Have you cleaned your coffee maker? (usually a white vinegar flush routine)... or you may need to replace it if it's no longer brewing properly.

Yes I did just clean it. I will say that I bought it at a second hand shop, getting a new one is probably a good idea. I just wonder if I should get another style of coffee pot?

IMO, only very expensive automatic coffee makers make decent coffee - NOT a Mr. Coffee and certainly not a used one. I much prefer a French press for my coffee - any coffee tastes good from this device and it makes enough for just a good sized mug or two. So never any stale or bitter, sitting on the heat too long coffee :-))

If you're used to Mr. Coffee coffee, Mr. Coffee coffee will taste just fine. However, you may have some trouble finding a new replacement--their shelf space in stores has largely been replaced by additional Keurig models, at least around here.

I have been using Mr Coffee for years but I've been disappointed in all the coffee I make here at home for years. I do think it's time for me to try something else and the French Press idea may just be it.

I was told not to store coffee in the freezer because water will condense on it. Also, it is supposed to be better to grind the beans just before you use them. If you have a Foodsaver, you can vacuum seal your coffee, and then it should not need to be stored in the freezer. I do not drink coffee, except when I am on vacation, however, as it generally upsets my stomach. I use cream instead of milk in coffee when I do drink it.

You can always do what I did and switch to tea.

People say, "Mmm, good coffee," when I serve it. This is the only way I know as I don't drink it and we are tea drinkers, if hot at all. It's not hard to do it the way my father taught me, but all the steps are important. I do use a fairly inexpensive coffee maker (Braun, no longer made), drip style, with a paper filter (Melita). It was explained to me that the reason it makes good coffee is that it doesn't get used much. Apparently the difference between cheap and not is the quality of something or other which after a month or so of uses makes the burner scorchy or something. So the fault wouldn't be the Mr. Coffee, but the used part. And a better coffee maker would be indicated for daily use.

CLEAN is very important. There are bitter oils and other ick that sticks to the machine and gets in new pots of coffee. If you need to take a Q-Tip to the spaces between ridges in the basket, do it.

Distilled water (or reverse osmosis, which ends the same) only. It doesn't matter if your tap water tastes good to drink as plain water. You need water that doesn't taste like anything at all to make the coffee taste best. Many commercial machines have complex water filtration to get pretty much the same thing.

Good coffee. That part isn't as hard as the rest! While there are lots of folks who can tell whether the beans were ground fresh, or grown too near the trees, for just a good cup of coffee, for "Mmm, good coffee!" ground Yuban in the can, and stored in the fridge works. Maybe better even if you're not 100% sure of the exact beans/grind/side of the moon, experts have made Yuban the best general use coffee they can. Can someone make better? Surely. But for just good, it's a starting place.

Adding to plllog's excellent points, how the beans are roasted can make a difference.

Perhaps you can try roasting your own beans.

dcarch

Are you on any new medications? When I am on prednisone -coffee doesn't taste as good. Sometimes medicines can effect your taste

Thank you all for your ideas. Many things for me to try. It is good to know that I should be able to make a good cup of coffee; I look forward to that!

Like Aunt petunia, I was going to suggest you examine that. How does everything else taste?

I went through that with my Mom some years back. It was the tasteless coffee she first complained about, but it extended to chocolate too. When I questioned her there were more things, but I don't recall what at this point. She had some tests (just added to a routine check-up). There was some kind of nutritional tweak and things went back to tasting normal again. I think the doctor switched her from the antacid she was routinely using too.

I was on a migraine prevention drug 2 years back, Topamax. Food really tasted different. Sweet foods like chocolate tasted bitter. Meats tasted spoiled. I lost 30 pounds (temporary). That was a nice side effect, but no compensation for how rotten it made me feel.

I've not read all the suggestions from others, but I hate tasteless coffee. I would strongly suggest that you get Peets to grind your coffee for a french press and try a few types of beans until you discover which one suits your taste. We did that and settled on their Mocca Java. It's an pricey habit, but one cup in the morning isn't extravagant! LOL

I'm afraid that I am inclined to believe that you may have lost a taste for coffee. Perhaps a medication or change in other food habits? It wasn't clear to me if you have had coffee recently in town etc. that still tasted good. If so, than I suppose that my guess must be wrong.

