Espresso tasting bitter

[skywalkrncsu]

I have a Breville, "The Barista Express" which I absolutely love. My wife surprised me with some really nice espresso beans the other day and I couldn't wait to try them out. I typically drink an americano (strong one) and while using the same grind settings and whatnot with other, cheaper beans worked great, these beans seem to make for a bitter espresso shot. I have tried going for a more coarse grind, finner grind, adjusting how much pressure I put on the tamp, and I still have a bitter, sour tasting espresso.

The puck is bone dry when I take it off, usually moreso than usual in that it is hard to get the puck out.

Any ideas?

 

[shadow745]

Any bean origin/roast level can be used for any method of coffee preparation, but some are definitely better suited for espresso. Lately alot of roasters are focusing on bright notes in single origins and blends leading to notes of citrus, berry, etc. These notes can across to some as sour or bitter, when in fact it's intentional.


How fresh is the coffee in question? I won't buy coffee that doesn't have an actual roast date as fresh matters, plain and simple.


If the puck is that dry either the coffee is just too stale or you're overdosing.

 

[skywalkrncsu]

The coffee is definitely fresh. It is arguably the highest quality coffee I have ever bought which is what is making me scratch my head at its bitterness. I tried some this morning with less grinds and the puck was less try but the espresso was still bitter. This is the description of the beans from the website:

"Wonderfully balanced and layered with complexity that unfolds with every sip.Stonefruit gives to a Caramel Pecan that lingers nicely on the pallet.
Espresso Cultivar is 60% Guatemalan 40% Costa Rican."

Any ideas?

 

[tazzadiluna]

Maybe you are over-extracting? I am assuming you have Espresso Cultivar? If so, here is their suggested shot parameters:

Suggested Shot Parameters:
Water Temp: 200 degrees
Dose: 18 – 18.5 grams
Shot Volume: 1.5 oz
Shot Time: 21-23 seconds

Or maybe it's supposed to taste "bitter" and could use a tiny pinch of salt like someone was discussing in another topic, to "correct" the bitterness.

 

[shadow745]

Salt to correct bitterness? Why not a sip of lemon juice while we're at it, lmao?!?

 

[tazzadiluna]

Hehe. Sorry, I've never tried that myself, but I mean, if he's doing everything right and it still tastes bad then it must be crappy coffee, right? I looked it up, crappy coffee gets salt.

 

[shadow745]

Maybe it's just not a great coffee for his taste, equipment, etc. Of all the coffees I've tinkered with for espresso at least 90% don't work well for me.

If I pulled what I'd consider a crappy shot I'd add a bit of sugar or honey... worst case would be dumping it out. No salt or lemon for me.

 

[tazzadiluna]

I was just joking on my last post about it being crappy coffee. He needs to try the parameters they suggested and start from there.

 

[shadow745]

I was just joking on my last post about it being crappy coffee. He needs to try the parameters they suggested and start from there.

That is more difficult than some might imagine because of the machine in question. Breville machines are OK, but have some limitations. Among those would be the thermoblock heating system (which AFAIK is used in all Brevilles except the dual boiler) and this usually leads to inconsistent and lower than desired brewing temperature. There is a way to work around this to a degree. Another issue would be the double basket not allowing a large dose, such as 18-18.5 grams.

 

[skywalkrncsu]

Thanks for the responses, I am just going to have to say either I got a bad batch or my machine does not work well for this bean. Instead of drinking bitter americanos I just threw it in my drip machine and it is pretty good.

 

[PinkRose]

It's great that you have an alternative method for making coffee, and it's even better that it ended up tasting okay.


Rose

 

[shadow745]

Not to beat a dead horse, but do you know how old it was when you received it? Coffee needs to age a bit to mellow out after roasting. For espresso some coffees can take 5+ days to smooth out just to be drinkable. This depends on bean origin, roast level, etc. Coffee that is TOO fresh can be quite harsh and is almost as bad as it being too stale, for espresso anyway.

What do you normally buy for espresso use?

 

[skywalkrncsu]

Normally I buy some espresso version from whole foods or a similar store. Not necessarily the store brand, usually whatever is on sale that week when I need coffee. Have had some great experiences and some not so great ones.

 

[John P]

Great espresso is not very forgiving. Grinder, machine, and barista technique all have to work in unison.

 

[tazzadiluna]

Hi, I asked the roasters for you. I figured it wouldn't hurt to find out what they recommend, sounds like they've used your particular machine before and here is what they said: (Of course, you'll need to take into consideration what Shadow and John said, too.)

Cultivar Coffee & Tea Co. wrote: "The shot needs to pull between 20 to 30 seconds. On that machine, if I remember correctly, we had to set the grind to the finest setting possible and were able to get around a 22 seconds extraction on it. The beans need to be no older than 14 days off roast as well. if they are old it will be very difficult to control what they do in the machine."