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Why does my coffee taste bitter? Do you find yourself and your staff saying this every day but don’t understand the reason?
Remember the good old days when your office coffee was a delight for your taste buds? The aroma filled the air, reminiscent of your favourite local coffee shop. But now, you are greeted with a disappointing, lacklustre cup every morning. What could have gone wrong? How to make coffee taste good again? Well, it is not just about a bad batch of beans; several factors contribute to your office coffee’s less-than-stellar taste.
Let’s look into 10 common reasons why your office coffee tastes terrible.
Poor-Quality Coffee Beans
The foundation of any great coffee is high-quality beans. Coffee bean cultivation is an art and even the best coffee roasters can produce subpar beans, often due to low-quality green coffee beans. So, if your office switched to cheaper beans, it can be the reason your coffee tastes bland. But how do you know the beans are of bad quality?
Well, if you see oil on the surface of the beans, remove it by dabbing them with a dry cloth immediately because it will stick to your office coffee machine components and cause many problems. These oily beans will not only give bland coffee but also disturb the taste of your caffeine drink.
Stale Beans
Stale beans can be the nemesis of a good coffee experience. Exposure to oxygen, moisture, heat and light makes the beans stale and lose their authentic, rich taste. Not accurately storing your coffee beans in an airtight container in a dry and cool place or even leaving them exposed to the air in the hopper will lead to their deterioration.
While coffee typically has a shelf life of 12 months (best by, not use by), we recommend using beans within three months of roasting for the freshest flavour. To prevent staleness, it is best to order smaller quantities of beans more frequently.
Neglected Machine Cleaning
You may not know, but inadequate machine cleaning can be the reason your coffee tastes like dirt. Your coffee’s flavour can be ruined by a dirty coffee maker’s accumulation of oil residues, bacterial development, blockages and inconsistent brewing. This will create an unpleasant taste, bitterness and uneven quality.
A quick rinse between cups won’t suffice; use the manufacturer’s cleaning solutions for a weekly (and sometimes daily) deep clean. Weekly cleaning sessions are an excellent starting point to maintain the hygiene of your coffee machine. A daily cleaning regimen may be necessary to keep the machine in peak condition in high-traffic office environments or settings with heavy coffee consumption.
Blocked Tubes
Does your coffee tastes sour even when the milk used is clearly not past its best-by date? Surprisingly, the cause of this unpleasant flavour might be lurking within your office coffee machine in the form of blocked tubes. Over time, coffee oils, mineral deposits and other residues can build up within these tubes. This accumulation can impart unwanted flavours to your coffee, making it taste off or unpleasant.
Moreover, if the tubes are not regularly cleared, it can cause mold or bacterial growth, making the taste terrible. A regular cleaning and inspection regimen is a must to ensure these tubes remain clear and unobstructed.
Incorrect Machine Setup
An improper machine configuration can provide bad coffee by upsetting the equilibrium between water, grind size and extraction time. Machines are calibrated for the beans they use. If not correctly calibrated for particular coffee beans, it may result in over-extraction (bitter taste) or under-extraction (weak flavour). The water temperature, pressure and flow rate must be appropriate for the coffee kind. Deviations from these optimum circumstances produce an imbalanced coffee flavour because the machine fails to extract the flavour from the beans.
Poor Milk Frothing
If your milk refuses to foam and ends up flat or sinking to the bottom, the problem may be with the milk rather than your coffee machine for office. The key to successful milk frothing lies in the milk’s freshness. Fresh milk tends to produce the best foam due to its protein content. The proteins in milk, primarily casein and whey, are responsible for creating the delightful and creamy foam that tops off your favourite coffee drinks.
Inaccurate Espresso-to-Milk Ratio
Are you stuck with either super-strong or weak taste of coffee? The culprit might be an incorrect espresso-to-milk ratio in your machine. If your machine is set to dispense too much espresso compared to the amount of milk, your coffee can turn out overly strong and bitter. On the other hand, if your machine dispenses too little espresso relative to the milk, your coffee may come out weak. Adjusting this ratio can make a world of difference in the flavour of your coffee.
Outdated Coffee Machine
Is your coffee maker for office older than the CEO? If your beans are top-notch, your water is filtered and your equipment is spotless, it might be time to bid farewell to your old office coffee machine. With time, even the best machines lose their edge. When that moment arrives, you should consider investing in the best, latest office coffee machines to keep employee productivity high.
Your Water Quality May Not Be Right
Good tasting coffee begins with good water. Many countries have a set of standards that the water for coffee making has to meet. However, most municipal water is not very good. If your water tastes fairly chlorinated on its own, it will not make a good cup of coffee. So, when making coffee, you must use drinkable water, which is mostly filtered.
Coffee Beans Were Improperly Roasted
If your office coffee tastes bitter, improperly roasted coffee beans might be the culprit. Though dark coffee has its charm, over-roasted coffee beans can give a bitter or burnt taste. For offices, it is better to stick with medium-roasted coffee beans to cater to diverse tastes and preferences. Moreover, always purchase from reliable office coffee service providers like Wake Up Coffee.
Wrap Up
Your office coffee’s taste woes can be due to various factors, from bean quality and freshness to machine maintenance and setup. By addressing these issues, you and your staff can once again enjoy the delightful coffee you have been missing. Don’t let a subpar coffee experience ruin the workday; take action to ensure every cup of office coffee is a flavorful delight.
