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

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

How to roast anaerobically fermented coffee

Among the many different kinds of experimental processing methods, anaerobic fermentation is perhaps the most popular and intriguing. Interest in this processing technique is only growing, with more and more anaerobic fermented coffee available in cafés and roasteries around the world. Moreover, of all the advanced processing methods, this particular technique has one of the […]


Playing Leaderboard, the Arcade-Inspired Coffee Game

We sat down to try the newest version of the game—a fun opportunity to learn more about coffee while vying for cool coffee prizes.  BY TANYA NANETTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Photos by Tanya Nanetti I’ve never been much into video games, except for the classic arcade games of my youth.   Growing up in the ‘80s meant […]


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 […]


Know Your Sweeteners: Agave: Part Two—Environmental Concerns

Agave has become an increasingly popular sweetener in the coffee industry. But is it as environmentally friendly as people claim it to be? BY EMILY JOY MENESESBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Featured photo sourced via Pixabay In recent years, you may have noticed an increase in demand for “alternative sweeteners” like agave. While today, the nectar serves […]

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

Toronto’s Pilot Coffee Roasters Acquiring Bridgehead Coffee for $3.6 Million

Toronto, Ontario-based specialty coffee roaster and retailer Pilot Coffee Roasters is acquiring Ottawa-based Bridgehead Coffee in a deal worth approximately US$3.6 million.  Bridgehead, which has 21 coffee shop locations throughout…


María Andrée Is Honing Olfactory Skills in Antigua 

A sensorial class in Guatemala at Artista de Café teaches how to use your nose for the ultimate coffee experience. BY JORDAN BUCHANANBARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE Photos courtesy of Arista de Café Walking into a specialty café in Guatemala, your nostrils are infused with aromas from the best coffees in the country. Your nose recollects the […]


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 […]


Ethos Agriculture’s Journey from Vision to Impact in Coffee Sustainability: Part Two

In the second half of this article, we discover how the Coffee Barometer attempts to bridge the gap between discourse and action, envisioning a sustainable future for the coffee sector. BY VASILEIA FANARIOTISENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT Featured photo courtesy of Rodrigo Flores via Unsplash As we embark on the second part of our conversation with Ethos […]

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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