Why Does Pour-Over Coffee Taste Sour and Lack Flavor? How to Brew Delicious Pour-Over Coffee?

Why Can't I Brew the Flavor Described on the Coffee Package?

At our coffee shop, FrontStreet Coffee often encounters coffee enthusiasts who come to share their experiences. Many of them first buy coffee beans to brew at home, then visit our shop to order a pour-over coffee made with the same beans, comparing the differences between what our baristas brew and what they brew themselves.

Some pour-over coffee enthusiasts find that they simply cannot achieve the flavor descriptions mentioned on the coffee packaging at home, so they come to FrontStreet Coffee to discuss which aspects might be causing the problem. FrontStreet Coffee has summarized everyone's issues and identified some possible reasons.

Coffee Bean Flavor Period

Let FrontStreet Coffee briefly explain what flavor is. There's a difference between flavor and taste—flavor is more of a sensory experience composed of both aroma and taste, making us perceive it as a specific concrete flavor.

This flavor is directly related to the flavor period of coffee beans. If you purchase a bag of coffee beans, it will typically have a shelf life of 365 days, a flavor period of 45 days, and a roasting date. The shelf life refers to the period during which the coffee is safe to drink; the flavor period refers to the time when coffee beans exhibit optimal flavor performance. Beyond this period, the coffee's flavor becomes less pronounced, leaving only the taste of coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee also understands that some enthusiasts like to buy several bags of coffee beans at once, but their brewing frequency isn't very high, leading to many coffee beans exceeding their flavor period before they have a chance to be brewed. In such cases, the coffee beans themselves have already lost their flavor, let alone whether they can be brewed to extract that flavor.

Therefore, if you want to brew coffee with distinct flavor, you must first ensure that the coffee beans themselves possess rich flavor characteristics. After coffee beans are roasted, they require a 4-7 day degassing period because freshly roasted coffee beans contain high levels of carbon dioxide. These gases hinder the extraction of coffee substances, so it's necessary to wait 4-7 days for the coffee beans to release some gas, making it easier to extract coffee flavors during brewing.

The relationship between carbon dioxide and flavor compounds is complementary. As carbon dioxide is released, some volatile aromatic compounds also escape with the gas. Therefore, when the degassing period is properly completed, it's when coffee flavor performance is at its best. Afterward, flavors gradually dissipate, typically becoming less pronounced by day 45. So if you want to brew coffee with rich flavors, you must pay attention to the dates of your coffee beans.

Water Quality

Over 98% of a cup of pour-over coffee is water. Therefore, water is also a crucial parameter that affects coffee flavor. FrontStreet Coffee has encountered some enthusiasts who, following their habits, directly use boiled tap water to brew coffee. The problem with tap water is that it cannot guarantee the trace element content.

Currently, there are some generally accepted theories about coffee water:

1. It's better to use water with TDS below 100ppm for brewing coffee. Water with TDS above 200ppm is considered hard water, and coffee brewed with it will be unpleasantly bitter and complex.

2. Appropriate amounts of calcium and magnesium ions are beneficial for brewing delicious coffee.

3. Pure water containing no substances is not suitable for brewing coffee, as the resulting coffee will taste hollow.

If you don't understand this, don't worry—let me summarize simply: if you want to brew good coffee, it's recommended not to use tap water, purified water, or distilled water. You can use filtered water and mineral water that meet TDS requirements.

Brewing Process

Many newcomers to coffee brewing believe that pour-over water pouring techniques and skills are very important. In FrontStreet Coffee's view, the correct parameters are even more crucial. Some paid courses that teach you how to brew coffee in 1-2 days essentially tell you the usage standards for various brewing parameters and provide a simple brewing method with a high error tolerance that doesn't require extreme pouring techniques. This way, in just a few days, you can brew better coffee than before.

Actually, the principle is quite simple. Many beginners tend to think that pour-over coffee is very difficult, and without seeing the "correct way," they continuously grope through mistakes, only to discover more errors. When someone tells you a "standard answer," you gain a clear direction for trial and error, gradually finding a brewing method that suits you.

And this "standard answer" is very simple in principle. With appropriate coffee dose, reasonable water temperature, suitable grind size, proper ratio, adequate time, and correct pouring method, the brewed coffee will be good.

These parameters are complementary and mutually influential. The appropriate coffee dose mainly depends on the filter cup's recommended capacity—there's not much to discuss here. Reasonable water temperature and ratio currently have relatively unified ranges, with water temperature generally controlled between 90-93°C (for light roasts), and coffee-to-water ratios mostly hovering between 1:15 and 1:16.

As for grind size, time, and pouring method, these form a mutually influential relationship where a balance point must be found among these three factors. For pour-over grind size, first, the coarseness shouldn't be too extreme. If the water level drops very slowly and the finished coffee bed shows a mud-like consistency, then the grind is clearly too fine. If the water level drops very quickly and the coffee bed reveals very coarse particulate matter, it means the grind is too coarse. A finer grind will extend the brewing time, while a coarser grind will shorten the brewing time.

Pouring technique also affects brewing time. Large water flow will shorten brewing time, while small water flow will extend it. The more separate pouring intervals, the longer the brewing time.

Time serves as the parameter to verify whether the grind size and technique are well-matched. For example, if the brewed coffee often tastes weak with little flavor, besides issues with coffee-to-water ratio, the brewing time might be too short, ending before the coffee flavors have fully extracted. If you're unsure whether your grind size is correct, you can set the brewing time to 2 minutes with the water divided into 3 pours. If the time happens to be around 2 minutes, it indicates that both the grind size and technique are appropriate.

With good coffee beans, good water, and a proper brewing process, you can extract the flavors from coffee. Of course, if you want to pursue ultimate flavor, that requires more in-depth learning and understanding.

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473