Originally posted by kay link=1210732317/0#0 date=1210732317
When experimenting, establish constants and change one variable at a time.
Sourness/bitterness can be caused by under or over extraction.
You might like to try this:
Establish a consistant tamping routine, consistant amount of coffee (other posts have been correct about the full basket and imprint of screw on puck) consistanly tamped.
The 20-30 second stuff is a useful guide, not a rule. Likewise the gauge on the sunbeam provides some information, which you may find to be useful from time to time. So be aware of the guides, but use your senses!
Pack a basket, hit the manual pour button and watch. Stop the pour when the colour changes to a much lighter (some say blond) colour. What does it taste like?
Do it again, except change the grind about half a whatsit. Do the tamp and the pour exactly the same. What does it taste like this time?
Somewhere I read that it is useful to imagine your tongue to be like a see-saw. If the taste is sour on the front of your tongue, then the coffee is under extracted. Make your grind finer and taste again. If the coffee is bitter on the back of your tongue, it is over extracted, grind a bit coarser and try again.
Rinse your mouth with water between tastes.
Sourness can also come from contamination by stale coffee oils. So flushing, cleaning portafiller etc is importnat when making coffee, as well as backflushing, cleaning group head etc after use.
Doing these experiments can use a lot of coffee beans. I use my own roasts, but usually exoeriment with beans that are a few weeks old, or left over or I cant remember what they were. So I set out to extract the best flavour I can from the beans I have.
Oh yes, I done drink every pour! But I tell you, the sink is fairly buzzing by the time I am happy with my coffee!

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