That morning I pulled four bad espresso shots in a row at home

Honestly, last Tuesday was brutal. I woke up early at 6 AM to dial in some new beans from a local roaster in Portland, but every shot came out sour or bitter no matter what I tried. My grinder was set to the same number I always use, but the beans were way denser than I expected. Has anyone else had a coffee day where nothing goes right and you just have to walk away for a bit?

3 comments

3 Comments

emmaj338d ago

Dang, that is rough. Were you weighing your dose and yield or just going by grind setting? Because I have found that when I switch to a new bean, even from the same roaster, the density and moisture content can throw everything off. A 1 gram difference in dose can be the difference between a perfect shot and a sour mess. I usually have to start from scratch with the grind and do a few test shots to find the right ratio again. What was the roast date on those beans?

holly_henderson868d ago

Honestly I've been there too many times. You can drive yourself crazy chasing the perfect shot only to realize the beans changed on you. I always weigh my dose and yield now but even then, like you said, a new bag can be a whole new world. Roast date is huge too. I'd say once you get past like 2 or 3 weeks off roast, the grind starts acting different no matter what you do. The best advice I ever got was to just accept the first shot or two are gonna be dialing in when you switch beans. It saves you from getting mad about wasted coffee because at least you know it's not your fault.

felix1471d ago

Wait, so when you say the grind changes after 2-3 weeks, are you also adjusting your water temp at all? Because I've been messing around with dropping my temp like 2 or 3 degrees for older beans and it seems to help with the channeling a lot. @holly_henderson86 your point about just expecting to waste a couple shots is the real trick though, I think that's what separates the people who get frustrated from the ones who actually dial in fast. Like I used to get so mad about pulling a 15 second gusher but now I just treat it like data.