Coffee tastes weak or watery
The cup lacks strength or body, tasting diluted.
Applies to: V60 (pour-over), French press, Cold brew steeping, Filter coffee, Cold brew
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
Coffee-to-water ratio too low
Have you weighed your dose, or are you scooping by eye?
Increase the coffee dose relative to water.
What to change
Specific adjustments for this symptom, with what each one trades off.
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 filter coffeeFind the grind and ratio that suit a particular coffee in a particular brewer, using brew time as the diagnostic.
- Pulse pouringControl agitation and contact time by pouring in several stages rather than one continuous stream.
- Measuring extraction yieldTurn a TDS reading into an extraction percentage, and know what that number can and cannot tell you.