Question about a really bad brew day I had last Tuesday

Last Tuesday was just one of those days where everything went wrong with my morning coffee. I was trying out a new bag of beans from a local roaster in Austin, a light roast they said had notes of peach and honey. I ground them fresh with my hand grinder, but I think I went too fine. The pour over took forever to drip, like over 5 minutes, and the result was this bitter, sour mess that made me wince. I tried to fix it by adding a splash of milk, but it was too far gone. The whole thing put me in a grumpy mood before I even left the house. Has anyone else had a batch of beans that just refused to brew right no matter what you did?

3 comments

3 Comments

cameron53811d ago

Remember my friend's coffee that tasted like burnt grass?

lindas3011d ago

Honestly, what was your water temp for that pour over?

loganthompson1d ago

That "burnt grass" taste is a classic sign of over-extraction. I was just reading about how water that's too hot can pull out all the bitter, woody compounds from the grounds. For a light roast, you might need it near boiling, but for a darker roast, using water around 195 to 205 degrees can make a huge difference. It keeps it from getting those harsh, burnt notes.