Why is Black Coffee So Bitter? Here’s How to Make it Less Easily

Ever wondered ‘why is black coffee so bitter?’ 

This is a common question that many coffee lovers have. Stick around, in this article I’m going over what really black coffee is, I debunk the myth of bitter black coffee and share brewing tips and tricks along the way. 

Let’s jump straight into it. 

Why is black coffee so bitter? 

Black coffee made with dark roast coffee beans is high in phenylindanes which makes your brew more bitter. But black coffee made with light and medium roasts shouldn’t be bitter unless you over extract the coffee or use too thin coffee grinds. 

Α little bit about black coffee 

Let’s talk about what really is black coffee and how to make one the right way.

What is black coffee? 

There are 2 types of people…

The first is those who have their coffee with milk sugar, cream or any other additive that changes its taste. 

The second are those (also known as coffee snobs) who can’t conceive the concept of adding anything to your coffee and insist that coffee is best enjoyed without any sugar milk or cream. So coffee without any additives is called black coffee. 

Which category do you belong? 

I’ll go first. I drink my coffee most of the time black (I’m a coffee snob), but every now and again I might add a splash of milk or some sugar to sweeten it just for a change. 

Why do people drink black coffee? 

One of the main reasons is to consume less calories. 

A cup of coffee (8oz or 237gr) has 1 calorie whereas a splash of milk has 10 and a tbsp of white sugar has 60 calories. If you’re on a diet it makes sense to go for black coffee and avoid those 60 calories of white sugar. Another reason is that many coffee lovers really like the taste of coffee and believe that sugar, milk or cream spoils the taste of it and they don’t really enjoy their drink this way. 

How to make black coffee that DOESN’T taste bitter?

One of the most popular ways to make black coffee is with a dripping coffee brewer.

All you need to do is add water to the water tank and coffee grinds and switch it on. Coffee will soon start dripping into the carafe. Another common method is with a pour-over gadget which is not a machine but it pretty much brews coffee that tastes almost the same with a brewing machine. 

Now then, let’s go over a bunch of best practices to ensure that your coffee ISN’T going to be bitter. 

Make sure you don’t use stale coffee

This is one of the most common mistakes we make when brewing. 

The moment you open your pack coffee beans or coffee grinds start turning stale. Ideally, you should use your coffee beans within 3-4 weeks and coffee grinds even less than that. 

Quinic acid is the one that turns coffee beans stale and combined with oxygen coffee beans are oxidised and really produce coffee that tastes bitter. 

I suggest you buy a pack that just covers your needs for coffee, and avoid buying large packs simply because they are on offer. For example, if you drink 2 cups of coffee at home then you need around 21.2 gr of coffee per day, so it’s wise to go for a 200gr or 250gr coffee pack to brew delicious coffee and avoid throwing away unused coffee grinds. 

Go for a light or medium roast 

As mentioned above dark roast coffee is high in phenylindanes which make your coffee taste more bitter. Instead, opt for a light or medium roast. Coffee brewed with light roast coffee beans tastes tangy and fruity as it’s closer to green coffee beans (coffee beans that haven’t been roasted). Medium roast coffee beans are less acidic than light roast and they have a distinct mellow and chocolatey taste. 

Opt for Arabica beans 

Arabica coffee beans tend to taste similar to light roasts: tangy and fruity, so it’s a good way to avoid bitter coffee. Because they are higher in acidity they are high in citric acid and they have lemon and lime hints. 

Brewing feedback loop 

What do I mean by this? 

All you need to do is find the method that you really like brewing and perfect it. For example, you can brew coffee with a dripping coffee machine. Read the manual of your brewer and really observe what happens if you put in a bit more or less coffee, or even experiment with a couple of different coffee brands and see which brews the best coffee. Once you crack the code of ‘the perfect brew’ stick to it and you’ll be good. 

Ways to make bitter coffee sweeter

It happens to all of us, unfortunately; you really crave a delicious cup of coffee and you end with one that tastes bitter. 

Here are a few quick and easy ways you can use to make your bitter coffee sweeter: 

• Add salt: funnily enough, salt takes away the bitterness of your coffee and it makes it taste sweeter. Just add a pinch of it, too much salt in your coffee will ruin its taste

• Add sugar: good old sugar simply makes your coffee sweeter and the fact that you probably have some in your cupboard means that you don’t need to spend any money to change the taste of your coffee. 

• Add creamer: creamer is also another simple yet effective solution to turning your coffee to sweeter and it’s easy to find it in your corner store or supermarket. 

• Add cow milk: just a splash of cow milk will be enough to take the bitterness away and make it sweeter. Avoid vegan milk for this purpose as it won’t change the taste of your coffee much. 

Let’s wrap it up 

Since you made it to the end of the article I believe you have a good understanding of why black coffee is considered to be bitter and how to brew black coffee the way you really enjoy it. If you liked what you read come visit my website again as I realise new articles on coffee and brewing every week.