Coffee tastes too bitter
The cup tastes sharply bitter or harsh rather than balanced.
Applies to: Espresso machine, V60 (pour-over), Moka pot, Espresso
Likely causes and adjustments
Try one adjustment at a time so you know what actually changed the result. Start with the first cause below — if it doesn't help, reveal the next.
Cause 1 of 3 · Commonly the cause
Over-extraction (too much dissolved from the grounds)
Does the brew also taste hollow or harsh, not just bitter?
Use a slightly coarser grind, or reduce contact/brew time.
Related issues
What to change
Specific adjustments for this symptom, with what each one trades off.
- AeroPress coffee tastes bitter, harsh or dry
- Pour-over coffee tastes bitter, dry or drains too slowly
- French press coffee tastes bitter or harsh
- Espresso tastes bitter, harsh or dry
- Bean-to-cup coffee tastes bitter or harsh
- Adjustable espresso machine shot tastes bitter
- Pod coffee tastes bitter, thin or watery on longer drinks
- Filter coffee machine coffee tastes bitter or stale
Work it out
Interactive tools that take you through this one change at a time.
Learn the technique
Step-by-step guides to the skills this problem comes from.
- Dialling in espressoFind the grind setting and recipe that make a particular coffee taste as intended, and be able to return to it.
- Adjusting grind sizeMove the grind in the right direction by a useful amount, and know what to expect from the change.
- Dialling in filter coffeeFind the grind and ratio that suit a particular coffee in a particular brewer, using brew time as the diagnostic.
- Tasting coffee deliberatelyNotice what a coffee is actually doing, rather than only whether you like it.
- Cupping coffeeTaste several coffees against each other under conditions identical enough that the only difference is the coffee.
- Measuring extraction yieldTurn a TDS reading into an extraction percentage, and know what that number can and cannot tell you.