What the compass diagnoses
Extraction and strength are different. Sourness usually means water did not dissolve enough from the coffee. Weakness means the finished drink is not concentrated enough. A cup can be sour and strong, or balanced and weak.
| What you taste | Likely issue | General direction |
|---|---|---|
| Sour, sharp, thin | Under-extracted | Extract more |
| Bitter, hollow, drying | Over-extracted | Extract less |
| Pleasant but watery | Too weak | Use more coffee |
| Balanced but overpowering | Too strong | Use less coffee or dilute |
| Sour and bitter together | Uneven extraction | Improve evenness first |
| Muddy or gritty | Excess sediment | Handle or filter more gently |
What it cannot fix
A recipe cannot repair stale coffee, unsuitable water, dirty equipment, or a roast you simply do not enjoy. If the same defect remains after two controlled adjustments, check those basics before sacrificing more coffee. The full coffee troubleshooting guide covers the cases that do not fit neatly on a wheel.
Why it recommends one change
Changing grind, ratio, temperature, and time together may improve a cup, but it teaches you nothing about which change worked. Keep everything else fixed, taste the next brew, then record whether it was better, the same, or worse. Recent adjustments are stored only in this browser.
This is not an espresso compass. Espresso responds differently to grind, yield, pressure, and channeling. These recommendations are written for the six brewed-coffee methods covered by this site.