Hi All,

I have been trying to pull a good shot of Terroir's Daterra, North Italian Style Espresso for the past 5 days with no luck at all I received the coffee one day after roast, immediately taped over the valve and put the bag in the freezer, where it stayed about one week. This past Friday evening I pulled the bag from the freezer, removed the tape and allowed the beans to come up to room temp in preparation for use the next morning. After dialing in the grinder to produce 1.5-1.75 oz shots in 24-25 sec I pulled my first shot to drink (temp set at 91 C and group heated by running aprx 8 oz water before pulling the shot, aprx 18 gm coffee) and it was quite sour tasting. It also smelled kind of sour. Since then I've tried boosting the temp, one degree C all the way up to 96 C and varying the doses 14-19 gms. Every shot has been sour and I haven't been able to enjoy a straight shot of this coffee. It's OK in cappas but just OK and I can still smell the sour component. Note, I don't weigh all doses but I've weighed enough of them to feel I have a pretty good idea how much coffee is in the basket.

Out of maybe 10 varieties of espresso roasts, including Terrior's Calibra, which was quite good, this is the first one that has been a real disappointment. Any ideas on what's up here?

Thanks,
Dave

Hey Dave,

When you say you've weighed doses, you're speaking of this specific roast, right?

What's the roast date?

I have never tried that coffee. Maybe it still needs to rest some as it was in the freezer for the first week?

SL28ave wrote:Hey Dave,

When you say you've weighed doses, you're speaking of this specific roast, right?

What's the roast date?

Yes, I mean this roast. I also periodically weigh doses from all the roasts I use, just so I have a few data points and to keep myself in check.

I'm afraid I don't know the exact roast date, as I tossed the bag right after opening it, but the timetable I described is pretty accurate.

Sour espresso can mean the brew temp is too low. Have you tried brewing at a higher temp? Also, are you using a naked portafilter and watching for channeling?

another_jim wrote:There's a ton of posts on this blend, just search them out. Terroir itself recommends a low dose of 14 grams and a low brew temperature of 195F.

Yes Jim, I'm aware of the Terrior's recommendation and I had already read and reread many of the posts re: this coffee. BTW, 91 C is aprx. 195 F and I have tried every temp my machine offers except 97 C (207 F?). I was back at 91 C this AM. I have tried a weighed 14 gm dose. Still sour. I'm using a naked PF. I may be getting a little channeling sometimes, but not always. I tried the higher temps because that supposedly cures sour shots. It's hard to believe a coffee could be so sensitive to dose size that a gram or two above 14 gm would have such a pronounced negative effect, the same sourness, at every temp and dose combination I've tried. But, I'm still relatively new to home espresso making so what do I know

Although I'm meticulous about keeping the group clean between shots and brew sessions I have not done a detergent back flush in a few weeks. I plan to do so this weekend. However, the coffee I was using the day before, Gimme's Platinum Blonde, tasted fine. Could a "dirty" machine be the cause here?

Thanks to all,
Dave

This espresso is usually quite bright - and some people experience this as sour.
It's possible that you simply don't like it.

For what it's worth - I find the Terroir brewing instructions result in shots I simply don't like at all. For this coffee, I vastly prefer 200F and 17.5grams for a 1.5oz double.


Oh - and for what it's worth.... you haven't cleaned in a couple weeks?!? People.... I accept that you're not going to clean daily (like I think you really should) but you really need to clean your equipment frequently. Seriously.

Good point Chris. Maybe this coffee just doesn't work for my taste. For sure it's the lightest roast I've tried. I've also read that light roasts are generally harder to work with. Also, FWIW, I debated whether to post this or not. I think I did my homework before hand. But having heard so many great reports on this coffee I was really psyched to try it... and to like it. I thought, what the heck, maybe I've missed something and someone more experienced would see it and fill me in. If it's just not my "cup of coffee" then no problem, I'll just use something else.

As to my cleaning schedule. Know that I wipe off the dispersion screen after each shot, back flush daily, don't pull more than 2-3 shots on average daily, remove and clean the dispersion screen and brass block weekly, and clean the water reservoir weekly or at least biweekly. I've also read many posts about cleaning with detergent. There doesn't seem to be any universally accepted schedule for this service. In fact many believe that cleaning too often can damage a machine. I think it might harm some rubber seal(s). Anyway, I'm following Chris Coffee's recommendation, detergent clean every 4-6 weeks. As with all things espresso I understand universal consensus "ain't gonna happen"

Thanks again.