Cubicle Coffee Troubleshooting

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Troubleshooting

My coffee tastes bitter. What am I doing wrong?

Coffee, despite what you may have experienced in the past, should not taste overwhelmingly bitter. A good cup of coffee fills your mouth with flavor and should be pleasing to the palate. A small amount of bitterness is always there, but it shouldn't overpower you. Here are a number of reasons why bitterness may occur:

Brewing for too long -- We noticed in the beginning that if we brewed the coffee for too long without pushing down the filter, it would have a bitter taste. This usually happened with brewing times over 5 minutes. Of course, when you are engrossed in your email and spend too much time deleting spam from your inbox you can easily lose track of time. That is why we recommend using a timer and setting it around 4 minutes, depending on the coffee. Try adjusting up or down by 30 seconds and see if that helps.

Wrong Grind -- Proper brew depends a great deal on the size and consistency of the grind. The finer the grind, the less time that the coffee needs to be exposed to water. That's why espresso is ground superfine and made with scalding hot steam shot through the coffee in just a few seconds. The French press is on the other end of the spectrum -- coarse grind and minutes of brew time. Check your grind to make sure that it is coarse and even; if it is too fine, you will get over extracted coffee which can taste bitter.

Stale Beans -- Even if you have your timer set correctly and the grind is accurate, you may find that the taste of the coffee deteriorates over time. Your beans may have gone stale. Usually, a pound of ground coffee beans stays fresh for about a week depending on exposure to air, light, humidity and harmful UV rays from your computer monitor. A fresh batch will have some froth (also called crema or foam) on top when you stir the coffee just after adding the water. As time progresses you'll notice less and less of it. No froth may mean stale beans, which could mean bad tasting coffee.

Dirty Pot -- If you have done everything right and there is still a bitter taste to your coffee, you may be the victim of a dirty pot or filter screen. Even though it may look clean, coffee oils can build up on the filter screen and turn rancid over time if you don't occasionally clean the entire pot with some mild dish soap or put it in the dishwasher. Read our section on cleaning the pot for detailed instructions on cleaning your equipment. Don't worry, we won't tell anybody about your dirty dishes.

My coffee tastes weak. How can I fix it?

Weak coffee usually results from under-exposure to water. This could be because you are not brewing it long enough (4 minutes is about right) or because your grind is too coarse. Another reason is that you may not be using enough ground coffee for the quantity of water. Usually, about 7-8 tablespoons is enough for a standard 32 oz press. It could also be that you're putting cream in your coffee: bleegghhh!

My coffee is coming out too strong. Why?

One of the advantages of Cubicle Coffee is that unlike a standard drip coffee maker, the press pot does not filter out all of the oils and essence from the coffee bean. This gives a cup of Cubicle Coffee extra dimension and complexity that you may not be used to. It also means that the coffee may be a little stronger than what you expect from your local Chotchkie’s, corner diner, gas station or vending machine. If you aren't quite comfortable with the strength of the coffee we can suggest a couple of things: (1) Water it down - either use a little less coffee grounds in the press pot or add more hot water into your cup after brewing it, (2) Use milk or cream in your coffee or (3) Drink less coffee.

My coffee still tastes funny. Now what?

Our first thought is "Stop buying your coffee at the grocery store." But there may be other reasons why your coffee doesn't taste quite right. It boils down to one of three primary components of Cubicle Coffee: Coffee grounds, coffee equipment or water. If any one of these is not right, the taste may not be there. We suggest trying other equipment (this includes cleaning your coffee cup), using water from other sources or getting another type of coffee bean. If you still can figure it out, please contact us with your questions, we're sure we can come up with an answer (or make one up).

There are a lot of grounds and sediment in my coffee or there is sludge in my cup. Why?

Cubicle Coffee is made with a press pot. The press pot does not filter out all of the oils and essence out of the coffee bean. This gives a cup of Cubicle Coffee an extra dimension and complexity. However, some of these oils and powder from the grind may find their way through the wire mesh in the press pot and in to the bottom of your cup. This is perfectly natural and should not affect the taste of the coffee. Simply rinse them out of your cup before you pour the next one.

Another option is to take the extra sediment and place a pinch of it between your cheek and gum. This can prove especially useful during long budget meetings.

I can't push down the plunger/filter. Why not?

We recommend using a coarse grind when making Cubicle Coffee. If the grind is too fine, or if there is powder in the coffee grind, it may get stuck in the wire mesh filter screen used by the press pot. You must use a consistent, coarse grind and clean your filter regularly to prevent this from happening. If the plunger gets stuck, DON'T FORCE IT! You may end up damaging the press pot or worse, breaking the glass carafe and spilling hot coffee all over that new pair of pleated Dockers® you just picked up on sale at the mall.

There is no resistance when I push down. Why?

The resistance in your press pot depends on the grind of your coffee beans. If the grind is too fine, it will offer too much resistance (see above). If the grind is too coarse, there will be little or no resistance, while this is not a major problem, it may affect the quality of your coffee.

My coffee is getting cold. What should I do?

Drink it faster.

But seriously, we have found that different types of press pots cool off at different rates. Air is a decent insulator and does not transfer heat very well. The press pot models with legs at the bottom may keep your coffee warm longer than those that only have a plastic or rubber stand. You can also try pouring the brewed coffee into an insulated thermos to keep it hot, or use an insulated French Press (see the equipment page for suggested models). We will keep testing this theory (for years if we have to) and report back at a later time.

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