Tuning tipSour? Grind finer. Bitter? Grind coarser.

The Tuned Cup
String E

Basics

The three pegs every cup hangs on: grind, beans and water.

See the whole section

Grind & Grinders

Burr or blade, grind size charts, and the grinder worth buying.

Beans & Roasts

Roast levels, freshness, storage — and what the bag is telling you.

Water, Ratio & Scales

The 1:16 starting point, water temperature, scales and kettles.
Start with Five small dishes of coffee grounds from coarse to fine on a quartz island, a coffee grind size chart in real groundsGuideCoffee Grind Size Chart in Microns, and Which Way to Adjust Two clear jars of coffee beans, one pale and one very dark, beside a drip carafe and two mugs on a coastal kitchen counterHead to headLight Roast vs Dark Roast — Why One Goes Sour and One Harsh A man levels a spoonful of ground coffee over the filter of a drip coffee maker in a bright kitchenExplainerWhat’s the Best Coffee to Water Ratio? Start With 16 to 1
String A

Brewers

Every way to make a cup, from the drip machine to the clay pot.

See the whole section

Drip & Pod Machines

Drip makers, Keurig, Nespresso, and the ones worth your counter.

French Press & AeroPress

Immersion brewing, grit in the cup, and recipes that work.

Pour-Over

V60, Chemex, Kalita: the bloom, the pour, the drawdown.

Percolator, Turkish & More

Percolators, cezves, phins, and café de olla.
String D

Espresso

Shots, moka pots and milk that behaves.

See the whole section

Espresso & Moka Pot

Machines, shots, tamping, and the stovetop moka.

Milk & Latte

Frothing, lattes, plant milks and latte art.
String G

Drinks

Cold brew, café favorites and instant that doesn't taste instant.

See the whole section

Cold Brew & Iced Coffee

Cold brew ratios, iced coffee that isn't watery, frappes.

Café Drinks at Home

Café favorites, syrups and cold foam, made in your kitchen.

Instant Coffee

Better instant, espresso powder, and dalgona that whips.
String B

Tune-Up

Fix the taste, clean the machine, stop the leak.

Taste Problems

Sour, bitter, metallic, watery: find the cause, fix the cup.

Cleaning & Descaling

Descaling, mold, grinders and espresso machines.

Troubleshooting

Leaks, no brew, not hot, blinking lights, Keurig fixes.
String e

More

The counter, the mug, the gear and the leftovers.

The Coffee Station

A coffee bar at home that works every single morning.

Mugs & Thermoses

Keep it hot: desk mugs, travel mugs, carafes.

What to Buy First

The gear a beginner needs, what's worth it, and gifts.

Caffeine, Decaf & Low-Acid

Caffeine by method, decaf that tastes like coffee, low-acid picks.

Leftover Coffee

Reheat it, store it, or turn it into something else.

Guides, fixes & honest gear for coffee at home

Your coffee isn't bad. It's out of tune.

Sour, bitter, weak, flat — every off cup has a cause, and a peg you can turn. Tell the tuner what you taste.

How does your cup taste right now?

Listening…Pick a taste

Choose what you taste and the needle shows which way your cup is off — and which peg to turn first.

  1. Sour means the needle falls flat
  2. Bitter means it runs sharp
  3. In tune sits dead center
The cup tuner · tap the cup to ring it

On the bench

Start with the big adjustments.

The handful of guides that change the most cups, the fastest. Read one before your next brew.

A burr grinder and a blade grinder side by side on a coffee cart, a burr vs blade grinder for coffee comparison Head to head

Burr vs Blade Grinder for Coffee — Bitter and Sour at Once

Same beans, two grinders, two very different cups.

 Two clear jars of coffee beans, one pale and one very dark, beside a drip carafe and two mugs on a coastal kitchen counter Head to head

Light Roast vs Dark Roast — Why One Goes Sour and One Harsh

Roast changes more than color: acidity, body, and what your grinder has to do.

