- Bright acids and salts appear in the first few seconds of the brew
- Defining the sensory goal of the 'Sweet Spot'
- Sugars and caramel notes dominate the middle 'heart' of the extraction
- Distinguishing between strength and extraction yield
- Bitter, woody, and astringent notes only appear at the very end of the flow
- Understanding the chronological emergence of flavors during brewing
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 Tuning Your Brew 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.
If your brew leaves your tongue feeling dry like a desert island, what heavy compounds have ye likely pulled out?
Get it right to open this lesson and 11 more in the app.
How to learn Tuning Your Brew, step by step
Go in order. 12 short levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
The Mechanics of Extraction
- Diagnosing the Extraction Spectrum
- Controlling the Flow
- 2
Advanced Variables and Origin
- The Invisible Solvents: Water and Heat
- Decoding Processing and Density
2 sections · 4 units · 12 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Tuning Your Brew
How do I learn Tuning Your Brew?
Go in order: start with The Mechanics of Extraction, then Advanced Variables and Origin. On Tomo that's 12 short levels, about 24 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Tuning Your Brew?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Tuning Your Brew is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Tuning Your Brew course free?
Yes. Tuning Your Brew is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Tuning Your Brew?
12 levels across 2 sections, about 24 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Tuning Your Brew?
No. It's pitched at an intermediate level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Tuning Your Brew is taught in 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.
More Food & Drink on Tomo
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Specialty Coffee: Dialing In Flavor
Bridge the gap from casual home brewer to confident palate. Master the levers of extraction, calibrate water and grind geometry, and connect roast chemistry directly to the cup in your hand.
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.
Better Coffee at Home
Stop settling for mediocre mornings. Learn to brew cafe-quality coffee by mastering the variables that actually matter, from bean selection to extraction science.
Start Tuning Your Brew today.
Download Tomo, search Tuning Your Brew, and play your first lesson in under a minute.