Trouble shooting – how to solve sourness/bitterness talking about coffee

A finer grinding (fine sand) will give you a tighter coffee bed, a slower water flow and more extraction.

A coarser grinding will give you a looser bed, a faster water flow and less extraction.

Too coarse grinding (gravel) will give an under-extracted coffee, which could result in sourness and sharp or empty tastes.

Too fine grinding will give an over-extracted coffee, resulting bitterness and dry or harsh tastes.

Here some ideas what you could be doing depending on what´s wrong with your coffee:

If your brew comes out too sour, try to grind finer. Your flow probably is too fast and runs though the coffee under-extracted. You could also try to use less water. You could try to increase your brewing time or add agitation (with a chopstick or a spoon – some recipes indeed ask for it). The extra agitation will increase your brewing time/extraction. Last you could brew with higher temperature, cause cooler water gives you under extraction.

If your brew comes out too bitter, try to grind coarser. Your flow probably is too slow and gets clogged. You could also try to use more water in order to minimize your extraction or reduce your brewing time. Less agitation could also be helpful here or lowering the temperature, cause the hotter the water, the quicker your extraction.

If you are grinding inconsistently (so you have fines and/or coarse bean parts), you will have over and under extraction at the same time, which results to an unbalances and probably blurry cup. Here only a consistent grinder could help. Or try the settings of your current grinder and see where you get more consistency and try to find a brew method that matches that setting.

If your brewing lasts longer than the recipe you are following, try to grind coarser, cause your flow will be faster like this.

If your coffee is too strong: decrease the coffee grams for the same amount of water or add water while keeping your coffee grounds the same.

If your coffee is too weak: increase the coffee grams for the same amount of water or lower the amount of water while keeping your coffee grounds the same.

If you want to read a bit more about grind size here our post:

coffee beans grind size – talking about coffee

Bibliography

• https://counterculturecoffee.com/blogs/counter-culture-coffee/guide-to-pour-over-coffee?srsltid=AfmBOop2lw3WinjMNGc-D5g9PLP5kkKV-6–LhHhoHIWua_Oa3DU8yrV
• https://honestcoffeeguide.com/pour-over-grind-size/
• https://www.kimbocoffee.com/blogs/kimbo-blog/how-to-grind-coffee-beans-for-pour-over
• https://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/comments/1y99xx/what_grind_is_best_for_pour_over/
• https://batchcoffee.co.uk/stories/pour-over-grind/?srsltid=AfmBOoorRCFQHXih4jAffgZ236_y5B8aHEldXLmiQZHR6jxSVn7ZaCfa
• https://grosche.ca/blogs/blog/coffee-grind-chart?srsltid=AfmBOopjjmxbFi0BneJFh0brqg0kNraHJ4ywiX8-_EEYEOD7ZZKfrpYj
• https://1zpresso.coffee/how-to-dial-in-the-perfect-grind-size-for-pour-over-coffee/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/pourover/comments/19bv7vb/grinder_recommendations_for_pourover_only/
• https://www.seriouseats.com/the-best-coffee-grinders