[Closed] Anyone else find 'fresh' ground coffee undrinkable?

People like what they like. Some people prefer instant over 'proper' coffee. Some people even like Cherry Coke.

It's not the fact that it's fresh, it's the kind of bean and the "technique" or otherwise of the untrained artisan roaster.
I drink fresh beans and like you I find the citrus flavour unbearable. That's why my grinder is full of Happy Donkey Brazilian or Italian blend and Mrs BigJohn's has got their Costa Rica blend in.
We live a couple of miles away from Hasbean and I've never enjoyed any of their beans.

I notice the posh stuff usually looks a bit lighter in colour and coarser in grind

If that's not giving you coffee you like try a darker roast in a finer grind. Though tbh your cafetiere, filter or Bialetti will benefit from a coarser grind than your Aeropress. There are lots of variables, mix it up a bit. I mean that's if you can be bothered, if you're happy with supermarket ready ground stuff then you could just stick to that, it's an affordable taste to have and there's no wrong way to enjoy stuff.

Coffee has a variety of different tastes. The fruity stuff that you describe is currently fashionable, however I don't particularly like it either. The darker stuff is a darker roast which is not fashionable. However it's still widely available in a range of qualities. I like it because it goes much better with milk. Usually labelled 'espresso' or something.

I learned about different coffee tastes by going through all the different single origin beans in Whittards. Java is a favourite of mine - dark but without the edge. But for a latte I prefer Starbucks blend because it's as dark as space and that goes really well with tons of milk.

Some people even like Cherry Coke.

Have you tired raspberry Pepsi? Its really nice!

I'm sure I read the other day that beans are normally left to de-gas for a few days after roasting...it affects the taste apparently. Exactly how fresh is this coffee...it takes up to a week to degas.

PS Just noticed you are buying it ground. Ask your wonderful wife to get it ground finer to suit your brew method

Add a little salt to it ... it reduces the bitterness.

How are you grinding it? I found that expensive beans ground badly (with a cheap blade grinder) are far worse than pre-ground stuff. A lot of bitterness as you mention. That doesn't apply if the locally-roasted stuff is pre-ground, though.

It's also possible that the local artisanal roasters don't actually know what they're doing 😉

People like what they like. Some people prefer instant over ‘proper’ coffee. Some people even like Cherry Coke Dr Pepper.

FTFY 🙂

It’s also possible that the local artisanal roasters don’t actually know what they’re doing 😉

We had this. Lad got laid off from the o+g and started a coffee shop with no prior experience

He started grinding his own coffee and selling it.

It was sodding awful (both his drinks and ground coffee). Stale as month old bread. Clearly the fact he didn't last a year means I wasn't the only one who thought that.

Don't assume because they have all the gear that makes it good coffee.

We have a really good one in town how ever I've stopped shopping there as he's the voice of opposition of positive change in our city so my trade goes else where.

Oddly can't stand Starbucks espresso tastes like charcoal. It goes well in milky drinks as molgrips says .

Some beans do have that sour, green sort of finish, I usually take a little milk in my coffee so this flavour doesn't work at all for me. Maybe if you're strictly black it's OK.

Got a burr grinder recently and the difference is obvious - whirry blade thing was absolutely no different to a bag of pre-ground.

The darker stuff is a darker roast which is not fashionable. However it’s still widely available in a range of qualities. I like it because it goes much better with milk. Usually labelled ‘espresso’ or something.

Actually this rings a bell, the only 'posh' coffee my wife has bought me that I've actually liked was specifically labelled Dark Roast, I just wasn't sure if I was enough of a connoisseur to notice the difference, but apparently I am 😉

There have been too many types of 'posh' bean/grounds for it to be something to do with the blade used or the specifics of the roasting process, I doubt that many roasters are getting it wrong! Quite a few posh coffee shops as well now I think about it...

Will stick to places with a big Lavazza or Illy sign outside the door 😀

Yes. I did go to central America a few times and I try to replicate what I found there but I took my mrs there and she likes her first coffee of the day to be out of a jar. Dear me, explain that.

What's the origin of the coffee? IS it that you're buying South / Central American stuff in the supermarket but African / Indian beans from the roaster?

There's a noticeable difference in taste - a lot of the African coffees are very "floral" and fruity in taste, some can be almost lemony bitter.
South & Central American tends to be more nutty / chocolatey in taste.

Or it might just be a taste thing in which case there's nothing wrong with most supermarket stuff!

Coffee is very personal, the stuff I make at home, bialetti and Aldi beans, guests find undrinkable as too bitter. I love it. I always do a bit of research when visiting uk to get a decent coffee. Last top find was java opposite Oxford rd station, Manchester, worth every penny.

I find chatting to the staff at the roaster helps, the whole process of choosing and making can seem a bit daunting. Just try different ones.

there’s no wrong way to enjoy stuff.

Are you new here?

I only drink the Italian blend types from the supermarkets. I've tried and tried and tried to enjoy a coffee out out, but I have to say I have literally never had a coffee as nice as I make myself at home in my Aeropress.

