Why does my coffee taste awful?

 Let‘s say the coffee was produced, picked, sorted, processed, dried, packed and shipped fresh, right after the harvest and according to specialty standards. Let‘s say that it was roasted and cupped by someone who know how to do that properly, lightly and in a way that highlightes the so far only green potential of the coffee. So far many things could go wrong but it didn‘t – everyone in the chain did their job perfectly.

Now comes another and last crucial part – brewing. That‘s where the chicken broth of cup of gold comes to the scene. Let‘s say the coffee is well roasted and ready for brewing. So many factors have affected the coffee up until now, but everything went great. Now it‘s up to the barista and coffee shop owner and trainer as well.

I‘m seeing a lot of great care for each taken by professional baristas or aspiring young great baristas. But more often than I‘d like to, I see badly stored coffee, dirty equipment, bad puck preparation routine or overall bad technique that makes the cup of coffee just disappointing.
Embracing the “it’s ok, serve it like it is” approach both from the owner or barista’s perspective is just bad. The coffee hasn’t been taken so much care of just to be ok if you put a drop of milk in it.

We believe in quality that is measurable. And specialty coffee is both quality driven and measurable. The better the quality of the green and roasted coffee, the less of technical and extraction errors it pardons you in the final cup.

If you’re not satisfied with the final cup, consult with your roaster, write them or call them, seek for answers. Ask other baristas, taste together, make them brew the coffee. Be open like a book with empty pages, always ready to write down new knowledge. Fresh, lightly roasted coffee always changes, it adapts. As a barista, you need to adapt with it. Adjust the recipe, adjust the temperature and flowrate and other variables. Let’s talk about brewing specifics next time!
Whether you’re in coffee a month or ten years, always learn with the same passion and never think that you finally got it. Because in the end of the day, what is best today, might be old and ineffective tomorrow.