How to improve the taste of sour coffee beans?
I was given a few packs of grain coffee. The smell was pretty nice and it was written that it's 100% arabica. That encouraged me to grind some and brew it in moka pot.
The result I got was not horrible, but way to sour for me. I tried one bean and indeed it was little sour, compared to Starbucks Espresso Roast, which is not sour at all and has great almost black color.
I am sure this will not be my coffee of choice, but it would be nice to upgrade it somehow (before I throw it away), though I have no idea how to do it. I thought about roasting it in the oven (210-225 Celsius; 410-437 Fahrenheit) for 10 minutes.
Do you think it might be a good idea?
Best Answer
I don't think I would re-roast them. I think you would be better off trying a different grind, or preparing the coffee with a different method. Find ways to work with the acidity, basically.
A coarse grind and a french-press might work a bit better with the brightly acidic beans.
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Quick Answer about "How to improve the taste of sour coffee beans?"
When your brew recipe results in a sour coffee, increase the amount of water used. Adding more water directly increases the brew time, which results in a more even extraction to produce a cup of coffee with a softer acidity and sweet tasting notes.How do you fix sour coffee beans?
Under extracted, sour coffee is the result of not getting enough extraction, which doesn't allow sweet or bitter flavors into your coffee to balance out sourness. To fix this, you can make your grind size finer, make your water hotter, brew for longer, or use more water in your recipe.How do you fix bitter and sour coffee?
Your coffee tastes too sour or too bitter, and this isn't what you want....How do you adjust a sour coffee grind?
You remember that acidic, sour coffee is the result of under extraction. Basically, you didn't pull enough out of the coffee grounds. Next time, you need to extract more. The solution is to grind a little finer using a 10 grind setting (2 notches finer).How do you make old coffee beans taste better?
What can you do with stale coffee beans?Why Does my Coffee Taste Bitter, Sour or Burnt?
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Answer 2
Sour could be under-roasted, but it could also just be that particular bean variety, or the age of the bean. I would not try re-roasting already-roasted coffee.
What I would do is blend those beans with something to complement them. You can find flavor charts around the internet, such as this one from Coffee Bean Corral.
I'd probably look for something in the "Earthy" and "Chocolatey" realm. Maybe a Brazilian or Colombian. And if you like the roast flavors, look for something that's been roasted to a city+ or so. In addition to the color, oil on the beans is an indicator of a darkly-roasted bean.
Answer 3
Yes, you can roast the beans some more. However the results will probably not be great.
Roasting results in quite a bit of smoke. If you are going low tech, I would do it in a wok in a very well ventilated area. It's pretty easy to set off smoke detectors. A stove top with a range hood might be good enough if you have a particularly good range hood. Outside with the wok on a BBQ is probably best.
Roast over a low heat and stir continuously. You want to get the beans as even as possible, trying not to burn them. The beans will continue to roast after taking them off the heat. So stop one or two roast levels before the desired colour and tip your beans out into a colander and continue stirring to cool. The residual heat will cook the bean some more.
To aim for a desired roast level, compare the current roast colour to your desired roast colour and maybe to a roast level chart. Google image search "coffee roast level chart". Guesstimate the roast level that is one or two levels below your desired colour to stop at.
Once again there will be a lot of smoke.
Answer 4
Another vote against reroasting. The general consensus I've seen over the years from hobbyist roasting forums is that once the roast loses temperature, that's it, there is no saving from reroasting.
Although I don't believe bitter is the opposite to sourness, extracting on the bitter side will help and possibly make it drinkable. To pour bitter you can try a combination of techniques such as:
- Extracting at a higher temperature
- Grinding finer and overextracting
- Pour longer, getting more of the bitterness that comes at the end of the pour after blonding.
Answer 5
Why not try a small batch and decide for yourself. Rather than throw out beans, I’ve reroasted beans which were too blond for my taste, they were too expensive to just pitch. They tasted pleasant and milder after a reroast. I know all the experts naysay reroasting but it’s you that’s going to drink it.
Answer 6
I agree with the above sentiment that re-roasting is probably not a good idea, and offer an alternative suggestion for salvaging the beans.
If you are not opposed to flavored coffee, a bit of cinnamon and/or clove thrown in with the beans when you grind them could hide the bitterness.
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