So, to be perfectly honest, I'm still extremely worried about going in to shops, and having someone else make/touch something I'm going to consume, so I have not.
But..at this point I need to, at least to see if it's my coffee game or my mouth that's broken.

I did! Grabbed a bag of pre ground Duncan donuts coffee and was actually excited to try it out since I used to like it. It was undrinkable for me, I had to dump out a few different cups.

Although, I have a backup coffee for when nothing else is even drinkable..Philz Tesero blend is still decent tasting if I make a huge dose, not good like it used to be, but ok.

Are you sure you're not grinding so fine that every cup is just terrible?

Drewskie wrote:So, to be perfectly honest, I'm still extremely worried about going in to shops, and having someone else make/touch something I'm going to consume, so I have not.
But..at this point I need to, at least to see if it's my coffee game or my mouth that's broken.

Worried about "germs"? I would (lovingly) recommend working on this one before your coffee problem.

If that is what you meant... I was in and of a similar mindset for a good long while myself, so I do understand. But it is the bad way, I assure you.

I did! Grabbed a bag of pre ground Duncan donuts coffee and was actually excited to try it out since I used to like it. It was undrinkable for me, I had to dump out a few different cups.

Although, I have a backup coffee for when nothing else is even drinkable..Philz Tesero blend is still decent tasting if I make a huge dose, not good like it used to be, but ok.

Well done, Drew, for giving it a go!

I'm just guessing here, but if in the past you enjoyed the Duncan Donuts coffee every single time in the past, and now suddenly no cup was good, then you might be onto something with respect to your palate. That sounds like useful feedback, doesn't it?

On the other hand, it might be that Duncan Donuts machine was dirty that day, or they had a new barista only learning how to brew coffee. Maybe they had just replaced the usual beans with some other ones. It would be useful to try some other places you normally enjoy coffee from before jumping to a conclusion. I myself have visited plenty of shops here in London before understanding that yes - I can consistently enjoy coffee in coffee shops. Unlike at home for some mysterious reason which I haven't been able to crack yet. The brews at home don't even fall in the normal spectrum of flavors I see around in coffee shops - it doesn't matter what brewing parameters/water/grinder/brewer/coffee I use - they all are hollow, flat, bitter, ashy. Something here at home kills the flavors, but can't figure out what.

Coming back to you, let's bring up some random experiments... If you consider any of them worthwhile, maybe you'll get some more useful feedback.

Maybe it's worth considering a little coffee fast? If you're not enjoying your coffee right now, maybe give it some days of break and see if the enjoyment comes back? I know somebody who had temporary issues with palate. He confirmed it by tasting coffee together with somebody trusted and one person enjoyed the beverages, the other one found them lifeless. Fasting (actual food/drink fasting) helped to restore the senses after a couple of days.

Another idea, as brought up above, if you know somebody trusted, it would be great if they share the same brew with you split into 2 same glasses/cups. See if things taste funny to only one of you.

Finally, maybe visiting another coffee shop that you trust in delivering good coffee consistently?

No 4, if you happen to come to London, give me a shout and I'll invite you to some tasty coffee in my favorite shops

I see that you got similar results with a machine brew, but at first I was thinking this could be a V-60 problem. I had a similar experience to yours where I was getting good cups out of my V-60 for a while and then one day I just completely lost my ability to brew a good cup with V-60 and haven't been able to get it back since. Since then it's been all Chemex for me and the V-60 has been collecting dust because I'm tired of banging my head against the wall. I must bust it back out again soon and see if I can do any better with my new Ode grinder though.

This has been my suspicion, but I never get the classic "over extraction" bitterness, it's always just boring and tasteless. I've tried going much more coarse but the coffee just seems to get weaker.

skink91 wrote:Worried about "germs"? I would (lovingly) recommend working on this one before your coffee problem.

If that is what you meant... I was in and of a similar mindset for a good long while myself, so I do understand. But it is the bad way, I assure you.

Yes, and completely correct that I should work on that first, but it would be nice to get a decent cup of coffee in the morning, at least you have one good experience.

Drewskie wrote:Yes, and completely correct that I should work on that first, but it would be nice to get a decent cup of coffee in the morning, at least you have one good experience.

I wasn't kidding about the 'lovingly recommend' part - I suspect a lot of us went through a very similar wrestling-with-but-finally-transitioned-to phase with the mess of the last couple years. Heck I still can get my complete weekly fill of human contact in with a single weekly pinball tournament night. But it is a good night and an important night.

Do it slow. Swing into a local (good) coffee shop and get it to go.

CoffeeIsWeird wrote:Well done, Drew, for giving it a go!

I'm just guessing here, but if in the past you enjoyed the Duncan Donuts coffee every single time in the past, and now suddenly no cup was good, then you might be onto something with respect to your palate. That sounds like useful feedback, doesn't it?

On the other hand, it might be that Duncan Donuts machine was dirty that day, or they had a new barista only learning how to brew coffee. Maybe they had just replaced the usual beans with some other ones. It would be useful to try some other places you normally enjoy coffee from before jumping to a conclusion. I myself have visited plenty of shops here in London before understanding that yes - I can consistently enjoy coffee in coffee shops. Unlike at home for some mysterious reason which I haven't been able to crack yet. The brews at home don't even fall in the normal spectrum of flavors I see around in coffee shops - it doesn't matter what brewing parameters/water/grinder/brewer/coffee I use - they all are hollow, flat, bitter, ashy. Something here at home kills the flavors, but can't figure out what.

Coming back to you, let's bring up some random experiments... If you consider any of them worthwhile, maybe you'll get some more useful feedback.

Maybe it's worth considering a little coffee fast? If you're not enjoying your coffee right now, maybe give it some days of break and see if the enjoyment comes back? I know somebody who had temporary issues with palate. He confirmed it by tasting coffee together with somebody trusted and one person enjoyed the beverages, the other one found them lifeless. Fasting (actual food/drink fasting) helped to restore the senses after a couple of days.

Another idea, as brought up above, if you know somebody trusted, it would be great if they share the same brew with you split into 2 same glasses/cups. See if things taste funny to only one of you.

Finally, maybe visiting another coffee shop that you trust in delivering good coffee consistently?

No 4, if you happen to come to London, give me a shout and I'll invite you to some tasty coffee in my favorite shops

I just want to say that I really appreciate you taking the time for such a thorough response. I have definitely thought about all of these options and need to do one, or all of them soon. I was just hoping I could fix my coffee myself but it does not look like it's going to happen. I think the shop is a must this week.