I now never order coffee out, as I know I'm going to be disappointed. I honestly don't know how the likes of Costa, Starbucks etc do it. Their coffee is rank (to me anyway) Really bitter and dishwatery at the same time.

I've tried many a coffee from so-called artisan coffeeists, but again, bitter, bitter, bitter.

There's a line of cars every morning at the Costa drive through on the way to work at 7am so they must be doing something the masses like.

What a crazy world.  🤔

I now never order coffee out, as I know I’m going to be disappointed. I honestly don’t know how the likes of Costa, Starbucks etc do it. Their coffee is rank (to me anyway) Really bitter and dishwatery at the same time.

The most memorably good coffee I've had 'out' was from the slightly dingy sandwich shop at Stirling Train Station (double espresso, so good I could have drank a mug of it if my heart could take the caffeine). I often wonder if it boils down to a particular combination of cleanliness (or otherwise) of lines, type of bean, shear fluke on the part of the operator, etc.

Embo Deli/takeaway on Leith Walk used to produce a ferociously strong, delicious to the last drop Americano, no fruitiness or sourness but also not too bitter. Gave me the jitters all day long as well. I'm sure they still do, I'm just never passing by for coffee any more 🙁

Lidl preground Italian strength 5 for £1.20 a pack = the bizness

Central Library Manchester if you have to buy one and can't get down Oxford Rd, better than the chains.

Thing is, I can’t drink it! It has a weird fruity sort of sourness to it, whereas I prefer to more acrid bitterness of the supermarket stuff.

I love proper roast profiled speciality coffee and usually stick to the fruitier side (single origin Ethiopia/Kenya/Burundi etc) and rarely stray to South America unless it’s gesha or some anaerobic or weird processed £££ stuff that comes my way. After all coffee is a fruit and they pick the cherry’s 🙂

Nothing wrong in liking over roasted commodity ground coffee sold in the supermarket, you just saved yourself some money.
The roasty charcoal stale smell of Costa/Starbucks is grim though.

Some people like mini-babybell others like rebluchon, it’s good to have the choice.

Supposedly, how you grind beans can make heck of a difference to the flavour.

Used to drink freshly ground bean coffee all the time, this thread has just made me realise it's been at least a few years since my last cup of Guatamala Elephant.

There’s a line of cars every morning at the Costa drive through on the way to work at 7am so they must be doing something the masses like.

A triumph of marketing over content. I have gone off the Italian dark roast style coffees some are very bitter indeed (usually too much Robusta in the blend and too short a roast time). I'm a fan of S. American beans and blends.

You are starting on a slippery slope, a bit like the top of the ski jump. I've been brewing espresso for a couple of years after a couple I met on a ski holiday told me you don't need sugar in coffee it should be sweet enough without - they are roasters. The didn't drink espresso whilst on holiday they brought their own and an Aeropress.
They post me 500g every month and I buy 500g or 1kg from my local roaster. I have learned so much from the latter and yet I know very little as there is so much to know. Before lockdown I was desperate as he was closed so I tried some "artisan" beans from Sainasburys, I don't know the actual series but the one I chose was single origin - it was awful, it just tasted like coffee. When Frazer re opened I took the remainder to him and asked "why don't I like this?" He took a look and a sniff and then said it's stale. He told me that I've got used to single origin light to medium roast coffee. So now I buy that type but what a difference grind size, extraction ratio, brew temp and extraction time all make and they are the bits that are under my control.
If you like your Tesco or Scotmid coffee then that's good, it's you who tastes it, but ask your wife to buy that and not the posh stuff. Don't get started on cask ales though!

Best coffee ever is whatever is made in a shack in whatever exotic place you are on holiday. Sumateran coffee overlooking a volcanic crater lake is my favourite. Waitrose no1 Sumateran doesn't have the same affect surprisingly.

You lost me at some people like Dr Pepper.

Reminds me not to buy the fancy 'flavoured' beans again - like you do at the Christmas markets. One cup, and that's it - it might smell wonderful, but I lose interest after 1 cup. I like my 4 or 5 strength Italian or columbian.

You lost me at some people like Dr Pepper.

50 years old and have never had it, or been tempted to. Can anyone provide some tasting notes?

Dr Pepper is lush. As is Cherry Coke. Irn Bru is minging.

I find that the right amount of Chicory can make a world of difference.

I prefer the lighter/medium roasts, Maragogype/elephant bean coffee is my fav but not been able to get it from Tug Boat for a while.

Like the OP I'm not wild on super fruity stuff, but don't like to too dark roasted either. After a bit of trial and error I've come to the conclusion that if I buy something medium roasted with a description of biscuity/nutty/chocolatey I'm on pretty safe ground.

Interesting what @crazy-legs mentioned about the location's impact on taste as my standard favourite single origin is from El Salvador. Having said that, I just ordered a few bags from Coaltown and their Sumatran single oringin is flipping lovely - just a hint of fruit but not too much.

I've quite enjoyed testing a bunch of different stuff during lockdown - even an expensive bag of beans so much less than one trip to the coffee shop when cakes are considered.

Back when I was picking beans in Guatemala, we used to make fresh coffee, right off the trees I mean. That was good.

