Why does my coffee taste off?
Is your coffee tasting off?
We’ve rounded up the usual suspects—these issues are probably responsible for the your morning cup tasting off.
- Time: brewing the coffee for too long
- Temperature: water that’s too hot
- Quality: stale beans
- Ratio: too much coffee for the amount of water
- Grind: coffee grounds that are too small
- Cleanliness: dirty brewing equipment
All of these issues have a backstory, and we’ll reveal them one by one. We’ll also go over some easy fixes to ensure that your coffee tastes wonderful! You might also want to check out a new blend or single-origin!
1. Time
THE PROBLEM:
Over-cooking your coffee is one of the most common reasons your brew tastes bitter. Much like tea, coffee gets its flavor from steeping in hot water. If you let it steep for too long, too much of the bitter flavors come through and your coffee will taste burnt.
THE FIX:
1) Know how long your coffee needs to brew for the brewing method of your choosing, and 2) Set a timer so that you’ll know when it’s time to enjoy the good stuff!
2. HOT WATER
THE PROBLEM:
Lots of people bring their water to a boil and get right to brewing. But 212°F is actually too hot for coffee brewing! This is another way that coffee gets over-cooked.
THE FIX:
Patience . . . but if you’re like us and want your coffee now, a kettle with temperature control will let you choose a temperature just below boiling (195 – 205°F), eliminating guesswork and the need for patience.
And if you’re doing it the old fashioned way, taking the water off the boil for 30-45 seconds is all it takes to bring the temperature down to the magic coffee brewing range. Just remember, hotter water = bitter coffee; colder water = weak coffee.
3. QUANTITY
THE PROBLEM:
It’s a sad fact of life—not all coffee is created equal. The problem with cheap coffee? It’s either under or over-roasted to cover up imperfections caused by low-altitude growing and mass harvesting. When coffee is over-roasted, it tastes bitter and burnt, more like ash than the fruit it comes from. If coffee is under roasted, it tastes like rotten citrus.
THE FIX:
Buy better beans! It may seem expensive to buy premium coffee, but when you realize that it comes out to a measly $.30 a cup (compared to $2-3 at a cafe chain) and you actually taste the drastic difference, you’ll never want to go back to the world of bitter beans EVER AGAIN.
Sign yourself up for our coffee club and you’ll be able to try freshly roasted, specialty-grade coffee at home, on your schedule! We roast at high elevation, slowly, so your cup of coffee is silky, smooth perfection!
4. TOO MUCH COFFEE
THE PROBLEM:
Don’t get too carried away with the good stuff. Adding too much coffee relative to the amount of water you use is an easy way to make your coffee taste too strong and in many cases bitter.
THE FIX:
Stick to the script. For automatic drip machines, try 1 to 1.5 Tbsp of coffee grounds for every 6oz of water used. For other brew methods like french press or pour over, try 1.5 – 2 Tbsp.
5. THE GRIND
THE PROBLEM:
Sometimes when you grind your coffee too finely, you can over-extract and expose the coffee in the process. Much like over-cooking, this leads to a bitter brew.
THE FIX:
Make sure that you use the correct grind level for the brew method you plan on using!
6. CLEAN EQUIPMENT
THE PROBLEM:
The leftovers from your last few brews can add up fast, and the math isn’t always pretty. The old coffee residue often adds bitterness and makes your latest brew taste stale.
THE FIX:
Clean, clean, clean. Quick tip: it’s always easier to clean your gear right after you use it (and you’ll have some fresh liquid will-power in your system!).
