Sometimes in the morning it’s hard enough to find your wallet, keys and phone, let alone try to troubleshoot a coffee that just tastes off. We’ve all experienced a brew tasting bitter, sour or burnt, but it doesn’t have to ruin your day. These problems can often be fixed with a quick adjustment and re-brew, provided that the problem is not the coffee beans themselves.
Espresso coffee tastes best when made with medium-roast beans. Beans that are too fresh can taste sour, as they haven’t had time to degas. From about a week after roasting your coffee will have settled in and will be beautiful for espresso based coffees.
Assuming you have great quality coffee beans and they aren’t too fresh, this guide will help you solve some issues with the coffee extraction.
Words to understand
Extraction = This refers to the pour of the coffee from your espresso machine. It’s extracting the coffee oils from the beans.
Blonding = When the coffee pour is a pale yellow colour
Basket = The basket holds the coffee grinds which the water flows through
Crema = The light brown oils that sit atop the coffee shot.
Puck = The coffee grinds that remain in your basket after you have run a shot. The make a shape like a hockey puck when you empty the basket out.
Why does my coffee taste bitter?
What to look for: Your puck will be super soggy and sloppy. A thin white/pale yellow watery pour and spirals at the end. Big patches of white on your crema.
Diagnosis: When your espresso comes out tasting bitter, it usually means that the extraction or pour time is too long. Commonly, you’ll see a pale yellow/white stream of coffee that wobbles and spirals towards the end of the shot.
Remedy: Adjust your brew time. A good pour will be somewhere between 25 – 35 secs. Keep watch on the shot as it comes through and as soon as you see the coffee coming out in a light “blonde” colour, stop the shot immediately. This is almost pure caffeine and caffeine tastes very bitter so you want to avoid this and stop the shot as soon as you see it start blonding. Most people make the mistake of trying to extract too much coffee out of a single coffee dose. If you want a strong coffee, get a bigger basket (22g – 28g) and keep the shot time within the ideal range. Don’t worry, you’ll still get your caffeine fix, it just won’t be as bitter.
Why does my coffee taste sour?
What to look for: The coffee GUSHES out under 15 seconds and is wide, pale yellow and bubbly. Your puck will be really dry and powdery.
Diagnosis: A sour espresso shot is one that is under-extracted; meaning the water has run through the coffee too quickly and hasn’t extracted the delicious tasting oils. You are either not putting enough coffee in your basket or you are tamping too lightly and your coffee is too coarse. If your shot pours in under 15 seconds, you are getting under-extracted coffee. The coffee will appear blonde and pale and bubbly. The coffee crema will also dissipate rapidly and the taste will appear thin and sour.
Remedy: To fix a sour espresso shot, adjust your grind to be finer. This will mean that when you tamp the grinds you’ll create more resistance for the water to pass through allowing it to pick up more oils along the way.
Why does my coffee taste burnt?
What to look for: Slow dripping for almost the entirety of the shot. Dark/black pours. You only get a small volume of coffee liquid even after a 45 second extraction. Your puck will look soggy and sloppy again.
Diagnosis: Burnt tasting espresso has been over extracted, meaning the hot water is flowing through the grinds too slowly creating harsh and burnt tasting espresso. You coffee grind is too fine or you are over filling the basket and tamping the coffee too much.
Remedy: To remedy a burnt tasting espresso shot, adjust your grinder to a slightly coarser grind. This will help the water to seep through the grind more evenly without too much resistance, and it won’t overcook the coffee.
If you try out any of these fixes and they don’t work, leave us a reply and we’ll try and give you specific and detailed help! No one has time for dodgy tasting coffee.
Want to learn more?
Check out our ULTIMATE Home Barista Course!
With this course, you are guaranteed to improve your home barista skills, becoming an expert in coffee theory and practice, and leaving you with the confidence to take on the coffee industry.
What you’ll receive
- A six-lesson series of in-depth information
- Video tutorials
- Cheats sheets and small quizzes to help with retention
- On-going Support
- Access to an exclusive Facebook group
- Priority discounts and bonuses as we release more and more special materials
Find out more info here!
109 comments
Hey Pedro!
Yeh, it seems strange that the grinder was working well before and isn’t now but I think you should first try some different coffee. Being 1-2 months old it’s definitely losing its oils and this will cause the shot to come through more quickly. If the coffee hasn’t been stored correctly (airtight and in a dark cool cupboard – not a fridge!) it will deteriorate even more quickly.
Things to check, have you been adjusting the time the grinder goes for when you make it finer. The finer you grind the slower it will grind so to get the right amount you’ll need to grind for longer.
I think because you can get a decent shot with the double-wall basket (which is meant for preground coffee) this indicates that the coffee is losing all its oils. So grab some week old roast and see if that makes a difference.
