Took me 4 months to dial in my espresso water recipe

I kept blaming my grinder and my technique, but my shots in Greenville always tasted flat and sour no matter what I did. Finally bought a water test kit and found my tap water had way too much bicarbonate. Switched to a 50/50 mix of distilled water and a mineral additive, and the first pull tasted like a completely different coffee. Has anyone else spent way too long chasing a water problem that was right under their nose?

1 comments

1 Comment

kelly.daniel17d ago

Well the bicarbonate was probably part of it but high alkalinity usually kills brightness, not flavor, so sour shots likely had other issues too like your water being too soft overall. Still, good on you for testing instead of guessing.