Why does the 1st cup of coffee taste better? (1 Viewer)

We have a small coffee maker at work which makes 10 cups with two small scoops of Folders Original.

I add significant non-dairy creamer and sugar to mine to sweeten it up, else it tastes horrible to me. It's unhealthy I know, but it gives me something to do whilest I work.

The first cup tastes sweet, but every following cup tastes slightly bitter. It makes no difference how much sugar or cream I add. I drink two cups about a half hour apart. It doesn't matter if my first cup is at 8:30am or 10:00am, the first is always good.

We use town water to make the coffee. The water is not horrible, but it's not spring water either.

Anyone?

It's probably not the maker, the water, of the grounds. Heat destroys coffee, that's why Starbucks and other "new" coffeehouse places brew a new batch every hour on the hour.

If your pot is sitting on a hotplate for that hour, there's your culprit. Under heat, the coffee becomes more and more acidic, hence the bitter taste. It builds up carcenogens (sp?) theough a chemical reaction to the heat, which isn't all that great for you. You can usually smell this change as well. I usually brew a new pot here at work if the pot smells acidic or if it is suspicious (old) looking.

Some people don't notice it, but some people also get ulcers and don't know why

I agree about the length of time on the warmer. There is a convenience store chain in our city that boasts fresh brewed joe every 30 minutes.

It helps to get it out of the maker and into a vaccuum flask right after it's brewed.

Sorry about that... I've been drinking straight from the pot while no one was watching and there's probably a whole bunch of backwash in there.

Brad

That's the thing, Joe. The 2nd pot tastes even worse, even fresh. Maybe it's me just disliking every cup even more as I go, but whether it be the 2nd cup on the first pot, 1st cup on the 2nd pot or last cup on the 2nd pot, it tastes worse.

Maybe it's me.

The first cup always tastes better because it washes out the (after)taste of whatever you had in your mouth last!

Glenn