I highly doubt the grinder has worn out in one year unless you are grinding light roasted beans through it all the time.
Let me know how you go.
Ryd
Hi Ryadan
With the finest grade of grinding (grade 1) the water is flushing through way too fast (around 10 to 13 sec in a double shot) and I can’t go smaller than 1. Previously I used grade 4 to 8 on the grinder with the same coffee grains and worked perfectly. Yes, I know how to tamper, yes, I pressed it well, and yes, the basket was full.
The machine is pretty new (less than a year old) so, I don’t think the burrs of the grinder are worn out
The coffee is a bit older (1-2 months) could it be that ? .
Thanks
Hi Ryadan
Question: With the finest grade of grinding (grade 1) the water is flushing through way too fast (around 10 to 13 sec in a double shot) and I can’t go smaller than 1.
Previously I used grade 4 to 8 on the grinder with the same coffee grains and worked perfectly.
Yes, the coffee is a bit older (1-2 months) but it is still weird that grade 1 is not enough. isn’t it?
The only way that I can achieve the 20-25 sec. is by using the single-shot double wall basket
Yes, I know how to tamper, yes, I pressed it well, and yes, the basket was full.
The machine is pretty new (less than a year old) and has the grinder incorporated
So, could it be the burrs of the grinder are worn out or should I try with a different (new) coffee?
Thanks
Hi WIll!
I’m sorry to hear you’ve been struggling to get a good shot out your machine. You certainly shouldn’t be having to compete with a pod machine!
Ok so lets break things down systematically:
Your machine is only 3 months old so unless it’s a lemon we can assume it’s working as it’s supposed to.
The coffee you are buying could be the issue. Make sure you buy Medium roasted high-quality beans. I’m not sure where you live but if it’s Australia, you can buy great coffee from most local roasters. If you’re elsewhere you’ll have to do your research on the coffee but if it’s cheap it usually isn’t great quality. I’d look for a place that does specialty coffee with medium roast profiles.
Check the roast date on the coffee as you want it to be about 7 days old before you start using it. This means the coffee has properly degassed and doesn’t contain a whole lot of carbon dioxide.
The preinfusion needs to go. You should be able to override it by holding the manual button down. so use that method to get rid of it. Shot should start coming through at around the 6-7 second mark.
Now, you haven’t talked about what grinder you have, which basket you are using, the single or the double (hopefully you aren’t using the double-wall baskets as they are for pre-ground coffee.) what dosage you are using and how long is the coffee extracting for?
If you can answer these, we can get closer to the issue.
But you definitely should be able to get a better result from the BES870 than a pod machine!
Ryd,
Now that’s what I call a thorough article on bitter coffee, especially when using an espresso machine. I personally prefer coffee made via steeping methods, like cold brew, AeroPress, and French Press. Even so, you’re advice largely still holds true for these methods as well.
On thing I might add; if you steep your grounds too long it will produce a bitter cup of coffee. If you want smooth coffee, a medium grind works well. Additionally, if smooth is your preference, then start with a smooth bean. I’d suggest searching the internet for “Smoothest Coffee”. There are several good choices there.
Again, thanks for the good article. Not being an espresso guy, I learned a few new things. Thanks.
Omg i hope you can help me!
I got a Breville BES870 2 or 3 montgs ago. I have watched and read literally 100s of how to videos inc many Bes870 specific ones.
I have made over 100 shots easily and not one has been decent.
Let me be clear. Im not a coffee snob – 95% of the time i order an espresso from a cafe im happy.
So to my problem.
I cant seem to differentiate between sour or bitter, so ive been up and down the grind setting knob. The big problem is 2 fold.
1) coffee pours out during pre infusion ALWAYS. No matter how fine i frind or how hard i tamp. In the end i get to the point ive tamped too hard and or gone too fine because the coffee is truly disgusting, so i start working my way back – but the pre infusion leak never changes.
The closest ive gotten to passable tasting coffee is when it clearly brews too quick so it has minimal crema.
Ive tried all sorts of different beans literally spending close to $200 so far. I told my wife her Nespresso was too expensive but right now im a moron because $800 for machine means ive spent $1000 for not one good coffee. Shes spent $300 and had 100s!!
What am i missing???
[…] The coffee industry is no stranger to sudden trends and patterns. In the 1980s latte art was invented out of a trendy craze in the US. Today, 40 years on, having a latte at a cafe without a beautiful rosetta or heart design just seems odd. However, some trends aren’t as long-lasting as latte art. For example: Recently, the global coffee giant, Starbucks, introduced the ‘blonde espresso‘ (an espresso coffee made with lightly roasted beans) which is merely yuck. […]
[…] Sour coffee is caused by an excess amount of carbon dioxide in your beans. Good news though – it’s relatively easy to combat. […]
hey,that is good but along with good taste coffee should be healthy right ?
Great info
Thanks