Sometimes, when you make your coffee you may find that it doesn’t taste right. Maybe it’s not really bad, but there’s just something about the taste that isn’t meeting your expectations. There are a lot of different ways that the taste of coffee may not taste right to you, but more often than not there are two alternatives of what this wrong flavour might be – it’s likely to be either a bitter or sour taste. These are the two opposing ends of the spectrum you can expect when something has gone wrong with your brew. Luckily this is not an incurable conundrum. If something feels off, there’s usually a reason for it, and once you uncover what’s going on, it becomes a whole lot easier to turn things around.
How to Tell If Your Coffee Is Bitter or Sour
First, you have to decipher which taste you are experiencing. A sour tasting coffee can often also be weak, overly acidic, or maybe a little bit sharp. On the other hand, bitterness may taste more like it’s burnt, overly bitter, or just way darker than it ought to be. Sometimes, these flavours will be fairly subtle, so gauging one way or the other can be a little harder than it sounds. But, trust your gut – you are likely better at gauging what’s going wrong than you’d think.
Grind Size Matters More Than You Think
One really important thing to think about is whether you have the right grind size for your brewing method. If you aren’t sure which grind size is right for your method of choice, you can check out our previous post which is a good starting point to figuring that out! Using a grind that is too fine or too coarse is a sure fire way to change the flavour of your cup. If you’re finding that your coffee tastes weak or sour, then it's possible that you are using a grind that is too coarse, and are thus underextracting your coffee. On the other hand if you are finding your coffee is too bitter, it’s possible that the grind size you are using is too fine and you are overextracting. If you are using a ground coffee meant for espresso in a french press, for example, then your coffee will likely taste quite bitter. The difference in grind sizes isn’t astronomical, but can still make a big difference. If you aren’t sure what grind is best for your brew, one of our baristas can guide you in store with expert advice so you can dial in the perfect grind for whatever brewing method you're working with.
Too Strong or Too Weak? Check Your Water-to-Coffee Ratio
Another thing that can impact the taste of your coffee is the ratio of water to grounds. For example, if you are using a traditional drip coffee machine, and you use the good-old one scoop of coffee to one cup of water, then too much coffee and too little water will make your coffee much more bitter in flavour. But, if you have too much water and too little coffee, it may start to taste too sour or just have an overall weakness of flavour. Depending on how you make your coffee, the ratio may not be so straight forward. It doesn’t need to be an exact science just to get a good cup of coffee in the morning – so if something doesn’t taste right, play around with it and see what works for you. If your ratio is off, it can amplify bitterness or sourness – but it often works in combination with grind size and brew time.
Are You Drinking the Right Roast for You?
Another possibility in the realm of bitter to sour tasting coffee, is just not buying the right beans to your preferences. If you find that you don’t like the coffee you are drinking, and feel like it is too bitter, it may just be too dark for your taste buds. Maybe try a medium or light roast. To some people, acidity or brightness is a flavour profile they like, and to others, it comes across as tasting too sour. That is to say that if you just aren’t liking how your coffee tastes, on either end of the spectrum, maybe that’s a good time to branch out and try something new!
The Cheat Sheet
Basically, the cheat sheet to understanding bitter vs sour coffee comes down to a couple things. If your coffee tastes sour, try grinding finer, use hotter water, brew longer, or just use slightly more coffee in your ratio next time. On the other hand, if it’s tasting bitter, grind coarser, use slightly cooler water, brew for a shorter period of time, or use slightly less coffee.
Final Thoughts: Make It Yours
All in all, there are a few different reasons coffee can taste too bitter or too sour. The best place to start is simply figuring out which direction it’s leaning, then adjusting from there. At the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference – so the best approach is to experiment a little and stick with whatever gives you your perfect cup.
