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I just realized that my coffee could be bitter bercause I wasn't using enough coffee.
Several recipes suggest 2 heaping tablespoons per 6 oz. water...and to dilute with hot water if that is too strong.

Using less leads to "over-extraction"....leading to bitterness.
I grind beans for a about 3 days supply.
What's your recipe?

And an old question I put out years ago...
If you take a cup from a half finished pot (serve/pause feature), will that cup be stronger, weaker or the same as one from the full finished pot?

Jerry wrote:I just realized that my coffee could be bitter bercause I wasn't using enough coffee. Several recipes suggest 2 heaping tablespoons per 6 oz. water...and to dilute with hot water if that is too strong.

Heaping tablespoons leads to bitterness due to overextraction. I prefer to suggest specifically "2 tablespoons." Water temperature is equally important. If you're boiling water for coffee (olde style), it needs to be 190-195 degrees. Higher temps lead to overextraction (even if you have the proper amount of coffee grounds in your filter.

Jerry wrote:If you take a cup from a half finished pot (serve/pause feature), will that cup be stronger, weaker or the same as one from the full finished pot?

It will be stronger due to more "soluble solids" being extracted in the earlier stages of the brew cycle.

Re: 2 heaping tablespoons per 6 oz. water

I use exactly half the above - 1 per 6 oz. We have a little hand-held grinder, and I grind the dark, oilly, French Roast beans probably finer than you would get for "drip" at the store. I like the result, as does the wife. Not bitter to my taste.

Schuarta wrote:Re: 2 heaping tablespoons per 6 oz. water

I use exactly half the above - 1 per 6 oz. We have a little hand-held grinder, and I grind the dark, oilly, French Roast beans probably finer than you would get for "drip" at the store. I like the result, as does the wife. Not bitter to my taste.

That's about what I've been using....
Are you and the wife consuming sufficient "soluble solids"?:toast:

This morning I tried the 2 Tbls per 6 oz and it was good but a little strong- caffeine wise.
After I cleaned the gutters, mowed the lawn and chopped down 2 oak trees (about 20 minutes later)...I tried it with half a cup and adding the hot water.
It tasted better than using less coffee...I think:eek:

So you like the oily dark beans....so what's the better tasting - the dark oily or light brown dried looking?

Jerry wrote:That's about what I've been using....
Are you and the wife consuming sufficient "soluble solids"?:toast:

So you like the oily dark beans....so what's the better tasting - the dark oily or light brown dried looking?

We definitely go for the taste of the oily dark. They're even good as a "munchie".

IMHO, the coffee water is not ready until it is poured over the thigh of a 14 year old virgin and scalds her with 2nd degree burns.

A brewing technique which must prove prohibitively expensive...