Monthly Archives: June 2025

Is your espresso flowing too fast? Then your grind is probably too coarse, you’re using too little coffee, or you’re tamping too lightly. An espresso should take 25 to 30 seconds to extract. If it’s faster, you’re missing flavour, body, and balance. Luckily, you can easily fix this with a few simple tweaks.

Read more about the ideal extraction time for an espresso.

Why is your espresso flowing too fast?

An espresso that ends up in your cup within ten to fifteen seconds is flowing too fast. What does that mean? Your coffee is under-extracted, meaning the water hasn’t had enough time to draw out flavour compounds, oils, and acids from the ground coffee. The result: a thin, sour espresso lacking depth.

Possible causes of a too-fast extraction

An espresso pouring out of your machine like a waterfall almost always points to too little resistance during brewing. This can have several causes. Here are the most common:

• Grind too coarse: The coarser the grind, the faster the water flows through.

Coffee tastes bitter when your water is too hot, the grind is too fine, or you let the coffee run through for too long. Dirty equipment or very dark-roasted beans can also produce an unpleasant, bitter flavour. The good news is that the fix is often simple: a few small changes and you'll be brewing a delicious cup again.

What causes the bitter taste in coffee?

A bitter taste in your coffee is usually down to over-extraction. That's when you draw too many compounds out of the coffee, leaving an astringent aftertaste. This can have several causes:

• Grind too fine: this slows the water flow through the coffee, so it picks up too many bitter compounds.
  
  
• Flow time too long: the longer the water stays in contact with the coffee, the more bitter the taste.
  
  
• Water temperature too high: water above 96°C extracts not just the aromas, but unwanted bitters too.
  
  
• Dark-roast or cheap beans: Robusta beans in particular are naturally more bitter than Arabica.
  
  
• Dirty equipment: oils and coffee residue in

Do you start every morning with a cup of coffee? Chances are those coffee beans have travelled a long way! Coffee doesn't grow in Ireland — it grows in tropical regions across the globe. Every country brings its own unique flavours and characteristics to the bean. Curious where your favourite cup actually comes from? Let's dive into the world of coffee-producing countries and the varieties they grow.

How does the global coffee trade actually work?

After the beans are harvested in countries near the equator, they're usually processed locally and then exported to major coffee markets such as Europe, the US and Japan. 

The price of coffee is largely set on the world market, where factors like harvest results, climate change and geopolitical events play a big role. Traders, cooperatives and fair-trade organisations all have a part to play here. There's growing attention to fair prices and sustainable trade, so coffee farmers can earn a decent income while you, the coffee lover, can keep enjoying