The Orbit in Competition: Interview with Dr. Mihnea Nicolescu

Formally, I have a double medical degree in both Medicine and Dentistry and a Specialist degree in Oral and Maxillo-facial Surgery. However, my career is now more focused on research and teaching. I am currently an Associate Professor and Head of the Histology Division in the Faculty of Dentistry at Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest. My primary task is to teach students about cells and tissues in the human body. I also serve as a Visiting Lecturer for the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences at King's College London. 

Actually, London was the starting point for my coffee journey. Back in 2015, I was studying Regenerative Dentistry MSc at King’s College London. During this time I attended my first “coffee congress” – London Coffee Festival. From that point, the poetry was set in motion. Verse after verse, pieces of the puzzle started to group themselves to form one stanza after another through today. I was fascinated by the resemblance to scientific congresses I was regularly attending. People were presenting various methods and a plethora of tools and devices, all to combine two elements: water and coffee. Needless to say, I bought my first brewer that day and ordered a kettle and a hand grinder soon after.

In more instances than I would have thought. It starts with evaluating the aroma and the flavor. I know which kind of cellular mechanisms are involved in sensing (both olfactory and gustatory). On the other hand, a research-like approach is helpful for establishing the best recipe. It includes changing parameters, establishing correlations, adjusting variables, following patterns, and so on.

The greatest influence was my daily job. I teach students and try to explain each detail in terms they can easily comprehend. I use these details to make connections with previous knowledge. I wished for coffee enjoyers to have a handy tool to check terms they encounter while talking to others about their common passion. The pocket-size format is also helpful for this. 

My Acaia inventory started a long time ago with a Pearl S that I bought to have a reliable scale for my Aeropress competitions. I also won a Lunar as a runner-up prize once. The design, the attention to detail, and the ease of use were all selling points to me. A few dosing cups, of various sizes and colors followed soon after. I found the material to be exactly what I was looking for. Coffee grounds were not sticking too much on it, easy to grip even with wet hands, and sturdy enough to be transported everywhere. The lids were a bonus and easily found their way into my setup. They offered a reliably closed dosing container to preserve the aroma of freshly ground beans. When I saw the Orion Nano I thought it was the ideal size for home preparation of competition recipes and would save so much time in the process. That was to be the serendipity of my relationship with Acaia products.

I first reached out to Acaia about a technical incident with my hopper. The attention and assistance I received was the best customer care experience of my life. This was even more impressive since I was just a regular home customer. I was not part of any coffee shops or big roasteries. During these talks, they were so kind to offer me an Orbit grinder to improve my competition routine. Needless to say, I immediately put it to work and haven't used any other grinder for my competitions since. The reverse spin function, the adjustment of [the RPM of the motor], and the almost zero retention were the winning points.  

I chose SSP Lab Sweet V3 burrs and after playing with a couple of settings I finally found the “sweet spot” for both my pour-over as well as my ibrik brews. These are now the starting points for each new coffee I try:

I've also tested the Mazzer 33M burrs. I choose those when trying espresso recipes for my manual espresso devices, like ROK, Aram, and Flair. Usually, I start from 2.5 digits above the touch point.

It definitely did. The convenience of using the same grind settings without having to double-check each time is great. I also got lucky that the competitions I used the Orbit in (Aeropress, Ibrik, and Brewers Cup) were either in my city or in a city I had the chance to drive to.

First of all, I select my coffee. Then I experiment, aiming to find the best recipe by playing with dose, grind size, and water. I also watch YouTube videos of World competitions, read a lot of blogs, and try to apply some knowledge in my routine. Then I focus on my speech. And most importantly – practice, refine, and practice again. In the last part you really feel the need for mechanical help from the devices you are using – in my case my Pearls and Orbit, along with my kettles and timer.

Read the rules thoroughly. Ask for feedback from more experienced people in the coffee industry. And, practice brewing and speaking simultaneously. It may sound easy, but it definitely isn’t.

I am currently promoting my Coffee Lexicon in coffee shops and waiting for next year's competitions. I am also setting up the stage for a science project for my students. It involves the scientific aspects of coffee brewing - like grind size, TDS values, water composition, and so on. I aim to start sometime next year.