Well, this is semi-interesting: Researchers have also found that drinking an excessive amount of coffee causes your body to lose sodium (6). James DiNicolantonio, doctor of pharmacy and a nutrition expert, says: The original limit on sodium intake set by our Dietary Goals back in 1977 was only 1,200 mg per day. No one ever warned the public that we could lose that much sodium by consuming just four cups of coffee
I wonder if that's because coffee is a diuretic. It's probably causing us to lose ALL of our electrolytes. Besides, this offsets the effect of my water softener salt.
So I'm moving closer to solving my coffee quality problem. The guy on the forum was right...my coffee beans suck. I did a manual pour-over this morning in an effort to replicate the great coffee I made that way the last time the power went out (maybe 5 years ago.) The coffee has the same nasty taste that the Bonavita makes. I swear the beans must have changed. Last time I used this method, the coffee tasted restaurant-quality. So I have some of his coffee on order. He roasts Mondays or Tuesdays and ships USPS 2 Day Delivery. I've found a couple of roasters in Charlottesville (up the road 20 miles) I'm gonna contact and find out how they operate (both in general and under The Flu.) The caffeine level from the Bonavita is many times stronger than the Mr.Coffee, so there should be a cost offset by drinking less of a more expensive coffee. The forum guy's coffee is "only" $15/pound...it's the $10 shipping that bumps up the price. Maybe I can do better locally.
We have a local roaster here in Millinocket but his coffee tastes like something I could get in a can at the grocery store.
I don't know what else I can try. That manual pour-over method that set my feet on this path now sucks with the coffee I have. Perhaps I need to go to a restaurant or Dunkin Donuts and get a cup to see if something horrible has happened with my taste buds...I've tested everything else. I even make my own coffee water starting with distilled (not that my well water changed...I drink it all day long.) Man, that would suck if all coffee started tasting bad to me.
I have tried nearly everything that Black Rifle sells and haven't come across any of their coffee that I would call bad. Much of it is stronger than I prefer but there are ways around that, and I can still determine that the taste is good. It's never bitter or nasty. I can make a good cup of coffee even from the Black Rifle Espresso beans, using more than a thimble full of water, and I hate espresso.
I honestly don't know what the problem is. Every brand of coffee tastes like crap. It really tastes nasty, no matter which of 3 methods I use (Mr Coffee, Bonavita, manual pour-over.) The hotter the water, the more pronounced the disgusting flavor. I can "quantity-adjust" the strength, but there's a nasty taste that just makes it undrinkable. I have recently been making a blend of 8 O'Clock/Hills Bros regular/Hills Bros dark, so I tried just 8 O'Clock using pour-over to see if one of the others is introducing the off-taste I was not getting before. Nope. 8 O'Clock all by itself sucks. I'm gonna swing by McDonald's tomorrow and get a cup to test my taste buds. This is stupid. I feel as though I've forgotten how to tie my own shoes.
I read on some coffee bean brewing instruction that you should not reduce the amount of grounds for making coffee, but if you find it too strong to add water AFTER it's made. I suppose they want a person to keep using those dang beans. And speaking of coffee beans... "I'm surprised Beth has ordered a Capresso grinder," said no one on SoC, ever. My little mother-in-law likes to have gifts under her Christmas tree, so she gives us money and we buy something "from" her and wrap it. The only thing I've been obsessing over (recently) is a stupid burr grinder, so Bob's your uncle.