Stovetop espresso -- all of sudden the coffee is too weak?

[LauraF]

I recently bought a two-cup and a one cup stovetop espresso maker. For the last month I've been making absolutely delicious cappuccinos; rich, strong, deep coffee with no bitterness.

Yesterday the coffee I made was weak and sour. This morning I've had a repeat of the same, in both the one-cup and the two-cup device. Weak coffee. Undrinkable. No richness. Just thin watery coffee.

I used the same coffee beans from the same bag, the same grind, the same amount of water. I use a gram scale to weight my coffee beans before I grind them. I used the same heat setting. The coffee is coming up after the same amount of time, so nothing new there. I've used the same milk in my frother.

Is is it remotely possible that a drastic change in the weather could account for this? I 've just chucked my fourth cup of expensive beans down the sink and can't for the life of me figure out what's going on.

 

[shadow745]

A few things to mention... do you clean the parts thoroughly as it doesn't take long for coffee oils to buildup and clog the basket/filter, etc.? Also, is there any possibility your water supply might have changed that quickly as water is an important part of the equation?

Not really sure about weather affecting moka pot devices, but it can wreak havoc for espresso-specific grinding, especially fluctuations in humidity more than any other factor based on what I've experienced over the years.

 

[LauraF]

I've started using a slightly finer grind and stuffing the basket a bit fuller, weight-wise, and that seems to have helped. I've noticed that even controlling as many variables as I can, the coffee seems to have a mind of its own, since sometimes it comes up all at once and sometimes it burbles for ages, even with the same burner setting. It's a gas stove -- there could even be fluctuations in the heat, I guess.