My espresso shots tasted like sour candy until I played kitchen detective

I could not get my morning espresso to taste right for days. It was so tart it made my face scrunch up. After trying fresh beans and different water, I got fed up and grabbed a butter knife. I poked around the group head and found a hidden chunk of old coffee gunk. It must have built up from my rushed cleanings after night shifts. Scraped it out, and now my coffee is smooth and rich. Lesson learned: slow down and clean your gear properly.

2 comments

2 Comments

michaelw758h ago

Back in my cafe days, we only deep-cleaned the group heads once a week, and our espresso was consistently award-winning. That sour taste you had might just be from under-extraction, not gunk, so check your grind size and shot time first. I've seen machines with more buildup still pull great shots, so maybe your technique is the real issue. But if scraping makes you happy, who am I to argue.

kim_lewis977h ago

My buddy ran a cart downtown and swore his grinder was the only variable that mattered. Then his regulars started complaining about gritty texture and a weird sour bite. Turns out his boiler had scale chunks floating into the portafilter. After he did a proper descale, the sourness was gone. Makes you wonder if old cafe machines just built up a different kind of residue.