Top 5 Brewing Mistakes to Avoid with Specialty Coffee Beans

Brewing the perfect cup of coffee can sometimes feel overwhelming with all the rules and guidelines. So, it’s perfectly normal to make mistakes. One thing to keep in mind down the road: while it’s easy to get caught up in constantly chasing performance, remember to enjoy your coffee and don’t be overly critical.

Now, here are the top 5 brewing mistakes that can truly mess up your specialty coffee beans and how to avoid them.

TL;DR

• Using bad water. Make your tap water soft or use bottled water.
• Not cleaning your coffee makers. Get a checklist on what to clean daily, monthly, and annually.
• Using beans and grounds that are no longer fresh.
• Not using a coffee scale.
• Using low-quality beans.

Mistake 1: Using Bad Water

The number 1 mistake people make when brewing specialty coffee is using bad water. Your cup of coffee is 97% water, so if you're not putting in the effort to make sure that 97% is right, you might as well stick with instant coffee.

What kind of water is best for coffee?

The kind of water that is best for coffee has the right balance of minerals. While the real flavor comes from the beans, the right balance brings out all kinds of flavor notes, adding sweetness, acidity, and even texture and creaminess to your cup.

To perfectly tailor your water to coffee, there are factors you need to consider. Here’s a helpful table on what the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) recommends for brew water.

The guidelines above work for all brewing methods and coffee roasts. But how can you achieve the ideal levels above to make a great cup of coffee? Here’s how:

• Third Wave Water: Mix the packet into distilled water to get balanced minerals that bring out flavor and help protect your machine.
• Brita Filter: Simple carbon filter that removes chlorine and off smells; it does not remove permanent hardness.
• Reverse Osmosis (RO): Cleans water through a thin membrane (removes ~80–90% of minerals).
• Water Refilling Stations: Often spring water with a respectable PPM; if the overall PPM isn’t crazy high, the bicarbonate count usually isn’t either.
• Bottled Water: Very soft base. Brew as is for light roasts or add minerals on top.
• Distilled Water (for dilution): Cut your tap water to lower PPM and reduce waste; also handy with RO.
• Sodium Softener: Converts calcium and magnesium so they don’t scale up your machine (doesn’t fix chlorine).

If your tap water is soft, you might not have to do the extra steps above. To know if your tap water is hard or soft, look up your water utility’s annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) online. 

Tip: Use 60 grams of coffee for 1 liter of water; getting this ratio right matters because too little makes a weak cup and too much makes it bitter, and using a scale helps you hit it consistently.

Mistake 2: Not Cleaning Your Tools

If your coffee machine made a good cup of coffee in the beginning, and then suddenly the taste is flat, sour, and bitter, then it’s time to roll up your sleeves and give it a proper clean and descaling! Here’s how to keep your machine running smoothly year after year.

How to Clean Different Coffee Machines

Espresso Machines: These machines are complicated to clean because of their internal parts. You'll have to clean off the coffee grounds, milk, and mineral residue that accumulate on those parts. You'll need to clean the group head and steam wands daily and the brew heads weekly.

Drip Coffee Makers: Combining vinegar and water is one of the most effective ways to clean your drip coffee maker’s water reservoir. This combo can remove limescale buildup and other impurities.

To get rid of the lingering vinegar taste, run a few cycles, let it sit, and then run a few more. You’ll also need to wipe the hot plate to clean coffee spills and burnt-on stains.

Pour-over Stands: Permanent filters can trap oils and grounds, which impact taste. Always clean the filters after each use.

Milk-Based Machines: Milk contains fats and proteins that, if you are not cleaning your machine properly, can affect the taste of your brew. These machines use steam to clean the milk tube, and you'll just have to rinse off the outside of the metal wand.

Daily Cleaning

• Flush the group head right after each shot to clear out old grounds and oils. This ensures every shot is as fresh as possible.
• Wipe the steam wand immediately after each use. Use a dedicated steam cloth (microfiber or similar) to prevent milk residue from building up and affecting the taste.
• Clean the portafilter and group head with a group head brush (like the Art Presso brush) to scrub away coffee grounds and oils. This prevents the buildup of unwanted flavors in your shots.

Weekly Cleaning

• Backflush with chemicals: Use a recommended descaling solution (like Cafeto Evo) and a blind basket. Run the brew cycle for 10 seconds on, 20 seconds off. You may have to repeat this process 5 to 8 times until the water runs clean in the drip tray.
• Disassemble and clean the milk frother if you use one. Milk contains fats and proteins that can accumulate and can make your brew taste rancid, bitter, sour, or stale. 

• Empty and rinse the drip tray to avoid buildup and odors, which can lead to a compost-like smell if left too long.

Monthly Cleaning

• Descale the whole thing by running half water and half vinegar or citric acid, or whatever descaling solution the manufacturer recommends.
• Soak metal parts like the portafilter, filter baskets, and steam tip in a cleaning solution for 5-10 minutes to remove built-up oils and coffee residue.
• Check and clean internal parts. Gaskets and shower screens need to be taken out for a deep clean. Valves need to be checked out for leaks or brittleness. Replace any worn-out parts as necessary.

Annual Cleaning

Deep clean and service your machine. If you own a cafe and are using professional or commercial machines, set an appointment with a technician who can replace worn-out components like group head gaskets, one-way valves, and steam wand tips. 

As a coffee shop owner, you'll save thousands of dollars by having your coffee machines professionally checked out.

Mistake 3: Everything MUST Be Fresh. Fresh Beans. Freshly Ground Coffee.

