Surviving Rancid Coffee Taste

[J-Melt]

For several years, I wondered why in earth I could not get my coffee to taste good. I had a Chemex I won from Starbucks and was using a burr grinder. The grinder was on the cheaper end, but still a burr grinder. I then got a V60 and liked that better, but it still wasn’t quite right. During that time, I occasionally cleaned the grinder, but not at any regular cadence.

After a few years of using that setup, I got an Espro triple filter French press and a better Capresso grinder. I realized that I needed to clean the filters to get an approximation of the taste I am looking for. I occasionally cleaned my grinder, but not frequently. I finally made a realization. I had kept my V60 and started using it for afternoon coffee. I realized that for a couple of weeks after cleaning the grinder, the coffee tastes great. Then it starts tasting funky.

I realized that my problem was never my brew method, it was the rancid coffee grounds left in the grinder I never cleaned! Now I clean it approximately every 3 weeks and have consistently good coffee!


Moral of the story: if you have not recently cleaned your grinder, do it and let us know the difference it makes!

[Jerod Broussard]

Interesting, dry-aged coffee beans probably do the same for me as dry-aged beef....no thanks.

[Mosca]

Off topic, but I agree somewhat on dry aged beef. It’s different, but not better. And definitely not worth the loss in weight and trim. Eat the funk if it’s there. But good lord, don’t start chasing it, let alone take it to extremes.

[Dewesq55]

Interesting. I practically never clean my grinder (a relatively inexpensive burr machine.) I should give it a try the next time it needs to be refilled.

[yakima]

So, in your barista work, what was the shop protocol re cleaning mills?
You need to get this down, if post-service coffee hour is to thrive! (And where you will do your best work.}

[J-Melt]

Haha! We were supposed to clean the grinder weekly. You could tell when it was not getting cleaned because the grounds would clump up on their way out of the grinder.

[jerrybell]

I'm trying to imagine how the leftover rancid coffee is fowling the brew. Do you think the rancid coffee is fowling all the beans in the grinder hopper? Is the fresh ground coffee picking up rancid aromas as it passes through the grinder or are bits of the rancid coffee mixing in with the fresh ground? It seems like there would be a relatively minimal amount of leftover grounds, making it difficult to noticeably impact the taste of a fresh grind. Have you smelled or tasted the residue when you clean out the grinder to see if it's off?

[J-Melt]

Continued: I would have to get really bold to try it.

I do notice a really taste difference after cleaning.

[jerrybell]

Gotcha. I don't think my taste perception is refined enough to pick up on these kinds of changes in flavor.

[J-Melt]

I spent too many years working at Starbucks doing coffee tastings…

[realdocBBQ]

I dunno, my Folgers ground I get out of the plastic tub always tastes about the same....? Especially coming out of my $20 drip machine from Walmart.

Am I supposed to be doing something different?

[texastweeter]

Folders and BRCC. Percolator when in the woods, drip at the house. I keep it simple.

[J-Melt]

You are correct that Folgers will always taste the same. Bigger question is what are you looking for in your coffee. I have been thoroughly trained to know how to taste the different notes in coffee. Kind of like those who do wine tasting. I cannot handle the taste of Folgers and am a major coffee snob…

[realdocBBQ]

I can't say I've been trained.... best coffee I ever had was in Nicaragua. OMG. Man that was good stuff. I actually mostly drink Community Coffee with chicory, I bought some French Market and some Cafe du Monde both with chicory lately as well. Pretty good.

I still just use a plain ol' drip coffee maker, though. Reuse my grounds for a few days, too - just adding a scoop or two on top in the mornin'. That s***'s gotten esspensive!

[Mosca]

I have a cheap burr grinder, along with a blade grinder. I did the killer coffee thing, even going so far as buying green beans and roasting them. That was a royal PITA, so I switched to buying whole bean fresh roasts from Sweet Maria’s instead of green beans.

Somewhere along the line I decided I just wanted coffee. Now I buy 40oz bags of store brand (Wegman’s) pre-ground breakfast blend that have the roasting date on them. The current bag is March 16 2026. That’s close enough. (The bags were 48oz, then 42oz, and now 40 oz. They were $10.99, then $12.99, then $15.99, $17.99, now $20.99. I’m going to have to reconsider my hot breakfast drink soon.)

The other stuff is better, sure. But if I’m going to make breakfast, and often make the salsa right then and there, in addition to maybe tortillas, and eggs, and/or bacon, and/or hash browns, and cleaning up everything at the end… either I’m going to have to start getting up at 5AM, or start my day at noon. Keeping in mind that I’m retired and have absolutely nothing that I have to do most days that’s not a big deal. But it’s a lot for just having woken up.

[J-Melt]

Sounds like you have good priorities! Now that I no longer get a free pound of whole bean coffee every week from my employer, I need to figure out what I will do for coffee. I have 2.5 pounds left, so I won’t have to make any decisions until after we move to Wisconsin.

[Michael_in_TX]

Years ago I thought I was being cool and saving money by using the same grinder for both spices and coffee. That lasted about a week. Talk about some off and odd flavors....in both.

[cruiseplanner1]

I have a Tchibo coffee maker and I clean it weekly. Since it really is an espresso type of machine with the moisture you will notice mold if you do not and that is gross to say the least. Run a small wire brush that came with it right up into the grinder from the bottom.

[texastweeter]

You haven't had GOOD coffee until you have made it by throwing grounds in a cast iron skillet with water over a deer camp fire. Then you filter it through the mesh on your mosquito head net into your mug. Sip it while you fry up your bacon, eggs and toast (in that order) in the same skillet. FINE DINING, pinkeys up everyone!

[J-Melt]

That actually sounds quite fun!