Extraction looks good, but tastes too acid and bitter

[Bucephalus]

Ok, I thank you already if you may help me with some stuff.

- I'm distributing the coffee very even and tidy in the portafilter, paying special attention to not leave gaps on the sides, cracks or an unleveled surface. However, I'm not applying that much pressure when tamping, just enough to compact the coffee. Is that alright?

- I'm using a manual coffee grinder too, is it okay? As far as I know it works just like an electrical burr grinder.

- Now the extraction. Good news is that at least the extraction looks good. The liquid is not dripping, it's a very constant and stable stream, a perfect rat tail. I also like the colour. It starts as a reddish syrup, but at about half the cup it goes a bit lighter and blond, but I guess it's normal. The crema is also quite good I think, there's a very thick layer of it. When I drop sugar (just a tiny bit of course) the crystals float a little before sinking... nice

- Now I'm not happy with the taste of it It's too acid and too bitter. When I add sugar (again, only a little dab, half a small tea spoon), it kinda of "corrects" its flavour. Is it normal?

Here are the extraction pics (blurred yes, I can't make espresso and take pictures at the same time):

Very beginning:


Half way:


I didn't take a pic of the final result, but it was a bit like this:



Any suggestions on how I can improve the flavour and get rid of the bitterness? I'm using a single origin coffee (medium roast). Any suggestion for a simple blend I can make?

[Psyd]

I tend to like a Yrgacheffe or other NE African bean to mellow out a bitter bean. Overroasting can contribute, too. Full City or Full City+ is about as far as I like to see the beans roasted, generally. Experiment. Buy coffees from some of the more 'famous' espresso blend distributors. Whoever you get the beans from should include important data such as:
1. Where the beans are from, and some info on blend (most won't want to divulge too many secrets)
2. The date that they were roasted on
3. What roast they received
4. What to expect from the results.

Get a half pound of stuff and compare them week to week. You may find that your technique is adequate but your coffee isn't.

[HB]

Now I'm not happy with the taste of it It's too acid and too bitter. When I add sugar (again, only a little dab, half a small tea spoon), it kinda of "corrects" its flavour. Is it normal?

It's "normal" if you prefer it that way. Following the lead of locals, I frequently added sugar to espresso when I lived overseas. Looking back on it now, the sugar was to cover up for lots of flavor defects, bitterness among them, due to lots of problems: Stale coffee, too fast extraction, poorly maintained equipment, etc.

Jim's Home Barista's Guide to Espresso offers the common causes of taste defects / balance problems in Diagnostics and Adjustments. Bitterness could be due to the temperature being too high. High acidity may be normal for the coffee you're using ("single origin medium roast"). For diagnostic purposes, I recommend trying a well-known blend. The Coffees forum has lots of recommendations; some of my favorites are mentioned in Good coffees I've had recently.

[cannonfodder]

It may just be your lighting but it looks a bit blond, especially at the beginning of the shot. The streams look a tad large as well, as if the shot was a bit fast. How quick are your shots and what volume are you pulling?

Here is the only photo I could find of a spouted shot, the very beginning of the shot, about 8 seconds in I would guess. Note the small 'mouse tail' sized stream.

[Bucephalus]

Well, thanks for the tips. I didn't reply, but I read what you guys wrote and tried to improve my extraction. I think cannonfodder was spot on, the stream was too quick indeed, and very light in colour. It happened I was using a very coarse grinding, and when I tried again with a finer one, the results were definitely better. The initial colour is dark brown now, and the extraction time was stretched -- typical symptoms of coarser grind I suppose. Check it out now:















I'm much more satisfied now. I'll keep on training, though.

Thank you guys.

[cannonfodder]

What coffee are you using?