The first thing you need to do is find a roaster you trust who will deliver freshly roasted beans every time. Over time, coffee beans lose their natural flavor compounds and aroma due to exposure to oxygen. 

Fresh beans preserve flavor.

Inside each coffee bean are gases like CO₂ and other flavor components created during roasting. These protect and preserve your chosen coffee's flavor notes. If the beans are stored for too long (and improperly), the CO₂ escapes and the flavors begin to evaporate, leaving you with a stale, less flavorful cup.

Grind just before brewing.

Grinding your coffee beans immediately before brewing ensures you’re extracting the most flavor. Once coffee is ground, it exposes more surface area to oxygen, which speeds up the loss of flavor compounds. Pre-ground coffee loses its freshness much faster, and you’ll end up with a cup that lacks the rich, full-bodied taste of freshly ground beans.

What to Look for When Buying Fresh Coffee:

• Roast date: Always prefer beans roasted within a month of when you plan to consume them. Fresh beans should ideally be used within two weeks to six weeks of roasting for the best flavor. Roasters will have a stamp on their coffee bags showing the roast date.

• Avoid supermarket coffee that has "best by" dates: Supermarket coffee from large industrial roasters has expiration dates of 12–24 months, meaning the coffee may have been sitting for months or even a year, leading to poor extraction and lackluster taste. 

The bags don’t indicate when the beans were actually roasted. You may end up buying stale coffee. If your only option is buying supermarket coffee, look for beans within the critical 30-day window of roasting.

• Beans can tell you more than freshness: Freshly roasted beans often include additional details like bean origin, coffee farm, variety, and sometimes even the harvest and drying method, which all contribute to the coffee’s flavor and quality.

Tip: Buy the best coffee grinder you can afford. A good grinder gives you consistent grinds, which leads to a more uniform extraction. For example, with an inconsistent grinder, some beans might be too coarse, some too fine. With more uniform grinds, you'll be able to bring out better flavors from your coffee, especially the fruit notes.

Mistake 4: Eyeballing It Instead of Using a Coffee Scale

A scale adds precision to your brewing. Being precise helps you manage consistent shots back-to-back, ensuring everyone gets the same flavor every time. This consistency is essential for both quality and customer satisfaction.

Scales also help with dosing, which is essential for great coffee. Measuring the amount of coffee, water, and brew time leads to better results and controls wastage, meaning you won't throw away coffee grounds that could be used for another cup.

How Coffee Scales Bring Out the Best in Every Roast

When brewing delicate coffees like a super light roasted single-origin espresso, a scale becomes necessary to get a balanced and sweet extraction. In these cases, precise measurements of dose, time of shot, and shot weight are critical.

Even with a grinder that you know extremely well, you still can’t trust it to be as consistent as using a scale. That’s why a scale ensures that you’re getting the right amount of coffee every time, especially with medium-light roasts.

Whether you're a beginner or a professional, using a scale should be a non-negotiable part of your coffee routine.

The BIGGEST Mistake: Using Low-Quality Beans

It all starts with the beans. Sure, you can adjust things like the coffee-to-water ratio, temperature, and grind size, but those adjustments won’t change the inherent traits of the coffee.

For example, a dark roast will always have those deep, smoky flavors, while a light roast single origin will highlight tart, acidic notes. If you’re using low-quality beans, these flavors won’t shine through, no matter how perfect your brewing process is.

Why Buying Commodity Coffee Is A Waste Of Your Money And Time

If you're going to spend all that time studying how to make the perfect brew and all that money to buy the best coffee grinder and other tools, it wouldn't make sense to buy low-quality coffee.

Commodity coffee, which you’ll typically find in supermarkets, is mass-produced and usually involves mechanical harvesting. Cherries are stripped off the trees indiscriminately, whether they’re ripe or not, leading to poor flavor extraction and often, a flat, tasteless cup.

Even worse, these beans may be mixed with twigs, leaves, and even insects, resulting in a poor-quality brew. Also, the cheap coffees from big box stores are made from Robusta beans. These cheap coffees have high caffeine content but low quality, so you'll have a bitter coffee and get the jitters.

Fus Light: The Perfect Specialty Coffee Beans for the Perfect Brew

Genuine Blue Mountain coffee beans are handpicked by experienced farmers. Only the ripest, plumpiest cherries make it through the next step. This attention to detail preserves the true flavors of the coffee, allowing you to experience all the nuances that a great cup can offer.

Our Blue Mountain coffee is Certified Authentic by the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA), ensuring that what you’re drinking is genuine Blue Mountain coffee.

At Genuine Blue Mountain Coffee, we've personally traveled to Jamaica to bring you the finest, authentic coffee straight from the farmers. We're all about the real deal, with no blends or imitations.

Ready for the best coffee? Grab your real Blue Mountain Coffee today on our website or on Amazon!

FAQs

What is the 15-15-15 Coffee Rule?

The 15-15-15 coffee rule means that green coffee beans should be roasted within 15 months of picking, roasted coffee should be used or ground within 15 days to keep its CO₂ intact, and ground coffee should be brewed within 15 minutes to preserve its oils and flavor.

What is the golden ratio for specialty coffee?

The golden ratio for specialty coffee is typically 1:18, as recommended by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA).

This ratio has been chosen based on significant consumer research, which shows that most people prefer coffee brewed with a 16:1 to 18:1 coffee-to-water ratio. Cafes often follow SCA recommendations because they’re good recommendations, and serving coffee that appeals to "most consumer palates" is pretty much the goal of any cafe.