I finally learned what 'bloom' meant after my coffee tasted like dirt for a year

I was just pouring hot water straight onto the grounds in my French press for ages. The tip off was my friend Sam in Denver watching me make a cup and saying, 'Dude, you're not letting it bloom, that's why it tastes like wet soil.' I had no idea that little 30-second wait after the first pour made all the difference. Anyone else have a basic step they missed for way too long?

3 comments

3 Comments

corad843mo agoMost Upvoted

That "wet soil" taste is so specific. I had the same thing happen with my pour over because I was using water straight from a rolling boil. Letting it cool for a minute fixed it completely.

abbyl493mo ago

So you were basically making coffee with dirt water?

avery_roberts6724d ago

Hold on, do people really think "bloom" is some kind of magic trick or is it just making sure your coffee isn't stale? I see it differently. That 30 second wait is basically a gas check for freshness. If your coffee is more than a couple weeks off the roast, that bloom is barely going to fizz. You can wait five minutes, it won't fix stale beans. The real basic step people miss is buying coffee with a roast date on the bag, not some vague "best by" date six months from now. Most of that wet soil taste is just old coffee, not a bad pour.