Does The Coffee You Make At Home Taste Too Weak Or Watery?

Don’t worry! You’re in the right place. Today we’ll go over 4 reasons your coffee might be tasting more watered down than you’d like.  We’ll also provide an easy fix for each of these common mistakes to get you back to a full-bodied goodness that you know, love, and are proud of.
 

4 Reasons For Weak Coffee (And 4 Easy Fixes)

Reason #1 – You aren’t using enough coffee!

This is one of the 5 most common mistakes people make when brewing coffee.  For methods like a french press, we recommend using a full 2 Tbsp for every 6oz of water. When using an automatic drip brewer (most offices and homes have these) use closer to 1 or 1.5 Tbsps. The reason for the difference is because these automatic drip brewers brew at a higher temperature which we’ll get to later in the list.

Looking for a french press? This one is our favorite.

Need a drip machine that actually makes good coffee? See our Top 5 Picks here.

Reason #2 – You’re not brewing long enough

Coffee only has 2 ingredients, so all of the the flavor / strength of each brew comes solely from the interaction of heat, time, water and ground coffee. Just like tea, the strength of the coffee you make has a lot to do with the amount of time the coffee is allow to “steep.” Weak coffee is often a result of under-steeping—if the coffee doesn’t have enough time to interact with the water, its flavor won’t be fully extracted. For a guide on how long to brew coffee based on the brew method you choose, check out our How to make coffee brew guides

Reason #3 – You need to turn up the heat

The temperature of the water used during extraction is a major factor in influencing how bitter (over-cooked) or weak the coffee will taste. Weak coffee can be a result of using water that has cooled too much. The ideal coffee brewing water temperature is around 195-205 degrees or about ~30 seconds off of the boil.  This is not as common a reason for weak coffee because most people still use automatic drip machines that heat the water too much and over-extract the coffee, making it bitter.

Reason #4 – Your coffee grinds are the wrong size

Did you know that the consistency and size of the coffee grinds you use is an important factor in coffee brewing. It’s one of the reasons having a quality coffee grinder is so important. Each brewing method is different in terms of which grind level to use, but the general rule is that if you use too coarse of a coffee grind for a given brew type, you risk not extracting enough of the flavor and you may wind up with watery, weak coffee.

Looking for a grinder that can grind consistently for your preferred brew method? Check out our Top 5 Coffee Grinder picks and our Top 3 Grinders for Espresso Lovers.

BONUS Reason #5 – You might be brewing a coffee that isn’t roasted to your preference

Lots of folks find that light roast coffee just isn’t “strong” or “bold” enough for their preference. If you’re tasting fruity or floral notes, finding the coffee to be milder than you’d like, or wishing for more chocolatey, nutty, roasty goodness, a Medium or Dark roast would be a much better fit! Our Medium to Dark plan is made for you.

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