The Sales Machine blog on BNet features one of those posts I wish I had authored. The title – Why Office Coffee Tastes So Bad. A great topic for a Monday morning. This post contains some of the most detailed information I have read about bad coffee. Basically, it all comes down to tannins.
Contrary to popular belief, coffee is not bitter. It is supposed to be a naturally sweet beverage. However, the way it is usually prepared tends to concentrate the tanins (sic) in the coffee, which makes it unnaturally bitter. Remove these tannins and you get a good cup of coffee. Tannins come from five sources:
- Exposure to air. The more the beans are exposed to air and light, the more they begin to break down, turning the natural sweetness into tannins. If coffee is already ground, that process is accelerated.
- Brewing residue. Most brewing methods cause tannins to be deposited on the brewing mechanism where they’re transferred into the coffee. Plastic and metal is porous, so even if you scrub it, there’s always residue.
- The brewing process. If the water is not hot enough, the coffee flavor is lessened while the tannins are transferred into the water. Most coffee makers don’t heat up the water sufficiently to make a good cup.
- The filtering process. If the filter is the wrong porousness and not designed to absorb tannins, it will pass them through into the coffee. Many filters just filter out particulate matter and don’t absorb the tannins.
- Time after brewing. If there are tannins in the coffee, they’ll spread throughout the coffee, making it increasingly bitter over time. That’s why reheated coffee — or coffee that’s been sitting in the pot for an hour or more — usually tastes so wretched.
True story – first few months Lee and I worked together at a company with one of those old Bunn coffee makers. The company supplied some of the worst coffee you have ever tasted. Folgers tasted better. Anyway, Lee would get to the office early some mornings to get some work done. If the coffee pot contained coffee – FROM THE PREVIOUS DAY – he would put it in his cup, nuke it and then drink it. All without brewing a fresh pot of coffee.
I’m still disgusted 6 years later.