HELP! coffee tastes burnt out of Bunn maker

[LDCoffee]

Our last few farmer's markets have been wonderful and our coffee has been very well received by the community, but our coffee maker had trouble keeping up. I just bought a Bunn VPR to meet demand and now the coffee is either too weak or tastes burnt. I've tried turning the thermostat down just a hair and blocking holes in the spray head. The best result I've had so far is 10 scoops of coffee, thermostat on full, and only using 3 of the 6 holes in the spray head. The body is there but it still has a toasted/bitter tint to it that wasn't there before. Does anyone have any experience tweaking a Bunn brewer to really make good coffee? Our next market is Thursday. I'd rather use the Bunn for the capacity but I may have to go back to our old maker to keep the quality.

 

[CCafe]

Take the lid off the VPR. Stick a digital temperature probe down the fill pan hole. The Bunn thermostat is supposed to shut off at 200 - 203F. However sometimes they do stupid things overheat your water. If your water is pushing say 205 to 212 then you need to call Bunn and get that replaced. The spray head dictates waterflow rate. Most of Bunn's smaller brewers use a 6-078 spray head. 6 holes and the diameter of the holes are .078. Plugging holes on your sprayhead will have a negative effect as this will cause the grounds to not be saturated properly, ie you'll have dry grounds in your basket.

I'm assuming you are using the same water in your other brewer that you are using in the VPR? Also are you drinking the coffee right away on the VPR or do you let it sit a bit before it gets used? The last question is how fast to you brew batches on the VPR? If you brew a batch right after doing a batch your tank water is only going to be around 150 to 170F.

 

[LDCoffee]

I check the temp, right in the 200-203° range, and ran a few cycles of water through it with just a splash of vinegar (tip from reading other comments). Then I unplugged the spray head (using all 6 holes now) and put in two fewer scoops at a slightly coarser grind. The burn taste is gone but so is most of the flavor in general. Though I wouldn't call it "light" as it felt like I should have been drinking a good cup of coffee--minus the flavor and/or acidity--making progress. :coffee1:

 

[Mikecolin]

If you put coffee earlier and hot it too much, its taste will burnt. try to put coffee after when hot water and milk will be mixed.

 

[LDCoffee]

Problem solved! I didn't factor in the crema from roasting only a few days before brewing. I have to add water a little bit at a time to let the crema rest between pours--about 1/4 of a pitcher at a time. Now the coffee tastes great and I don't have an issue with overflowing.