Espresso bitter, but also coming out too fast

Discuss flavors, brew temperatures, blending, and cupping notes.
matiportnoy
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Joined: 4 years ago

#1: Post by matiportnoy »

Hi,

I am wondering why my espresso is too bitter, but also coming out too fast. These seem counterintuitive. If it is too bitter, I would go to a coarser grind or tamper with less pressure (I cannot control temperature on my machine, but it seems ok). However, this would only make my shot come out faster.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Matilde

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guijan12
Posts: 586
Joined: 6 years ago

#2: Post by guijan12 »

This is too little information for a personalized advice.
How fresh are your beans, what grinder do you use and what coffee gear?
How much grams of coffee grinds, at what extraction time an what temperature? :shock: :)
Regards,

Guido

greenbeans
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#3: Post by greenbeans »

Yes please do provide some more details. Bitter drinks can be due to lots of things. If flow is too fast and your pressure is ok then try a finer grind however I suspect something else is at play. Beans?

nuketopia
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#4: Post by nuketopia »

Uneven extraction - on both counts.

If the extraction process is uneven, it leaves part of the dose under or even un-extracted, and the part that does get extracted is highly over extracted, bitter and astringent and thin.

That's also how you get sour and bitter at the same time, where some of the puck is over-extracted and some under-extracted.

Generally, uneven extractions relate to the grind or the beans, as older beans tend to perform poorly and unevenly. Sometimes, other factors, like poor water distribution in the brew head or poorly made baskets or even excessive pressure and flow rate, but any reasonably functional espresso machine shouldn't be a big factor.

If you have a 'naked' portafilter, where the bottom of the basket is exposed fully, that can be extremely helpful in diagnosing uneven extraction.

All this time/temperature/dose/shot-weight stuff only works if the extraction is even and uniform.

I'm not familiar with your machine, but I think it is a mass-market consumer-oriented machine. It might not be up to the job. Are you using pods or grinding your own?

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C-Antonio
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#5: Post by C-Antonio »

Isnt that the machine that comes with the single in the bottomless portafilter?

Did it always brew that way or its something it started doing just lately?

bitter can be temperature, there is a button to do steam/brew, not the dial, make sure its switched to the right thing.

Presuming your definition of bitter is actually bitter and you arent confusing it with sour (happens to many people), and still presuming its not a bad extraction of both extremes: sometimes its the beans, try a run of the mill big brand espresso beans, say illy or something like that... that is just to eliminate the possibility of some roaster mistake (in case you get your beans from some artisanal roaster)
Also check the other pressurized portafilter, I know its a double on top of everything but, again, is to see if you can restrict a bit the number of usual suspects.
“Eh sì sì sì…sembra facile (fare un buon caffè)!”

Geoffr
Posts: 61
Joined: 5 years ago

#6: Post by Geoffr »

It could be due to channeling, can you see holes in the spent puck? You can't always see them even if they are there, but could be an easy place to start.