Let’s talk about how to fix bad espresso at home

espresso shot

I’ll start with an excursion. Espresso is extracted by pushing hot water with pressure through finely ground coffee. On this journey, the hot water takes solubles with it into the cup. It starts with the sour flavours - then the body and at last the bitter flavours. Like with any delicious dish the greatness comes through the combination of the flavours.  This little guide will show you how to fix bad espressos at home.

The espresso in fact is layered in the cup. That’s why the pros stir their espresso before drinking it, in order to mix these flavours and get the best result. 

What can you do when your coffee is too sour?

• The coffee might be underextracted. The water runs through the coffee too quickly (usually under 20 seconds) and you only taste the beginning of the extraction. The easy fix is to slow down the runtime of your espresso by using a finer grind size. 

• The brew ratio is off. Usually it should be around 1:2 - 1 part coffee to 2 parts of water. I recommend using 18 grams of ground coffee and extract 40 gr of espresso with it. In order to slow it down, use more ground coffee.

• The water temperature is too low. Extraction is dependent on time and temperature. If the water is not hot enough it might not take all the desirable solubles with it. Around 92° - 93°C is a good starting point.

• The roast level is too light. If you are using a coffee that is roasted on the light side, it might not work for espresso.

What can you do when your coffee is too bitter?

• The coffee might be overextracted. The water takes too long to run through the ground coffee (usually over 35 seconds) and you predominately taste the end bit of the extraction - bitter. If you grind your coffee coarser, the coffee will run faster.

• The brew ratio is not right. Use less coffee in order to fix it. 

• The water temperature is too high. 

• The coffee is roasted too dark. If you check the coffee and see that it is very dark or even has an oily shine to it. 

Other tips

Freshly roasted coffee beans are off-gasing CO2. More in the beginning - less so after a few days. This fact might be blocking the great flavours that your roaster tried to unlock. We use coffee that has rested for at least 10 days in our shop, to make sure this effect does not negatively influence the experience  

All of the values are not fixed. There is no rule that is absolute in coffee. Some coffees need a higher temperature - others don’t. Some coffees need a longer extraction - others a shorter one.

If your coffee tastes good and your are outside of the values given here, enjoy your delicious drink!

Check out my guide on how to dial in espresso - where I explain our process when we get a new coffee to use for our espresso.