What makes espresso taste burnt

Have a sniff and a sip of both cups. I promise the first cup will be lovely and the second cup will be full of bitter, sour, and burnt flavours. While we know what compound is causing the nasty taste, there are lots of ways to end up with it in the cup. So your espresso crema looks very light. There are big patches of white and yellow on top. The puck in the espresso machine is saturated and sludgy.

Most of all; it tastes particularly sour. You have probably extracted your espresso for too long. The lighter colors really come out toward the end of the brew along with that nasty bitter taste. You need a larger portafilter basket, not a longer brew time. Either that or run a second espresso brew into your cup. Did your espresso pour out really fast? Is the crema looking thin, bubbly, pale, and yellow? This sounds like a case of under extraction.

It can be caused by different things or a combination:. Any one of these aspects could cause this problem. As discussed above the type of grind that you are using could be what is causing it to taste burnt.

If the grind is too fine then it will mean that it will be more difficult for the water to pass through it which will result in the coffee burning and dissolving into the water more than would be ideal. The taste of the coffee beans will vary greatly depending on the location that they were sourced from. If you used different coffee beans to what you normally would use when it tasted burnt then it would be likely to have been due to the beans that you were using.

Beans that have been sourced from a single origin will normally have a much more distinct taste. Whereas, if you use a blend of coffee beans that have been sourced from multiple origins then it would be more likely to give a more balanced taste. If you are unsure of what type of coffee to use then I would recommend using a coffee blend that has a medium roast. The reason that your espresso tasted burnt could be that the beans had been roasted for too long.

This would be more likely if you used a dark roast to make the espresso. Even though dark roasted beans are not meant to taste burnt, sometimes they will have been roasted more than they should have been and that could cause them to lose their flavor and to taste more burnt. If you have been using a dark roast then consider using a different brand or switching to a lighter type of roast.

If you tamp too hard then it will mean that it will be more difficult for the water to pass through the grind. This will cause the hot water to pick up more of the oils from the coffee as it passes through it and it will result in a more bitter and burnt taste. Let me know if there is any other information I can provide. I'm not familiar with the size of the 1 shot basket for a Breville, but if it's like every other 1-shot basket I've seen, then you should move to a 2-shot basket.

If the 1-shot basket holds 7 gram or so, then don't use it - use your 14g basket instead. Lastly, so much of bringing the best shot possible out of a coffee is about the grinder, grinder, grinder. Your money will be well spent on a capable grinder - either electric or hand-cranked.

As for a 7g basket - I've never been able to pull a decent shot out of such a small size - and I haven't heard of many who have successfully done so. But, like so many other things, YMMV. Oh, and how fresh are your beans? Sponsored by Versalab. I have not yet purchased a grinder. My espresso shot is sour. I think, I already wasted a lot of beans. Well, what you have there is an espresso that is brewed too […]. I have literally tried the whole lot to resolve this inclusive of: adjusting the grind coarser within the PM , much less tamping strain, force-cooling the system the use of ice and replacing all the water inside the reservoir….

Best Electric Smoker. Why does my coffee taste bitter? Aiz Sep 21, Why Does Espresso Taste Sour? Wow this is really too good about the coffee bitter sour burnt thanks sharing this article. John Sep 08,