Cannot make nice coffee

daveg

I'm a big coffee fan but I've given up trying to make it at home. I've bought 2 coffee makers, 2 decanters and 2 kettles and I still cannot get nice coffee. It always has an after taste to it. So I thought it must be:

The Coffee - Tried several brands. Get the same taste even when it's fresh out the box.

The water - Even tired using bottled water - no good.

The coffee maker - tried 2 different makers and 2 decanters. Still get a horrible aftertaste. Even bought a britta kettle to use with a decanter - still get an aftertaste.

Any other ideas?

aidan_walsh

How have you been doing it?

ruprect

Is it a metallic aftertaste? Do you think it is from the kettle?

You could try heating the water in a glass just in the microwave. You should not make coffee using boiling water, it should be 92-96C. Overboiled water in kettles looses its aeration too and can taste bad

daveg

Lads it can't be the kettle as I've used 2 coffe machines and 2 different kettles.

"How have you been doing it?"

Coffee Machine - Pour in tap water into machine (also tried filtered water). Put in ground coffee and filter as per instructions.

Decafinator - Put in measured amount of coffee into decafinator. Boild kettle - pour in water.

aidan_walsh

Have you been using the same mug?

daveg

aidan_walsh wrote:

Have you been using the same mug?

Nope. Tried different mugs. Only possible thing I can think of is we use a dishwasher? Have tried cleaning a cup "manually" but still had same taste. Might have had dishwasher cleaning residue though.

rockbeer

daveg wrote:

...still get an aftertaste.

Any other ideas?

Do you get the same aftertaste when you drink coffee out? What sort of coffee do you prefer? Maybe you only like coffee made a certain way. These days I really don't like anything other than decent espresso. I might just get by with a mocha pot or cafetiere, but everything else tastes foul to me now. Instant and filter are especially grim.

ruprect

daveg wrote:

Lads it can't be the kettle as I've used 2 coffe machines and 2 different kettles

But both kettles could impart a metallic taste. What is the after taste like? Do you get the same taste with tea?

Are you adding boiling water to the coffee? this will certainly burn the coffee and impart off tastes.

Try running water throguh the machine and drink it while hot, boil in the kettle and treat the same but with no coffee. Taste hot but also allow it to cool completly and taste.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

oh wow.. you're really not supposed to use boiling water in coffee? I thought they just put that there to stop retards from suing if they burned themselves

how the hell should I know if it's 92 degrees instead of 100.. just wait a few minutes after it's boiled?

methinks a scientific kitchen study is in order.

Kattyboy25

I love coffee so much, and I have made some of the best coffee i have EVER tasted, and it very simple, better than Peets, Starbucks.
Step 1: Buy some coffee beans (good beans from a professional coffee house). Never freeze coffee beans or ground beans. Pour just enough beans for the amount of coffee u want to serve into the coffee bean grinder. Keep coffee beans in an air-tight container in a dark cupboard at about 15 degree C, just less than room temperature. Now grind the beans. Personally I like columbian beans. I don't like french roast, never did don't know why! Fresh beans will look abit oily! It is important to keep them in an air tight container, never freeze them as it destroys the taste.

step 2: I don't like using the french press coffee, so I just use a good coffee maker. Make sure you get ground coffee to water ratio right. I just use water from the cold tap. I also recommend playing around with this ratio, some people like it stronger or weaker. Also there are settings on the coffee maker play around with them. Give yourself a month to find the right setup for yourself.

Kattyboy25

Oh also check to see if you get hard or soft water from your tap. Soft water is best for coffee. You can tell if u have hard water, just look inside your kettle, if there is scale on the heating element or anywhere else in the kettle you have hard water. There are machine/filters on the market the converts hard water into soft water.

art

I don't think I was ever happy with the coffee I made at home until eventually I invested about 800 euros in a Jura coffee maker. now I prefer my home made coffee to about 90% of what I get elsewhere. Plus, I can really taste the difference in the quality of coffee beans which makes buying varieties much more fun. If you can afford it, I'd recommend just getting a really good machine.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

800 euro for a coffee maker?

jesus christ.. I doubt there are bongs that cost 800 euro

lubie76

I have the same problem with my coffee maker which is a Morphy Richards with the steamer attatchment and all that stuff on it. Thought it may have been build up inside machine so went and bought this descaler stuff on EBay and didn't make a damn bit of difference. I think it may have something to do with the strength of the pump on them type of machines but with ordinary coffee makers it could be just the water to coffee ratio as mentioned before.