Also on the bench

  1. What’s the Best Coffee to Water Ratio? Start With 16 to 1
  2. Best Coffee Grinders for Home, and What Wears Out First
  3. Should I Buy a Keurig or a Nespresso? Pick by the Cup
  4. Best Drip Coffee Maker, Picked by Water Temperature

Basics · the low string

Three pegs tune every cup.

Grind, beans and water decide more than the machine ever will. Play with the two tools below, then read why they work.

Tool 01 · The grind dialDrag the knob

From flour to cracked pepper.

Medium 600–800 µm
Coffee Grind Size Chart in Microns, and Which Way to Adjust
Tool 02 · The ratio calculatorStart at 1:16

How much coffee, exactly.

22gCoffee
350gWater
1:16≈ 4 tablespoons
Water 350 ml · 12 oz

Medium-fine grind, about 3 minutes.

What’s the Best Coffee to Water Ratio? Start With 16 to 1

Grind & Grinders

Burr or blade, grind size charts, and the grinder worth buying.

Beans & Roasts

Roast levels, freshness, storage — and what the bag is telling you.

Water, Ratio & Scales

The 1:16 starting point, water temperature, scales and kettles.

Brewers

Every brewer is an instrument.

Learn to play yours. Twelve of them, drawn to the last screw — with the grind, ratio and time that make each one sing.

Fig. 3Immersion

French press

1 Plunger · 2 Mesh filter · 3 Glass beaker

Grind
Coarse
Ratio
1:15
Time
4 min
Fig. 4Immersion

AeroPress

1 Plunger & seal · 2 Chamber · 3 Filter cap

Grind
Medium-fine
Ratio
1:15
Time
2 min
Fig. 5Pour-over

V60 pour-over

1 Gooseneck pour · 2 Spiral ribs · 3 Glass server

Grind
Medium-fine
Ratio
1:16
Time
3 min
Fig. 6Pour-over

Chemex

1 Bonded filter · 2 Wood collar · 3 Leather tie

Grind
Medium-coarse
Ratio
1:16
Time
4 min
Fig. 7Steam pressure

Moka pot

1 Collector · 2 Safety valve · 3 Boiler

Grind
Fine
Ratio
1:7
Time
5 min
Fig. 8Pressure

Espresso machine

1 Pressure gauge · 2 Portafilter · 3 Steam wand

Grind
Very fine
Ratio
1:2
Time
28 s
Fig. 9Cold steep

Cold brew jar

1 Mesh filter · 2 Grounds · 3 Mason jar

Grind
Extra coarse
Ratio
1:8
Time
16 h
Fig. 10Boiled

Turkish cezve

1 The foam · 2 Narrow neck · 3 Long handle

Grind
Powder
Ratio
1:10
Time
3 min
Fig. 11Slow drip

Vietnamese phin

1 Press screen · 2 Brew chamber · 3 Condensed milk

Grind
Medium
Ratio
1:8
Time
5 min
Fig. 12Steeped

Clay pot

1 Olla de barro · 2 Cinnamon · 3 Piloncillo

Grind
Coarse
Ratio
+ cinnamon
Time
10 min
A single honey-colored stream of espresso falling into a thick glass
Second 21 of 28. Honey-thick, tiger-striped — that's the one you're tuning for.

Espresso & milk

Pressure, crema, and milk that behaves.

The shot is a recipe with three numbers. Nail those, and the rest — tamping, crema, steaming — falls into place.

18gDose in
36gYield out
28sTime
1 : 2 — the starting recipe

Too sour? Grind finer and the shot slows down. Too bitter? Grind coarser. Change one number at a time.

Drinks

The café menu, made at home.

No line, no seven-dollar latte. On this menu the prices are in minutes.

Milk swirling into iced coffee in a tall glass, backlit by a window Café de olla: a clay pot, two clay mugs, cinnamon sticks and piloncillo
Café de olla: clay pot, cinnamon and piloncillo. The oldest recipe on the menu.

Today's menu

Prices in minutes

Still out of tune?

Tell us what's off — sour — and we'll find the fix.

    What's wrong with your coffee?