Barista at a tiny shop in Portland showed me why my morning coffee was bitter

I was in Portland last month for work and stopped at this hole-in-the-wall cafe called Steady State. The barista there watched me order a black pour over and then asked if I wanted her to fix my brew method. She said the water I was using at home was probably too hot, around 212 degrees, and that was scorching the grounds. She pulled out a thermometer and showed me their water was sitting at 205 exactly. I went home and bought a $15 kitchen thermometer, dropped my water temp, and my morning coffee went from sharp and burnt to actually drinkable. Has anyone else had a barista call them out on a basic mistake like that? I feel like I wasted months drinking bad coffee for no reason.

2 comments

2 Comments

wells.karen24d ago

That bit about the barista "fixing your brew method" really hit home. I had almost the exact same experience a few years back with a shop in Seattle. I was always complaining my coffee at home was bitter, and a barista told me to check my water temp. I was using boiling water straight from the kettle, probably way over 212. She recommended 200 to 205, too. The change was night and day for me. I bought a gooseneck kettle with temp control after that, but a simple $15 thermometer did the trick for a long time first.

the_wren24d ago

Did you ever think it could have been the minerals in your water making your coffee bitter instead of just the temp? I had a similar wake up call from a barista in Portland, and after I got a water filter that removes chlorine and adds back some calcium and magnesium, my home brew finally stopped tasting like ash. A temp controlled kettle helped too, but the water chemistry piece was the actual game changer for me.