You’ve got your coffee gear at your preferred level of fancy. And we’ve spent some time learning how grind size affects the way coffee tastes. One of the more advanced things to control as a home barista is the water temperature.
How water temperature affects your coffee’s taste
Water temperature affects how the coffee extracts, which changes the taste. Coffee needs to be hot enough to extract all of the oils, flavanoids, acids, and caffeine, but not so hot that it destroys these compounds. When the temperature is too low, these compounds, especially the oils, are not extracted well. This makes the coffee taste sour. If the water is too hot, it can destroy the flavanoids and extract other compounds too fast, leading to over extraction and a bitter cup. Furthermore, the hotter the water is, the harder it is to control the speed of extraction, leading to bitter coffee every time.
What you can do
At BCR, we like the water to be 207°F when it hits the coffee. We find this temperature gives us a nice balanced cup. Some electric kettles display water temperature or you can always use a thermometer if you want to get into that level of detail with your morning ritual.
For those of you looking for ‘good enough’, here’s an easy general rule: bring your water to a rolling boil (212°F) and then turn off your kettle or pull it off of the heat source. Let it sit for 8 seconds, then pour onto your grounds. 8 seconds off the boil will get you close to 207°F and lead to some delicious, well balanced coffee. Whether you drink French press, pour over, or Aeropress, the water temperature will change the way your coffee tastes. An easy shift can make your coffee taste just a bit better.
Need some coffee to experiment with water temperature on? Try Roaster’s Choice!