<p>You may try to minimize the citric acid extraction with respect to the <a href="http://www.coffeeresearch.org/science/sourmain.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Coffeeresearch.org</a>'s tables. In short, you may wish to use</p>

<ul>
<li>coarser grind</li>
<li>shorter brewing time</li>
<li>cooler water</li>
</ul>

<p>to stay away from citrus flavors.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-30T00:21:20.463Z
thanks, I tried a coarser grind and it made a world of difference! I noticed that if water is too cool, it tends to underextract and gets sour instead of acidity
mugetsu
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-30T06:19:04.083Z
@mugetsu :) Nice. These tables may help as a starting point. But, at the end, it's trial and error to find your personal taste. Happy to hear that you made progress.
MTSan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-30T14:16:05.020Z
Yes shorter brewing time, cooler water and coarser grind will all actually contribute to less extraction and make the coffee more sour/acidic. The problem ist to get it balanced (not to minimize acid extraction) and in order to do this you need to dissolve more of the sugars which will give the caramel flavor. Thus you need to increase extraction. Higher temperature (standard with Aeropress is around 85°C or so) as I suggested in the first comment will help with that.
avocado1
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-29T21:54:04.337Z
2016-11-29T21:54:04.337Z
MTSan
<p>I recently bought some <a href="http://www.regentcoffee.com/product-page/bd0a1193-1c3c-5665-4fa2-b8f17bfabdf4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Full-City roasted Burundi Gaharo</a></p>
<p>The flavor profile is:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Strong caramel, tropic fruit juicy flavor, moderate body, great
balance of sweetness and acidity and bitterness.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Here are the brewing tips it came with:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Using a siphon pot is recommended to accent the caramel
feature of this bean.<br />
Medium Ground 1:15 beans/water ratio.</p>
<p>High  temperature water recommended, just slightly lower than boil.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I am instead using an Aeropress. How can I modify my brewing process to minimize the acidity while accentuating the caramel taste?
I brewed once already with fine grounds, inverted and 3m total brew. The result was a big slap of the citrus flavor.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-29T21:53:38.187Z
If you tell us how you brewed it so far when it was too acidic we can probably suggest some improvements. In general I would try a tad hotter than normally, maybe around 90°C, 17g of coffee (fine to medium), 220g-230g of water and 60s to 90s total brew time (I'd do a 30s bloom, fill to the top, stir, let sit a few seconds and then plunge....oh inverted btw). As I said though, without more info it's difficult to give proper advice.
avocado1
<brewing-process><flavor><aeropress>
Aeropress: How to accent the caramel flavor and decrease the acidity of my beans (Burundi)?
mugetsu
# Aeropress: How to accent the caramel flavor and decrease the acidity of my beans (Burundi)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-11-29)

I recently bought some [Full-City roasted Burundi Gaharo](http://www.regentcoffee.com/product-page/bd0a1193-1c3c-5665-4fa2-b8f17bfabdf4)

The flavor profile is:

> Strong caramel, tropic fruit juicy flavor, moderate body, great
> balance of sweetness and acidity and bitterness.

Here are the brewing tips it came with:

> Using a siphon pot is recommended to accent the caramel
> feature of this bean.  
> Medium Ground 1:15 beans/water ratio.
>
> High temperature water recommended, just slightly lower than boil.

I am instead using an Aeropress. How can I modify my brewing process to minimize the acidity while accentuating the caramel taste?
I brewed once already with fine grounds, inverted and 3m total brew. The result was a big slap of the citrus flavor.

**Tags:** brewing-process, flavor, aeropress

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: If you tell us how you brewed it so far when it was too acidic we can probably suggest some improvements. In general I would try a tad hotter than normally, maybe around 90°C, 17g of coffee (fine to medium), 220g-230g of water and 60s to 90s total brew time (I'd do a 30s bloom, fill to the top, stir, let sit a few seconds and then plunge....oh inverted btw). As I said though, without more info it's difficult to give proper advice.  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-11-29. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

You may try to minimize the citric acid extraction with respect to the [Coffeeresearch.org](http://www.coffeeresearch.org/science/sourmain.htm)'s tables. In short, you may wish to use

* coarser grind
* shorter brewing time
* cooler water

to stay away from citrus flavors.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: thanks, I tried a coarser grind and it made a world of difference! I noticed that if water is too cool, it tends to underextract and gets sour instead of acidity  
> **username_2**: @username_0 :) Nice. These tables may help as a starting point. But, at the end, it's trial and error to find your personal taste. Happy to hear that you made progress.  
> **username_1**: Yes shorter brewing time, cooler water and coarser grind will all actually contribute to less extraction and make the coffee more sour/acidic. The problem ist to get it balanced (not to minimize acid extraction) and in order to do this you need to dissolve more of the sugars which will give the caramel flavor. Thus you need to increase extraction. Higher temperature (standard with Aeropress is around 85°C or so) as I suggested in the first comment will help with that.  

---

