How to Fix Sour Espresso: Tricks and Tips from the Pros

published on: 2022-05-10

It’s not easy to learn how to make an excellent espresso at home. There’s so many factors that have an impact on the taste of an espresso that it’s only natural to not get everything right when learning how to pull an espresso.

One common outcome for new home baristas is to accidentally make the espresso too sour. What can you do if your espresso tastes sour?

Let’s explore the few ways how you can adjust the taste of your espresso from sour to something more enjoyable.

How to make your espresso not sour

Here are some tips from the pros on how to fix sour espresso:

• Make sure your beans are roasted properly. Overly dark or light roasts can lead to a sour espresso.
• Use filtered water to make your espresso. This will help avoid any unwanted flavors in your coffee.
• Grind the coffee beans finer. If the grind is too coarse, it can lead to a sour espresso.
• Use less coffee in the filter basket. This will make the espresso less concentrated and therefore less likely to taste sour.
• Increase the brewing time. If the espresso is brewed too quickly, it can be more sour.
• Use a higher temperature water when making espresso. This will help extract more flavor from the beans and make a less sour espresso.
• Use coffee beans better suited to pull an espresso. Typically darker roasts work well.

These are just a few tips on how to fix sour espresso. With some trial and error, you’ll be able to find what works best for you and your home setup. Remember, practice makes perfect!

By following these tips from the pros, you should be able to fix that problem of sour espresso once and for all.

How can you know that your espresso is sour without tasting it?

Besides the obvious thing, taste, there are a few telltale signs that can help you identify a sour espresso.

• The espresso has a sour smell.
• The crema is thin and weak.
• The consistency of the grind is not good enough.
• The espresso puck looks muddy, meaning some of the coffee grounds didn’t react to hot water and pressure properly.

If you see any of the above signs, you might have accidentally pulled a sour espresso.

Can you fix an espresso that has been pulled sour? Unfortunately that shot of espresso is probably gone for good and can’t be saved. But hopefully the tips above will help you improve your next shot of espresso and not make it sour. Just be careful that you don’t go too far to the other direction, because then you might end up with a bitter espresso instead.

Filed under: espressosour