Brew Finder

How this works

Seven questions, none of them about grind size or extraction yield. They ask what you are in the mood for, when you will be drinking it, how you take it and what you can actually brew with — and then narrow 346 drinks down to three, with a sentence on each saying why it matched.

Why we ask about timing

Caffeine has a half-life of roughly five hours in most adults, so a 150 mg cup at four in the afternoon still leaves around 75 mg circulating at nine in the evening. Answering “late afternoon” or “evening” puts a hard ceiling on what we will suggest, rather than a gentle nudge.

Why we ask what to avoid

Several botanicals interact with common medication, and a number carry a pregnancy caution. If you tell us either applies, those drinks are excluded outright rather than ranked lower — and we will say plainly that this is general information rather than medical advice, because it is.

What it will not do

It will not tell you there is one perfect cup for you. It returns three, spread across coffee, tea and herbal infusions where the answers allow, because taste is not a solved problem and the point is to give you somewhere to start.