Why Does My French Press Coffee Taste Watered Down? (Solved!)

Typically speaking, French Press coffee tastes watered down when the beans are not ground enough. Also, steeping the grounds for a shorter time, along with improper ground stirring, can make your coffee taste watered down.

This article will examine the main reasons French press coffee may taste watered down and remedies for fixing the issue.

Why Does My French Press Coffee Taste Bland?

Here are some of the reasons that can make your French Press coffee taste bland:

• Problem with the coffee beans.
• Problem with temperature and quality of water.
• Problem with the equipment.

How Does Coffee Beans Make Your Coffee Taste Bland?

Coffee beans make French Coffee taste bland if they have any one of the four problems given below:  

•  Old coffee beans.
•  Poorly roasted.
•  Low-quality coffee.
• Too small/or big of grind size.

How Do Old Coffee Beans Affect The Taste Of Coffee?

 As soon as the coffee beans leave the roaster, they lose their flavor. Also, the roasting process produces a lot of carbon dioxide gas, leaving the coffee beans during a process known as “degassing.” 

Time taken by coffee beans for the degassing process is directly proportional to the flavor loss. So, if coffee beans undergo a degassing process for an extended period, they lose more flavor. This can occur during improper storage of coffee beans.

Additionally, if you leave coffee exposed to air at an average temperature, it will lose ten percent of its shelf life in only one day.

How Does Bad Roast Affect The Taste Of Coffee?

Roasting is a punctilious process. It needs a constant supply of heat throughout the roasting process. If the roast is terrible, coffee will taste bland. 

How Does Quality Of Coffee affect The Taste Of Coffee?

Cheap coffees are more likely to have low quality, and hence they taste bland. Robusta coffee beans generally have a low rate compared to Arabica coffee beans. So, these coffee beans are less flavorful.

How Does The Grind Size Affect The Taste Of Coffee?

If coffee grounds are too extensive, they make under-extracted coffee because they don’t dissolve during the brewing process. The resulting coffee is weak and sour. Acids present in the beans that dissolve early during the brewing process bring this unpleasant taste to the coffee. 

On the other hand, if coffee grounds are too small, they make over-extracted coffee that tastes bitter.

How Do Temperature And Quality Of Water Make Your Coffee Taste Bland?

Hot water at 96 degrees Celsius gives coffee the best taste. However, if you use boiling water, it will damage coffee beans’ volatile oils and flavor. Coldwater, on the other hand, produces under-extracted coffee.

Tap water has a high pH level and high minerals such as sodium compared to filtered water. So if you use tap water for brewing coffee, it will most probably affect the taste of your drink.

How Does Equipment Make Your Coffee Taste Bland?

If they are not clean, your French Press coffee may taste bland if you use dirty equipment, such as your coffee maker, coffee pot, and filter area.

Using faulty equipment can also result in bad-tasting coffee. For example, if you make espresso without an espresso machine, it may produce the coffee with a compromised taste.

The material of the mug in which you drink the coffee also matters. Plastic cups are not suitable to use. Glass, stainless steel, or ceramic mugs are best in this regard.

How do you make French Press Coffee Taste Better?

You can make your French press taste better by doing one or a few adjustments from the suggestions given below:

• Make sure your coffee is not old from four days to two weeks. This is necessary because fresh coffee doesn’t get enough time to get flavorful oils due to the degassing phase. Therefore, to enjoy a better tasted French press coffee, it is highly recommended to shop for fresh coffee. 
• Switching the coffee types or trying a new batch of similar beans will help you make a tasty French press coffee if your home roasts are bad. 
• If you are using low-quality coffee beans, it is highly recommended to buy high-quality coffee beans. A pro tip while choosing good coffee beans is to stay away from the coffee beans which have vague labels printed on them. 
• There is a solid need to know which coffee grounds go for what method of brewing. For example, while making coffee with a french press, the grounds should be coarse. 
• Use filtered water instead of tap water for making your French press. 
• 93 to 96 degrees Celsius of hot water should be used to make a cup of French press coffee. Consider investing in a thermometer and keep a check on the temperature of the water. 
• Make sure your pieces of equipment are clean and tidy. You will receive a thank you from your immune system and taste buds later. 
• Upgrade your pieces of equipment if they are broken or old. 
• Make sure you are using suitable equipment for your French press. 
• Adjust your timings such that you will be able to find what timing gets you a perfect French press.

How do you make French Press Coffee Thicker?

Here are a few adjustments that you can do to your French press to get a thick French press coffee:

• Increased Steeping Time – Let the grounds steep enough in water by increasing the steeping time. Your brew time should be longer than four minutes. 
• Adding More Grounds – The amount of extraction can be increased to a great extent by simply putting in more grounds of similar ground density. Not only this, but the flavor potential will also be increased. 
• Finely Grounded Coffee beans – If the coffee beans are coarse, the water will steep through them, and your French press coffee will be watery since no organic components are extracted. 
• Stir the grounds to make turbulence – Start stirring your coffee grounds after pouring water into them. Creating turbulence will ensure that the grounds contact hot boiled water from around the surface.