Gran Hermano

Daveg, there's only two thing constant in all the coffees you've made
- your water (I know you used bottled but I'm guessing you'd used tapwater
in the kettle before you boiled the bottled)
- your taste buds

Have visitors to your house tasted and commented on your coffee?

rockbeer

Mordeth wrote:

oh wow.. you're really not supposed to use boiling water in coffee? I thought they just put that there to stop retards from suing if they burned themselves

No you really shouldn't use boiling water, it destroys all the subtle flavours. Of course it doesn't matter much with instant, as it doesn't have any of those in the first place

Just wait 30 seconds after the water boils and you'll be somewhere near the mark.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

well, just made a cup of coffee after waiting a minute or two after the kettle boiled and.. I gotta say it tastes nice

I can't really remember if it tastes any better than usual, but I have noticed myself being less impressed with my coffee over the past couple of weeks. This could very well be why.

awesome./

Gran Hermano

Mordeth, you're half way there - well instant wise
as you've just noticed boiling water will burn the coffee and ruin the oils.
You'll get an even better instant if click off the kettle BEFORE it boils as if you
let it boil it'll drive the oxygen out of the water. Same reason as you shouldn't
re-boil water in the kettle if you're making that horrid brew called tea

(Can't believe I'm taking lengths to describe how make a 'good' instant)

Now get yourself a Bialetti Moka pot and banish the instant stuff from your life!

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

i don't drink instant (any more), not allowed caffeine so I have to drink decaf beans.. I have a nifty plastic cup that has a plunger built in so it's perfect for making coffee

also, you shouldn't re-boil water in a kettle? good lord.. that's all I do

I fill it up to the brim, then keep boiling it every half hour or so when I want a cup

trust the internet to make tea/coffee complicated

aidan_walsh

Mordeth wrote:

trust the internet to make tea/coffee complicated

Or, as we prefer to call it, right

RE*AC*TOR

daveg wrote:

I'm a big coffee fan but I've given up trying to make it at home. I've bought 2 coffee makers, 2 decanters and 2 kettles and I still cannot get nice coffee. It always has an after taste to it. So I thought it must be:

The Coffee - Tried several brands. Get the same taste even when it's fresh out the box.

The water - Even tired using bottled water - no good.

The coffee maker - tried 2 different makers and 2 decanters. Still get a horrible aftertaste. Even bought a britta kettle to use with a decanter - still get an aftertaste.

Any other ideas?

I assume you are using a drip/brew coffee maker?

Why not try a different approach, try a bialetti moka.



Buy some lavazza espresso coffee, or illy, which are widely available in tesco /superquinn supermarkets. Make the coffee per the instruction, which will be espresso strength, top up with boiling water to your preferred strength.

ruprect

Mordeth wrote:

i don't drink instant (any more), not allowed caffeine so I have to drink decaf beans..

All guidelines will say the best coffee is made with a brewing water at 92-96 to extract the best out of it, and not burn or overextract. The brewing time depends on the grinds but generally should not be over 8mins in contact with the coffee (lower times for finer grinds).

If you were making instant the temperature does not matter as you are not extracting anything! but the boiling water still can cause off tastes. I prefer to heat my water in the microwave in the cup I will drink from.

Mordeth wrote:

also, you shouldn't re-boil water in a kettle? good lord.. that's all I do

I fill it up to the brim, then keep boiling it every half hour or so when I want a cup

As I said to the OP try allowing some of that reboiled water cool down in the fridge and taste it, it is absolutely vile!. The "hardness" in the water can come out of solution and it looses all aeration and tastes manky.

Filling the kettle to the brim is also a no-no. Not only is it wasteful of energy, and takes much longer to boil, and prematurely ends your kettles life- it tastes worse too!
The more you put in, the slower it is to heat- the more oxygen is lost- the worse it tastes.

You can usually hear when a kettle is about to boil, so you can turn it off beforehand. If not you can pour from the kettle from a height into a jug and then onto your coffee, this will cool it and introduce new oxygen into it.

trust the internet to make tea/coffee complicated

That is only the tip of the iceberg!

Sparks

Mordeth wrote:

I have a nifty plastic cup that has a plunger built in so it's perfect for making coffee

One of us!