Espresso Bitter or Sour: These Are The Reasons

Espresso bitter or sour: these are the reasons

A good espresso never tastes sour or bitter. If you did everything right when brewing the espresso, you now need to start troubleshooting. But don’t worry, you can often bring about big changes in the taste of the espresso with simple means:

• Temperature: If the espresso has been brewed too hot, it will quickly taste bitter. If the brewing temperature was too low, it tastes quite sour.
• Degree of grinding: Even if a fine degree of grinding initially sounds like a lot of aromas, many bitter substances are also released in the process. If the coffee beans are ground coarser, the espresso will not taste as bitter. But don’t overdo it: If the grinding degree is set too coarse, the espresso will quickly become sour.
• Processing time: The water should flow through the pressed powder for about 30 seconds – then all the important aromas for a delicious espresso are in the cup. You can set this on the grinding level. If he runs through too quickly, he is often angry.
• Brewing pressure: You can set the pressure yourself on portafilter machines. Excessive pressure can cause the espresso to taste bitter.
• PH value of the water: If your tap water is particularly soft, the espresso may taste more acidic than necessary. Water filters can help.
• Coffee roast or ground coffee: Of course, a coffee roast that is too light can also make espresso taste sour.
• But too high a dose of ground coffee can also result in a particularly bitter espresso. However, these two factors are not usually responsible for bitter or sour coffee and are only listed here for the sake of completeness.