Peets Coffee is excellent coffee. While dcarch is correct that roasting is a potential issue for experts, Peets has high control over such issues, far beyond what is found in a can. I have consumed more than my share of strong Peets' made fresh and double strength as is their custom from their store. For home use, we began with their finely ground coffee (that I believe way back then they suggested be kept frozen) using a pour over Melitta maker/filter. We graduated to Peets freshly ground at home with a blade grinder and finally to a burr grinder. Generally speaking, I believe that the coffee has been similar thru out all our coffee consumption. The major variable has been beans; Peets, COSTCO and others.

The above was to suggest that either you have taste/smell issues, or your coffee maker is failing. I have nothing against second hand. I would suggest that you find another. A Melitta (or a knock off) is a very good choice because it forces you to prepare coffee for immediate use.

The other issue is coffee strength. To be honest, I have lost track of what a normal cup of coffee is supposed to be. As mentioned above, Peets stores used to brew their coffee at double strength; the most common statement in a Peets line was 'leave extra room for cream, please'. Cream actually meant half & half, not heavy cream, but that was always the normal dairy additive in the old days. If you are adding milk and while 'out' are being provided 'cream' that would certainly be your problem. I consider coffee with milk to be horrible and if for warned will switch to tea or nothing.

I brew our coffee at what I suspect is 1.5 times normal strength. I grind two one-eighths cup scoop/measure of beans for our large 12 oz mugs. If you are far under (or over) that ratio, it might also be your problem.

Did I miss somebody besides chas045 mentioning proportions? #4 on that list looks like a factor to me. I always measure & use a coffee scoop. Additionally, what is the coffee in the freezer stored in? I use glass jars, since they're airtight. I buy whole roasted beans & grind as needed, since ground coffee doesn't keep as well.

Here's some basic info on measurements.:

1 coffee scoop of ground coffee for every 6 fluid ounces of water

A level coffee scoop should hold two tablespoons of coffee, which is approximately 10 grams or 0.36 ounces.

So you should use two tablespoons or one coffee scoop of ground coffee for every 6 fluid ounces of water.

This means that if you have an 8-cup coffee maker, you want to pour 8 x 6 ounce cups of water in the reservoir and 8 level scoops of coffee to the filter basket.

And so on.

If you like your coffee a little stronger, you'll soon figure out how much more coffee to add for each brew.

For instance, if you like strong coffee and make enough for 8 x 6 ounce cups, you might end up using ten 10 or 12 scoops instead of 8.

Experiment a little and see what suits your taste the best.

Just keep that coffee scoop close by. It makes it a lot easier to measure coffee, whether you are making one cup or a whole pot.

And when you do measure the ground coffee and water precisely, you'll probably be amazed by the quality of the coffee. A lot of the time people use too much water for too little coffee. The result is a weak brew that always disappoints.

HTH

Thanks for the newest comments! I do enjoy coffee when I buy it out at Peet's or another spot that has a cheaper coffee and yes, they use half and half not milk. Among the other suggestions I need to double check how much coffee to how much water, haven't really been paying close attention. Thank you all for this wonderful and educational discussion! Happy Thanksgiving!! Ginny

One day I found that my morning cup of tea tasted terrible; and the soup I made for lunch was unpalatable; what they had in common was the water. Seems City decided to up the amount of chlorine in the water. I can no longer use my city water to cook anything. You might try tasting your water to see if something's been added overnight that makes your morning coffee taste icky. I now use bottled water since even a filter doesn't completely remove this awful taste.

I am not a big coffee person. My mother was (from Peet's she favored Arabian Mocha Java). We could both agree that this coffee was less bitter than most and had a chocolaty flavor. You can get it from Amazon and give it a try in your new press pot.

Most likely your coffee maker. Probably not getting hot enough. A couple tests without spending money...

Run some plain water through, (add a 1/2 cup plain vinegar to give it a cleansing), take the temp. It should be minimum 195, best at 200. Any lower and you will not be extracting enough from the ground beans.

