Bitter Tasting Coffee

by david Kniffin
(San Diego)

QUESTION:

How do you get the bitter taste out of dark roasted coffee?

ANSWER:

As you may already know, the darker the roast, the greater the likelihood of noticing a bitter taste in the coffee.

You can try to disguise the bitterness with some cream or milk, if you like.

But what I would do is either find a different coffee or blend, or find a different roaster for the same coffee or blend.

As an example, let's say you are buying a dark roasted blend of Kenyan beans from a particular supplier or roaster...but you find the taste bitter.

You can either try a different coffee, maybe from Ethiopia, from the same supplier or roaster. Or you can stick with the Kenyan coffee, but buy it from a different supplier or roaster.

This is a long way to say that we all have different perceptions of what "bitter" is, and that each roaster will roast their beans in slightly different ways.

If you like dark roasted coffee...shop around a bit until you find the one you like best.