50 years old and have never had it, or been tempted to.

Try one. What's the worst that can happen?

Er, anyway. It's better than Coke. Because, prunes, or something.

Oh, and, coffee, Tesco french style strength 5. Dark, bitter, removes paint. As a bonus, cheap. Can't stand the watery fruity stuff.

I also hate coffee in food.

We're all different, etc.

50 years old and have never had it, or been tempted to. Can anyone provide some tasting notes?

Tastes like medicine. Literally, as it contains sassafras. Horrible. As is root beer.

the only ‘posh’ coffee my wife has bought me that I’ve actually liked was specifically labelled Dark Roast

One of the challenges is if you've had coffee / beans you like (or don't like) is knowing what you've actually bought and how to buy something like it again. I don't mean knowing the name of the grower, the variety of bean and the altitude and latitude of the field it was grown in - but knowing what about the flavour of a coffee that you liked.  If you like something how are you going to look at other packets of coffee and have an idea that you'll also like those?

People who are doing the small batch, local roast thing will probably have changing supplies of bean or changing ambitions in terms of what they sell. If they don't give a clear and consistent description then its hard to choose what you want. The whole point of going to the effort of supplying freshly roasted beans is that what you're selling will be distinctive. But distinctively what?

If you have a look through the Hasbean site one thing they do very well is give quite a colourful description of each coffee while it seems all a bit flowery and daft but the important thing is they have a very consistent way of describing various nuances of flavour. If you buy a particular coffee from them and like it - you probably won't be able to buy the same beans again as their stock changes all the time, but you'll be able to find other coffees that you'd like for the same reasons because certain key words help you know if its coffee with the sort of aspects of flavour you like.

Your local roaster might be making perfectly good coffee for their tastes - but how are they communicating what their tastes are?

Back when I was picking beans in Guatemala, we used to make fresh coffee, right off the trees I mean. That was good.

amazing that you managed to make coffee without a mill to process the cherries, or dry and then roast the green beans.
coffee cherries straight off the tree steeped in hot water might get close to cascara but not coffee.
maybe tell us about that time you were picking grapes in France and drank wine straight off the vine.

I've never picked grapes in France.

I used to be in a barbershop quartet in Skokie, Illinois.

Maybe that story would do?

Dr Pepper is lush. As is Cherry Coke. Irn Bru is minging.

The man speaks truth.

Surprised jjprestige hasn't joined in yet.

I can drink basically any coffee but definitely favour the south american ones.

Aslong as it doesn't taste of ash tray.

@MrSmith - you might want to google that quote before you go too much further

@13thFloorMonk - I get where you're coming from. I'm actually a big fan of weirdo fruity coffee but sometimes I'll get a bag of something and just have to give up after a couple of cups. Good thing is my toddler likes to play with coffee beans so they just go in his little tin.

In my world, coffee of any type is undrinkable, can't stand the taste or smell! Each to their own I guess.

@stevious never, ever, ever, go on Would I Lie To You.

Dr Pepper

It's so misunderstood.

Love the stuff.

Coffee? Comes in jars with the poppy foil seal over the top. Anything else is too much of a faff.

🙂

Big fan of fresh ground coffee made with aeropress or a French press but I've found the former remarkably fickle with some coffee.

I had some specifically ground for aeropress use (turned up like dust), 40 seconds from sticking water in (to stir and press) was too little and 60 seconds too much. Ditched that and went back to a medium ground Tesco sumatra mandheling and it's way harder to muck up, always a drinkable cup.

I'm a newbie to aeropress, but following some YouTube video I found I just pour the water in, stir and press straightaway.

Various coffees I've tried in it gave worked fine this way, but I'm not claiming to be a expert

It's funny the things people like about stuff with flavour. Personally hate anything that ever lived in the sea (or river for that matter). But love modern medium roast coffee with the fruit flavours and a hoppy ale for that matter. Still if you ALL liked fresh roast beans from far off lands you'd drive up the prices, so as you were, carry on.

I normally buy beans and fresh grind for every brew. However, Carrefour ran out of of any whole beans so I bought a packet of their own brand Ethiopian ready ground stuff that was the equal cheapest option.

Absolutely fantastic stuff!

I feel like I'm cheating by ignoring a posh Rancilo grinder but the stuff just tastes better.

The roasty charcoal stale smell of Costa/Starbucks is grim though.

Costa and Starbucks coffee is completely different. Are you sure you're a coffee gourmand? 😉

I honestly don’t know how the likes of Costa, Starbucks etc do it. Their coffee is rank (to me anyway) Really bitter and dishwatery at the same time.

They are both medium quality coffees but they certainly aren't dishwater. Especially not Starbucks as it's really dark. Did you accidentally order a really weak drink without realising it?

For me, the thing to drink at Costa is a cortado as the milk (which is whole by default) rounds out the rather uninteresting fruity taste of the espresso. In Starbucks, my choice is a latte with whole milk (which you have to ask for) - the creaminess goes really well with the astringency. Or the Frappucinos, which are lovely drinkable desserts 🙂