Sharp hollow sourness may come from coarse grinding, short contact, low heat or uneven wetting, but some coffees are naturally bright.
What to evaluate
Keep the decision connected to the actual coffee, brewer and serving goal.
- Identify expected acidity
- Check time and grind together
- Preheat equipment
- Keep ratio steady
A repeatable workflow
Use one baseline, then change only what the evidence supports.
- Move slightly finer
- Improve wetting
- Increase contact modestly
- Taste after cooling
Common mistakes
These errors make comparisons unreliable or create avoidable problems.
- Adding much more coffee
- Switching roasts immediately
- Confusing sour with weak
- Changing everything
Use the troubleshooting helper.