What water temperature do you use to brew your pour-over coffee?

During the process of brewing coffee, water and coffee will undergo some complex chemical reactions, and the water temperature will directly affect the extraction rate of different components in the coffee during brewing.

Today, I will share with you my views on brewing temperature~~

To ensure the stability of the experiment, let’s take a look at the experiment of the same bean [Sun-dried Yirga Alicha] with different water temperatures:

Quantitative: V60 filter cup

Powder quantity: 15g

Grinding degree: BG 4R

Cup flavor: obvious jasmine aroma, soft citrus acid, fresh tea feeling, medium sweetness, smooth texture

Water injection method: After steaming, use a small stream of water to slowly inject water in a coin-sized circle in the center; in the second stage of water injection, the water flow rate remains unchanged, the circle speed is slightly faster, and a little more water is injected around the outer powder layer.

Test 1 | High water temperature

V60 filter cup

Temperature: 92 degrees

Powder quantity: 15g

Grinding degree: BG 4R

Time: 2:18 seconds

Water volume: Steam with 26g water for 30 seconds, add water to 133g in the first stage and 226g in the second stage

Flavor and taste: When tasted at high temperature, it has a more obvious astringency, a thin texture, and feels a bit dry; after cooling down a little, it has a distinct sour taste, but a bit tart, with some mango sweetness, and a bitter taste in the end.

Test 2 | Low water temperature

V60 filter cup

Temperature: 88 degrees

Powder quantity: 15g

Grinding degree: BG 4R

Time: 2:24 seconds

Water volume: Steam with 26g water for 30 seconds, add water to 133g in the first stage and 226g in the second stage

Flavor and taste: When tasted at high temperature, the aroma is weaker, with a slight grassy smell and bitterness, the flavor is a bit dull and bland, the sourness is not distinct enough, the texture becomes rough, and there is a woody taste; when it cools down a little, although the sweetness increases a bit, the overall flavor is not comfortable enough.

in conclusion

At the same grinding degree, different water temperatures will affect the flavor of a cup of coffee.

[High water temperature] can easily lead to over-extraction of coffee powder, which will make the coffee bitter. The bitterness mostly comes from caffeine, which is also related to other chemical reactions. The dry feeling is also easy to extract in high water temperature, which is very strong and lasts for a long time, because [polyphenols] are bitter and will combine with the protein in saliva, which will dry out the tongue and produce a sandy or dry feeling in the mouth. The blandness and emptiness mean that the freshness and brightness of coffee are taken away, which kills the beautiful substances and lacks flavor.

[Low water temperature] Brewing is prone to insufficient extraction, not bringing out enough substances, such as smelly sour taste, lack of sweetness, strange saltiness, short aftertaste, etc., which are basically manifestations of insufficient extraction. In the third test, the lack of sweetness, on the contrary, highlighted the dullness and emptiness of the acidity, which did not make people feel satisfied. The flavor is insufficient, the aftertaste is short, and the taste is unsatisfactory. The pungent sour taste after cooling may make people wrinkle their lips, and the sides of the tongue feel electric and sharp, which destroys the taste.

The aroma and flavor displayed by proper water temperature and good extraction are positive and comfortable. For example, the acidity will be very rich, like the sweet and sour feeling of plums or stone fruits. The overall cleanliness, clarity and transparency make it easier to taste the flavor. The delicate, rich and bright acidity can remind people of a certain fruit or even wine, and the aftertaste in the mouth is long-lasting and memorable.

Temperature has a great influence on the extracted taste of coffee. Bitterness, burnt taste, etc. are the later flavors. At the same grinding degree, if the brewed coffee is bitter, burnt, astringent, etc., you can lower the extraction water temperature to adjust it. Conversely, if the brewed coffee tastes watery and bland, it means that there are still a lot of flavors left in the coffee grounds, so you can consider increasing the temperature.

Summarize:

91~98℃

The higher the water temperature, the more thermal energy is given to the coffee, the faster it dissolves and the higher the extraction rate.

Advantages: Can quickly increase the extraction rate; bold aroma, bright acidity, suitable for short-time extraction.

Risk: Brewing needs to be completed in a short time.

82~90℃

The water temperature is low, which provides little thermal energy to the coffee, resulting in a slow dissolution rate and a low extraction rate.

Advantages: The safe brewing range is wider, it is easier to avoid bitterness, and the sour-sweet balance is good.

Risk: High probability of under-extraction

In addition, when brewing at the same temperature, sour substances are more afraid of heat and are easily extracted, while sweet substances are not, so sweet substances need to be brewed for a longer time before they dissolve.

If you want to dissolve the sweet substances faster under the same soaking (brewing) time, you can increase the temperature (but if the brewing time is not long enough, it may only accelerate the dissolution of more acid).

Too low a brewing temperature will cause the sour and sweet substances to dissolve slowly, resulting in insufficient extraction and a slightly weaker flavor.

Too high a brewing temperature may accelerate the dissolution of negative flavors and cause bitterness.

Simply put, if a cup of coffee tastes a little sour, you can try increasing the brewing temperature and matching it with a suitable brewing time to allow the sweet substances time to sweat (dissolve) faster at the same time. Therefore, choosing the appropriate temperature and soaking time can effectively adjust the balance between sourness and sweetness.

But water temperature is only one of the important influencing factors. After all, whether good flavor can be extracted is related to variables such as water temperature, steaming time, extraction time and method, grinding coarseness, and even different blades, different particle shapes after grinding, etc.

Disclaimer: Some of the pictures in this article are from the Internet. For some of the content on the website, such as pictures, we will respect the copyright of the original work and indicate the source. However, due to the large number of pictures, some pictures and texts may not be indicated in time. Please forgive us. If the original author has any disputes, please contact the website to deal with it. Once verified, we will correct it immediately. It is compiled and edited by "咖评vdailycom". Please indicate the source when reprinting. This article is intended to spread coffee culture. If there is any infringement, please inform us to delete it . Thank you~!

Discover a wonderful cafe and open your own shop