Strong, un-bitter coffee

[standingwave]

@dropzone

They do. It’s their thing. All Starbucks smell like somebody left a mostly-empty pot of coffee on the burner over a holiday weekend, but when I went into the first store in Seattle the stench of 30 years of burnt coffee nearly made me hurl.

That’s their trademark. Essential to their branding is consistency from one store to the next, anywhere in the world. The challenge is that different beans taste, well different. Over-roasting disguises this variation so that no matter what Charbucks in the world you happen to wander into, you will be served the same crappy burnt product. (Not a fan.)

To the OP (a zombie, I’m aware), the question was answered early on. If the grind is too fine the coffee will taste bitter. If the grind is too coarse the coffee will taste weak. If the coffee is too weak, use more coffee. The rule of thumb is 16:1. One scoop (1/8 cup) of ground coffee for every two cups of brewed coffee. Adjust this up or down with practice.

One of the best coffee investments one can make is in a good grinder. A conical burr mill grinder is the nuts, producing a consistent even grind. An even grind is important because dust in your grind can lead to bitterness as noted earlier. The downside is that it’s hard to find a good one under $100. (Some will say $200.)

I use a press pot which I’ve found allows me to control all coffee brewing variables: grind and dosage, water temp and steeping time. My recipe: medium roasted Arabica, ground midway between medium and course, a 16:1 dosage (maybe a little stronger), water temp just off boil here at 2K feet and about a 3.5 minute steep.

[Chefguy]

@ThelmaLou

I’d like to try this. Can you give some measurements or at least proportions?

Two tablespoons of grounds per 6 oz of water (how this got to be the standard measure for a “cup” for coffee mystifies me) is the normally-recommended ratio, so for a quart of water, you’d want about 10 TBSP (or 1/2 cup plus a couple tablespoons) of grounds for hot brewed coffee. This may be a bit weak for cold-brewed coffee, however. I’d go stronger and try 3/4 cup of grounds for a quart of water. You can always add or subtract next time around.

If you’re going to make it in something like a French press or a brewer carafe, remember that the cup markings on those containers are for 6 oz. cups.

[Mangetout]

See if you can find a blend with some torrefacto beans in it. Torrefacto is the process of roasting the beans glazed with sugar - rather than just sweetening the coffee, this alters the chemistry of the roast, resulting in a rounder, less bitter, but still strong and aromatic coffee.

It’s common in France, Spain and Porttugal.

[lawoot]

You could go with cold vacuum extraction. Or just buy some Black Blood of the Earth. They claim 3.5 oz of this has the caffeine equivalent to a gallon of coffee.