I can’t make my coffee taste great no matter what I try

I can’t make my coffee taste great no matter what I try

Conflict in the Red Sea: Why coffee roasters need to prepare for shipping delays

Like many other industries, conditions in the coffee supply chain can change quickly, and in turn, have a huge impact on all actors and stakeholders. Price volatility is one of the more pertinent – which is influenced by many factors. These include fluctuations in supply and demand, extreme or unexpected weather events, global economic downturn, […]


Florencia y Fortunata: A Café Empowering Women in Peru

The Cusco café, founded by Carolina Peralta Minaya, sells coffee from women producers and features women demonstrating their skills behind the bar. BY JORDAN BUCHANANBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Photos courtesy of Carolina Peralta Minaya Traceability, sustainability, and conscientiousness are key values pervading the specialty-coffee trade. For many consumers and traders, these values inform their decision to […]


Brewing at Home and on the Road with Justin Pierce

In this series, we ask coffee professionals how they like to drink their coffee while at home and when traveling. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Feature photo courtesy of Justin Pierce Coffee professionals tend to spend most of their days brewing coffee. Baristas brew coffee behind the bar for their customers. Roasters brew it to […]


Study Shines New Light on the Complex Arabica Coffee Genome

Researchers in Italy say they’ve shed new light on arabica coffee’s large and complex genome, which may ultimately help breeders seeking desirable traits such as high quality and disease resistance….

I can’t make my coffee taste great no matter what I try

I can’t make my coffee taste great no matter what I try

Get Ready for The Barista League’s 2024 Season

The Barista League has announced 12 competitions across four continents. BY J. MARIE CARLANBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Photos courtesy of The Barista League When The Barista League announces new events, it’s worth paying attention! This year, the schedule will be organized by geographic location, bringing together coffee people in various communities. At The Barista League in […]


Out Now: The February + March 2023 Issue

The February + March 2023 issue of Barista Magazine features New Zealand coffee & chef champion Sam Low on the cover. Also inside: a special section on branding, understanding trademark law, an interview with Laura Sommers, field reports from Kansas City, Indonesia, and Hong Kong, and much more. BY KENNETH R. OLSONBARISTA MAGAZINE We’re excited […]


Serving Coffee in the Epicenter

The Turkish specialty-coffee community is coming together to support earthquake relief. BY MICHAEL BUTTERWORTHSPECIAL TO BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE When Niji Coffee went live on Instagram, it felt as though the entire Turkish specialty-coffee community was watching with bated breath. Niji Coffee made a name for itself in the Turkish specialty-coffee scene when, as a relatively […]


Exploring the Potential of Drones in Coffee Production 

New drone technology has the potential to revolutionize coffee farming from the air. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Cover photo by David Henrichs via Unsplash In an ever-evolving technological landscape, coffee producers have begun turning to drones in an attempt to increase efficiency and operations. These unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) offer a wide range of […]

I can’t make my coffee taste great no matter what I try

I can’t make my coffee taste great no matter what I try

minimum dose size?

I use the Hario switch to brew my coffee and am trying to reduce my caffeine consumption. Hence I would like to brew smaller cups of coffee. I am currently using 10g of coffee with 160g of water. (1:16 Ratio) I am wondering if there is a minimum amount of coffee...

I can’t make my coffee taste great no matter what I try

I've been making coffee for a while now. I buy a light roast from a local cafe, dial it in on my Baratza Encore which I clean monthly or whenever I try some new beans, use an electric kettle with temperature control (usually 200 F), brew in an Aeropress (13g grounds, 250g water, swirl 5-8 times, brew for 3 minutes, break crust, press), and let my coffee cool for a bit before drinking.

I've varied my brew time, grind size, water temperature, press speed, coffee ratios, used multiple filters, added ice to cool it down, and nothing I do makes my coffee taste really great. It's fine, honest. It's not excessively bitter or sour, not overly astringent, nothing obviously wrong with it. It's just not particularly amazing. I thought maybe it was the coffee, so I tried a washed, single-origin Ethiopian bean and I got similar results. Recently I went to the bay area and picked up a bag of Solano Roast from Souvenir Coffee Company (they make really good coffee for anybody near Berkeley or Albany and staff some really knowledgeable people). When I had it in the shop, it was a wonderful combination of floral and fruity notes with a nutty undertone. I often perceive flavors as colors, and it came out as splashes of lavender and pink over a substrate of a gentle transparent brown. To this day, it is the best coffee I have ever had. I took a bag home, and none of that was there no matter what I tried. In fact, every coffee I try at home tastes kind of the same: some fruity or acidic notes with this sort of generic chocolaty taste. It's just kind of whatever. Not great. Not terrible. Just kind of… okay I guess.

I know the Encore isn't the best, but surely it can at least make a good cup of Aeropress coffee? I've got clean filtered water that I get out of an under-sink filtration system, weigh out all my ingredients to within a few percentage points of my target, and always keep time. What am I doing wrong?

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