Sour coffee from a machine: improve the taste
Author: AMT SerwisUpdated:
Has the coffee from your automatic machine started tasting too sour? There are ways to improve it and go back to enjoying a great cup. Here are a few tips that will help you get the taste right.
Acidity and sourness are not the same thing
The acidity of coffee describes a taste usually called refreshing, lively or fruity. It is a positive quality that gives coffee character and points to high-grade beans. Sourness is something else entirely. Sour coffee tastes sharp and unpleasant — not what you want from your morning cup. Here is how to get rid of that sour taste and improve the flavour of your favourite drink.
Sour-tasting coffee — clean the machine
Did your machine brew delicious, aromatic coffee at first, only for the taste to deteriorate noticeably over time? That can happen, especially if the appliance has not been cleaned regularly. The heat and moisture involved in brewing are, unfortunately, perfect conditions for mould to grow. A sour taste may be a sign that this has happened inside your machine too. If so, a thorough clean is essential. You can do it yourself, ideally using cleaning products and accessories made specifically for coffee machines. Remember to rinse the machine well afterwards so that no cleaning agent is left behind. The alternative is to have the cleaning and maintenance done by a professional workshop.
If you are interested in having your machine cleaned professionally, get in touch with our repair centre.
Sour coffee — check the grinder setting
If the coffee tastes sour to you, it is worth checking the grinder setting. Grind size influences the final taste of the brew far more than you might expect. Sour coffee can mean that the beans are ground too coarsely, so during brewing the water passes through the grounds too quickly and the coffee is under-extracted. The fix here is simple: change the grinder setting on your machine to a finer grind.
Sour coffee — water temperature too low
Brewing at the right water temperature is one of the key factors behind the taste and quality of coffee. A sour taste can mean the water in your machine is too cool. If your appliance lets you adjust this parameter, set a higher brewing temperature.
A brewing temperature that is too low may not be a settings problem at all — it can point to a fault. In that case you are best off relying on a workshop to establish the cause.
If you would like a free repair cost estimate, AMT Serwis is at your service.
Sour coffee — choose the right beans
If you are confident that the machine is clean and that the water temperature and grind size are right, the sour taste may come down to the quality of the beans themselves or the way they are stored. What can we advise here? Buy only fresh coffee beans and keep them in an airtight container to preserve their freshness. Avoid buying coffee in large quantities — it goes stale and loses flavour.