The Relationship Between Coffee Grounds, and Over/Under Extracted Coffee

Did you know that we use different grind sizes for different coffee brewers to avoid over, or under extracting the coffee from the bean?

Your goal, in choosing a grind size, is to extract the perfect amount of flavour from your coffee.

Too little and you’ve under-extracted it, too much and you’ve over extracted it.

Under extracted coffee tastes sour, acidic or salty, and results from grounds that are too coarse for the brewing method used.

Over extracted coffee tastes bitter, overpowering and lacks the subtle notable flavours. This results from when your coffee grinds are too fine for the brewing method used.

Under Extracted:

  • Sour
  • Acidic
  • Salty

Over Extracted:

  • Bitter
  • Overpowering
  • Hollow – A lack of any notable coffee bean flavours

But, while a poorly extracted cup of coffee might not be the pleasurable break you were expecting, it can be a valuable learning experience.

Here are some tips to improve your next cup of coffee

If your coffee is sour, consider increasing your brew time, lowering the temperature of your water, or using a finer coffee ground.

If your coffee is bitter, consider reducing your brewing time, increasing your water temperature, or using a coarser coffee ground.