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Is moka coffee supposed to be sour? (lemmy.world)

submitted 23 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) by yogurtwrong@lemmy.world to c/coffee@lemmy.world

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I don't like acidity in my coffee much. Stuff I get from my moka pot on the other hand was always very acidic.

Recently I bought a bag of very good, beautiful smelling beans from my favourite coffee shop and brewed it on moka pot. The results are still the same, it almost tastes like lemonade. It is undrinkable amounts of acid in there.

I use the 1zpresso Q Air. I tried nearly every grind setting between 1.6-0.9 (chart, please click). Always the same result.

I also tried starting with both hot and cold water. No difference.

I do not tamp my coffee and flatten it nicely by shaking the basket. I don't overfill the basket.

My moka pot is 2-3 years old and I might need to change its gasket, wonder if that has anything to do with it but i doubt it since the gasket still seals pretty good except for a 5-10mL water leak every brew.

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[–] yogurtwrong@lemmy.world 2 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

Well I already grind very fine (coarse espresso grind!), and going finer results in even more acidity from what I found. It is probably channeling. I may be confusing bitterness with acidity but I doubt it since it just tastes like lemon.

I increased my grind size from 0.9 to 1.5 after reading some threads on the net and from what I remember 1.5 yielded better results. But it was still very acidic and lemony.

I don't think it is the beans. I specifically requested full bodied/low acidity beans and drank a cortado made from the same beans in that cafe. It was delicious and visibly less acidic compared to your average light roast.

[–] evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world 2 points 15 hours ago

I may be confusing bitterness with acidity

I dont think this is necessarily what's happening here, but lots of people use the term "acidic" when really just trying to say that the coffee isnt sitting well with them, or that it's too "sharp"/strong.

Acidity/sourness/low pH are obviously all almost synonymous, but there are differences in their meaning in beverages. "Acidity" is usually just a characteristic that is neither positive or negative. E.g., an ethiopian coffee might have high acidity, which comes across as fruity. Sourness, is pretty much always a negative, and it's commonly the result of underextraction. Alternatively, it could be that your beans are too fresh, and they just need to be rested a little. Roasting creates CO2 in the beans, brewing releases that CO2 (creating the bloom of a pourover, or the crema of espresso). Dissolved CO2 creates carbonic acid, though, which is sour.

Alternatively, you aren't experiencing sourness but astringency. It has a similar lemon-like kick to your salivary glands, but a different cause. Astringency could be from overextraction, or too high of a temperature.

If you are already at an espresso grind, I would go much more coarse. Also, try to keep the temp down so the coffee comes out slow and steady. Also, if you are using beans within the week they are roasted, maybe wait a week to use them. Lastly, like other noted, moka pots are somewhat hard to use because the physics dont let you mess with as many variables as something like an aeropress. It could be that its just not the best method for you.

[–] FreeBeard@slrpnk.net 6 points 21 hours ago

Do you know about channeling? It happens when you grind too fine. Instead of an even flow through your coffee bed the flow forms channels of high flow rate. This produces a coffee that is underextracted and overextracted at the same time leading to a sour and bitter cup.