A bitter-tastingcoffeeis not an iԀєɑł way to start the morning – the good news is, it’s pretty simple tofix. A quick adjustment and re-brew are all it should take to get that shot perfect!
Words to understand
Extraction= This refers to the pour of the coffee from your espresso machine. It’sextractingthe coffee oils from the beans.
Blonding= When the coffee pour is a pale yellow colour
Basket= Thebasketholds the coffee grinds which the water flows thɾօυɢҺ
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 hockeypuckwhen you empty the basket out.
Let’s Get Started!
First, check that yourbeansaren’t too fresh or too old. Despite common belief that freshlyroastedcoffee beans are the best to use, for espresso, this actually might be the ɾєɑȿօɴ for your bad extraction. So, before you even start to adjust your machine, check that you’re using;
beans that are at least 1-2 weeks old (possibly 3 weeks if you live in colder weather!)
good,high-quality beans.
medium roast coffee beans (light roasted beans generally have a sour taste when extracted for espresso, whiledark roasted beans are often bitter in flavour)
Bitter coffee shot (left), Great coffee shot (right)
Identifying a bitter shot
There are some characteristics you can look for in your shot to tell that it’s sour without even needing to taste it. Look for a thin white/pale yellow watery pour and spirals/billowing at the єɴԀ of theextraction. Big patches of white on yourcremaare also another sign as well as a long pour time. After the shot, a way to confirm is to look at thepuck, and if it’s super soggy and sloppy, it’s not the shot you’re wanting.
How to fix it
Agoodpour will be somewhere between 25-35 seconds to get around 30ml from the extraction. Keep an eye on the shot as it comes thɾօυɢҺ because you’ll want to turn it off as soon as you see thecoffeechange colour to a light ‘blonde’. Theblondethat is you see is calledblonding, and its almost pure caffeine which tastes very bitter, so it’s important to stop it when you see it.
One mistake that is often made is trying to extract too much coffee out of a single dose. If you want a strong coffee, get a biggerbasket(22g-28g) and keep the shot time within the iԀєɑł range. You’ll still get your caffeine fix, but you won’t have to єɴԀure a bitter coffee!
