Bitter Coffee

[nb1]

Why is it I can't seem to buy ground coffee in UK that tastes anywhere near as good as Coffee I have in hotels in Spain. It is never bitter just Fab! The only other great coffee I had was in a restaurant in London 'Rizzo' off Kensington Hgh Street. Or is it I make it incorrectly. I have a de longhi coffee machine with a steamer but it still tastes bitter

[nickmo]

Your probably drinking Saimaza brand (sold as the most popular in Spain - made by Kraft Foods)

Log in here and buy online: http://www.spanishonlinestore.com/

To get to taste the same at home - and remember the water has an influence on the flavour of coffee as the flavour is carried in oils, and it will be affected by the brewing temp, water, pressure settings, etc - get to speak to a blender at a decent deli / coffee roaster and they should advise a smooth blend.

[heathfield]

To help remove the bitterness from a cup of coffee, add a teensy pinch of salt, just 20 or 30 grains, and it will taste smoother and less bitter.

As a coffee addict, I've tried all ways of making it, and my undoubted preference is to use a cafetiere, adding scalded milk, (heated in a pan till it just sizzles round the edge).

[mojobanana]

I know what you mean!

I love the coffee in spain and the best way I've found of replicating it is a stovetop percolator. They're the octagonal steel pots that you get in posh cookery shops and the occasional botega. You put cold water in the bottom, ground coffee in the middle bit and put it on a stove (gas works best). As the water heats, it gets forced up through the coffee grounds then carries on rising up and condenses into the top section. As it starts to gurgle, it's ready.

spanish/italians etc. don't generally use filter coffee, so if that's what your machine does (you don't say if it's filter or espresso) then it won't taste the same. This makes espresso. You only need a small bit then add hot water and milk, or just hot milk and sugar to taste. Wahey, there you go.

I got a percolator for about �15. You can get round ones too. Bialetti is the 'name' that makes them, but there are others. Just make sure the handle is robust if you consider buying one. If the handle breaks, there's no way of picking it up unless you have teflon fingers.

Hope this helps!
Jo

[nb1]

Thanks Mojobanana. I do have an espresso machine. I also have a stovetop percolator, but unforntunately I have a ceramic hob. Perhaps the water is too hot. I read somewhere that is why the no-one else can make a decent cup of tea, because they don't boil the water.