If Your Espresso Tastes Bitter, Sour, or Weak, This Is What Your Machine Is Desperately Trying to Tell You

Image of a navy blue La Marzocco coffee machine next to a matching coffee grinder on a white countertop with wooden cabinetry in a white tile kitchen.

Everyone wants to be a home barista these days, but are you willing to put in the work to be a truly qualified home barista? Learning how to make a proper cup comes with a fairly large learning curve. From differentiating between roast types to formulating the perfect grind size and extraction time, to staying on top of your coffee machine care, there is a lot that goes into a perfectly balanced and delicious brew — more than just style.

So if your coffee-making routine is turning out a little lackluster — too sour, bitter, or weak — an essential step has more than likely been overlooked. And most often, these flaws in taste and brew strength stem from neglecting proper coffee machine maintenance. For instance, you need to descale your machine semi-frequently and clean parts like the grinder, water tank, and grouphead quite regularly.