Grinding beans finer actually made my morning brew taste worse somehow

I dialed down my burr grinder from a 14 to a 10 setting on my $80 machine last week because I wanted more flavor. Got this super bitter cup that was almost undrinkable, totally overpowered the light roast I usually enjoy. Anyone else find there's a sweet spot where fine grinding kills the taste instead of helping it?

2 comments

2 Comments

harris.emma2d ago

Hold up, did you adjust your brew time or water temp when you went finer? Cause that's usually where people mess up. Going from a 14 to a 10 is a pretty big jump, so if you kept everything else the same, you probably just over-extracted the hell out of it. Finer grounds need less contact time with water, not more, and lower temp sometimes helps too. What was your total brew time on the finer grind?

linda6262d ago

Nah I gotta disagree here honestly. Going from 14 to 10 on most grinders is not that huge of a jump, its more like a small step. I've done similar moves without changing anything else and gotten way better cups, not over extracted ones. The real issue is usually bean freshness or water quality, not just grind size. If your water is too hard or your beans are old, finer grind will just make the bad flavors pop more. Temp probably isnt the main problem either unless youre brewing way over 205. I think people blame over extraction too fast when the real culprit is stale coffee or bad water.