Taste the coffee black, name the main symptom, and change one variable. Use this table to choose the first check and the matching measured guide.
Reviewed
| What you taste | Check first | Matching guide |
|---|---|---|
| Bitter, harsh or drying | Grind, water temperature and time on the hot plate | Open the bad-coffee quick fix chart |
| Weak, watery or hollow | Coffee dose, water amount and grind size | Calculate a measured coffee-to-water ratio |
| Automatic drip tastes weak or bitter | Medium grind, 60 g/L starting dose and a clean basket | Tune an automatic drip recipe |
| French press is too strong, thin or inconsistent | A 1:15 starting ratio, coarse grind and four-minute steep | Use the French press ratio calculator |
| Cold coffee is dull, diluted or too intense | Whether it is cold brew concentrate or hot-brewed iced coffee | Compare cold brew and iced coffee |
Discard coffee that smells rotten, moldy, chemical or dirty, or when you cannot confirm that the brewer and container were clean. Flavor adjustments do not make questionable coffee safe.