Test two. Remove the filter basket and clean it good. Add a filter, then rest it over a heat proof pyrex cup or sauce pan. Heat good drinking water in your kettle to a boil, let rest 2 min. Boils at 212 so you want to bring the temp down.(212 will burn your ground beans)

Add coffee grinds and pour over by hand slow at first, then again, a bit more.

Called a pour-over method. If your maker has a 'stop' mechanism you can over-ride that by pushing on it.

That should taste better. Adding enough grinds to your liking takes experimenting. The size of the grind is also personal taste.

*We roast our own green beans. Grind in a commercial quality grinder just before brewing. Use a Chemex manual pour-over. Kettle boil reverse-osmosis. boiling 212 water over the filter, ...dampens and rinses the filter and sterilizes and heats the pot. Pour out the hot water in sink or use to heat travel mugs and home coffee cups. Then we add the coffee grinds to begin our brewing.

Kettle water is now a bit lower in temp and perfect.

I should say 'he'. DH makes the morning coffee, empties the dishwasher while brewing, then brings me a cup in bed, lol. : )

I don't care for the French press but many do like it. They do have mini ones that are perfect for just one-two cups.

Pllog's coffee is good not only a less often used maker and good water, but the pot is clean and dry. Probably still gets to the proper temp. An elec drip pot used often is sitting for days/months with damp funky water all throughout the interior and all the parts. Anything left damp for a long time is a bacterial breeding ground I call 'microbial soup'.

The freezer is fine for all dry goods, spices etc. What is often misunderstood is condensation. Any packaging but especially glass. Opening straight from the freezer, condensation forms immediately 'inside' any packaging. The container and its contents must come to room temperature to avoid that.

That is why some spices/dry goods turn rock solid in the freezer. You cannot open quick and sneak a tbsp or 1/2 cup and get it back in quick, lol. You are just adding moisture everytime you open it.

Why tomato powder for example turns rock solid for many. It really dislikes moisture.

Oh yes, forgot to mention I use distilled water, not tap, and my brew method is pour over, I guess. I use a single cup Melitta cone, since I only need a single cup at a time. I have a large cone for a pot as well.

I measure the exact amount I need & boil the water in my teakettle, then pour over to make a single serving - or more.

I confess I hardly make coffee any more, since I cannot tolerate very much caffeine. This discussion is making me miss it!

Instant Coffee. City Water. Cover Cup. Nuke 88 Seconds. Perfect. Unlimited Reheats. Wash Cup Semi-Monthly.

Your sense of taste and smell change as you age.

You start losing taste buds after age 40, and with that loss, you may lose your taste for things you have always enjoyed because they taste, and smell different, and less appealing.

Maybe you can find some teas that you enjoy.

Or punch up the taste of your coffee with flavored creamers (can't stand them personally), or try adding hot chocolate powder to your coffee.

What can I say with all this wonderful feedback except thank you! I just looked up aging and loss of taste, I hadn't thought of that before but it could apply to me. Senses change as we age Happy Thanksgiving!

When I bought my espresso maker the dealer said NOT to put coffee in the freezer. Up til then I had been. Now that plus the everyday drip grind are just stored in a cool dark room.

I used to drink coffee every day, and I gave it up. Never say never.

Apologies to the OP. But this is too funny not to share. Still coffee related.

When the truck door slides open "Starbucks" spells this:

http://teastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/1-try-1.jpg

dcarch

LOL, Dcarch. My old friend Renee who used to post on the Cooking Forum, owned a coffee shop. She called it "Charbucks" and said they roasted their coffee too darkly so they could cover the fact that they were using inferior beans. Of course, she also called Maxwell House "floor sweepings". (grin)

I make my coffee just like Sleevendog, starting with green beans and roasting them myself, grinding right before I make the coffee, using filtered water heated in my electric kettle and poured over grounds in the Chemex.

The one thing that jumped out at me too was that the OP guessed at the proportions of coffee to water. I "played" with the Chemex for a week or so before I found just the right ratio to suit me. Find the ratio that suits you and use that amount every time, and your coffee will be consistent.

And, incidentally, I drink both coffee and tea, depending on my mood. I like iced tea in the summer, but not iced coffee. I like both hot tea and hot coffee when it's cooler outside, and I've been known to drink a mocha occasionally too. I guess I just like it all...

Annie