Hi Svend,

Quote Originally Posted by Svend N View Post
Marco, you're using a moka pot, right? If your brew is too bitter then you may be overheating the brew water to the point of boiling. Not great for smooth taste. Try this: have the burner at med or med-high to start, then as soon as you see the coffee start to trickle out then turn the heat to med-low or lower. You want it coming out in a nice steady stream but without boiling it. If it starts to sputter and fart then it's too hot. Also, if you're packing it too tight in the grinds basket, then the water will overheat by default as it will need that extra pressure to get through. So easy does it on tamping the grounds.
That's an excellent tip, and indeed something I have already discovered

I don't think the bitterness in question, however, is related to overheating the brew water, but simply the characteristics of the beans themselves.

It exists in the smell, as soon as they've been ground. Before I even made coffee, using the Coffee Masters 'Full-bodied Espresso Blend' beans, I knew that it was going to be a little more bitter than what I had been used to with 100% Arabica, simply from the aroma.

However, you raise a couple of points....

Currently, I boil the brew water first, in a kettle, then fill the reservoir in the Moka pot up with boiling water, to just under the little valve (was recommended to do that, in order to speed up the brew process). Is that a good idea? Or is the water better going into the reservoir cold, and slowly heating up to temperature, simply by using the burner?

When the pot hits the burner after that, it's on a medium heat, not high, and pretty soon afterwards the coffee starts to trickle out, then turns into a nice steady stream. It never splutters. What would you say should be the average extraction time, from the pot hitting the burner, to the coffee being ready to drink?

Also, at the moment, I don't tamp the grinds at all. I just fill up the basket and tip it gently back and forth, so that the grinds are evenly spread, leaving about an even 2mm gap at the top of the basket (so not quite full).

So do you think I should tamp the grinds a little, or leave things as they are?

Marco.