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

Understanding the Process: Anaerobic Processing

We continue our series on fermentation with a look at the anaerobic process, which has quickly become a favorite in cafés worldwide. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Bram de Hoog for Ally Coffee A simple cup of well-brewed coffee can have endless variations of flavors and aromas. These are closely linked 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….


Know Your Sweeteners: Agave: Part One — Indigenous Use

Known today primarily as a sweetener, agave can be traced back thousands of years. BY EMILY JOY MENESESBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Featured photo by Bruno Cervera via Unsplash Recently, we launched our brand new article series “Know Your Sweeteners,” where we’re discussing a variety of sweeteners and syrups, and analyzing the unique characteristics of each one. […]


Brewing at Home and On the Road with Darrin Daniel

We check in with the Cup of Excellence executive director to learn his current coffee-brewing habits. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Featured photo by Emre…

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

PRF El Salvador announces speakers and panellists

Following a call for applications in October 2022, Producer & Roaster Forum (PRF) has announced its first speakers and panellists for PRF El Salvador. The two-day forum will be held on 16 and 17 March 2023 at the Salamanca Exhibition Centre in San Salvador. The event is set to return to El Salvador after it […]


4 Cool Cafés to Try Out in Bologna

Bologna, the Italian city home to the world’s oldest university, is traditionally famous for its food and drink—and it has some stellar specialty cafés. BY TANYA NANETTI SENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Featured photo by Annie Spratt via Unsplash Bologna is home to the oldest university in the world and is the unofficial “capital“ of the porticos […]


Out Now: The February + March 2024 Issue of Barista Magazine!

In our new issue we feature Lisa Lawson from Glasgow, Scotland, take a look at the newest grinders, explore spring drink inspiration, see how more women are getting involved in coffee tech, and much more! BY SARAH ALLENBARISTA MAGAZINE We’re stoked to announce the release of the February + March 2024 issue of Barista Magazine, […]


Ukraine’s Soloway Coffee Opens First US Shop in Chicago

A specialty coffee roasting company based in western Ukraine called Soloway Coffee (Instagram link) this week opened its first location in the United States. Beans roasted in Ternopil, Ukraine, using…

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

Lvl Up Coffee Hits High Scores In Normal, Illinois

Specialty coffee in the central Illinois town of Normal has reached a new stage of quality with the opening of Lvl Up Coffee Bar. Brought to life by coffee roaster…


An In-Depth Look at Gruppo Cimbali’s Coffee Technician Wheel

The Coffee Technician Wheel is a new tool that helps technicians understand the complexity of coffee extraction. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Edgardo Ferrero and Espresso Academy Coffee technicians are responsible for a complex set of tasks related to the production and extraction of coffee. They manage customer requests and need to […]


Brewing at Home and on the Road with Wilford Lamastus Jr.

We talk to the multi-time Panama Brewers Cup champion about his brewing preferences. BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos courtesy of Wilford Lamastus Coffee professionals tend to spend most of their days brewing coffee. It can be an espresso shot pulled for a customer or a cupping to check out a new roaster to choose […]


Three Questions with Gabriela Parfait of The Good Sourcing

After eight years working for the French green coffee importing company Belco, Gabriela Parfait has launched a coffee-focused company called The Good Sourcing.  The new venture is intentionally small, although…

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?

Jan 31, 2024 |

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.

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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.

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

Perfect Little Beans

Chinmey Hill Coffee uses specialty-grade beans with zero primary defects (such as black beans or sour beans) and less than five secondary defects (such as broken beans). This is important because primary defects will greatly affect the taste of the coffee. Having zero defects allows the coffee to be the most optimal flavor.

Window for Optimal Flavor

Chimney Hill Coffee ships our coffee the same day it was roasted, so you will receive it before it enters the window of optimal flavor.  This means you’ll never miss the opportunity to enjoy the coffee’s peak flavor.

Coffee Ratings

Coffee undergoes many scoring processes by professionals who achieved their Q Grader certification. Coffee is first graded when it’s green. If there are defects the coffee is determined to be “not-specialty grade”. For those coffees that pass green grading, they are sample roasted and cupped. (Cupping is the official term for critically tasting and scoring coffees. The official cupping form is standard worldwide, and where the 100-point scoring system comes from.) A coffee’s dry fragrance, wet aroma, flavor, aftertaste, body, acidity, balance, and overall impression are taken into consideration while uniformity issues and defects, will lower the overall score.

Specialty Coffee

Specialty coffee, coined by Erna Knutsen in 1974, refers to a coffee that receives a quality grading score of 80 percent or higher. While “premium” or “gourmet” seem like they’re synonymous with “specialty,” they simply are marketing terms with no defined standards. Specialty coffees are grown in specific and ideal micro-climates, and have distinctive and unique flavor profiles, with little to no defects.

Third-Wave Coffee

We’re currently in the third wave of coffee. The first wave of American coffee put pre-ground, vacuum-sealed cans in kitchens across America. The second wave started with the late ‘60s introduction of Peet’s coffee (by Alfred Peet) through the proliferation of Starbucks. The third wave of coffee focuses on origin transparency, nuanced flavors, and artisan roasting. The term “third wave” is synonymous with specialty coffee.

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

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