It seems a punishment when you take the first few sips of your coffee and find it too bitter? For most people, bitterness is a natural essence of coffee, so there is always a need to reach for sugars or other additives.
All black coffee is bitter, but brewing coffee for too long will result in even more bitterness. Bitter coffee can be avoided by removing stale beans, decreasing brew temperature, or make a coarser grind of coffee.
There are some simple ways to make any coffee less bitter, which you can read about here.
Why is my coffee bitter?
The overwhelmingly bitter taste of coffee results from brewing your coffee for too long. Choosing the wrong grind size, improper brewing methods, using stale coffee beans, imbalanced water temperature, and dirty equipment can add to the bitter taste of your brew.
Coffee gives you a boost start with its burst of good flavors and caffeine, but when it is too bitter, you don’t enjoy that nice steamy cup of joe. Why is that so?
A scientific explanation says that coffee is bitter due to caffeine content, which only accounts for about 10-15%.
What causes the bitterness?
Here are 5 reasons that your coffee if bitter:
1. You are brewing your coffee for too long
This is the most common reason for your coffee becoming bitter. The coffee flavors hinge when its solid content is steep in hot water. When you brew the beans for too long, the burnt flavors start seeping through it, resulting in a bitter taste.
Get an insight on the proper brewing time and method to enjoy a delicious cup every time. Make sure to use the right coffee to water ratio for your specific coffee maker.
2. You are using the wrong grind size.
Grinding your coffee beans can indeed help extract the maximum amount of flavor, but getting it too fine or too coarse can also result in bitterness.
Here is a chart of the brewing technique and sizes of each grind from the beans:
| Brewing technique | Grind size |
| Espresso | Fine like salt |
| Turkish | Extra fine |
| French press | Coarse like sea salt |
| Cold brew | Extra coarse |
| Moka pot | Medium-fine |
| Pour-over | Medium like sand |
3. You are choosing the wrong type of beans
Fresh beans deliver a quality drink than beans roasted for many weeks.
Always roast the number of beans you’re going to consume in a short period. Beans lying around for a more extended period increases the chances of getting stale, resulting in a bitter taste.
4. You aren’t keeping your equipment clean
Dirty equipment is another reason for your coffee getting bitter. If any coffee residue is left from the last time you brewed, it can affect the taste quality.
Get your brewing maker thoroughly clean every time to enjoy your clean coffee.
5. You are using a darker roast
Do not roast your coffee too much if you like bitter coffee. A light roast can give you the sweetest taste possible. The darker the roast, the chances are your coffee will be extremely bitter.
