Friend said my espresso shots were 'sour and thin' so I had to rethink my whole setup

Back in April, a buddy who roasts beans on the side came over and tried my espresso. He just looked at me and said 'this is sour and thin, man, you're under-extracting.' I was grinding on a pretty fine setting but my temperature was too low around 195F. After he left I bumped my machine up to 200F and added a couple seconds to the pre-infusion. Now my shots pull slower and actually have some crema and sweetness. Anyone else had a coffee friend give them a hard truth that fixed their routine?

3 comments

3 Comments

mason_lopez1mo ago

My buddy's the one who told me my pour-over tasted like dirty socks and I still haven't recovered.

-2

holly_reed551mo ago

My friend Gary spent three months perfecting his pour-over method. Bought a gooseneck kettle, a fancy scale, the whole deal. Finally invited us over for a tasting and his wife took one sip and said "this tastes like someone boiled a bandana." He switched to instant coffee after that and honestly seems happier now.

piper_kim1mo ago

oh man, that reminds me of my friend Jenna. she spent like two months dialing in her v60 after watching a bunch of YouTube tutorials. finally brought a cup to work for a coworker and she took one sip, made this face, and goes "uh, is this dirt water?" lol. Jenna just put the kettle in the back of her cabinet and hasn't touched it since.