Pour-Over Coffee Tutorial: Water Temperature Guide and Time-Temperature Relationship

Anyone who has brewed coffee before knows that water temperature affects the final flavor of the coffee. It's well understood that higher water temperatures produce stronger coffee, while lower temperatures result in milder flavors.

But would there be a significant difference in coffee brewed with just a two or three-degree temperature variation? For example, FrontStreet Coffee recommends using water temperatures between 90-93°C for medium-light roast coffee. Does this mean any temperature within this range can be used for brewing medium-light roast coffee beans? Let's waste no time and test this immediately.

Experiment Setup

This demonstration uses FrontStreet Coffee's Panama Butterfly coffee beans, which contain 70% Panama Geisha, thus exhibiting the classic fruit notes characteristic of Geisha. The main comparison here is how much difference exists in coffee brewed at different temperatures. We selected the minimum and maximum values from the generally recommended temperature range: 90°C and 93°C.

Brewing Parameters

The other brewing parameters use FrontStreet Coffee's standard parameters:

Coffee dose: 15g
Ratio: 1:16
Water temperature: 90°C/93°C
Grind size: 80% pass-through through #20 sieve
Dripper: V60
Technique: Three-stage pour

Analysis Results

By sampling and measuring the concentration of both coffees, the coffee brewed with 90°C water had a concentration of 1.32%, while the coffee brewed with 93°C had a concentration of 1.40%. From a data perspective, using water 3°C higher than 90°C increased the extraction rate by 1.2%.

After looking at the data, let's taste and compare the flavor characteristics of both groups. First is the 90°C group: the aroma is of sweet fruit scents, but quite subtle. The tasting reveals citrus fruit notes with soft acidity. It carries a hint of light honey sweetness and tea-like sensations. The coffee brewed at this temperature expresses the basic flavors of these coffee beans well, with moderate concentration and comfortable drinking.

Next is the 93°C group: first, the aroma is more pronounced and richer than the previous group, with fragrances of fruit and ginger flower. Through tasting, it's clearly noticeable that the sweetness is higher than the previous group. While maintaining the same basic citrus character, the ginger sugar sweetness is very prominent. Moreover, the complexity is better than the 90°C group. However, there is a slight flaw - as the coffee cools, there's a faint almond-like nutty flavor and some astringency.

Conclusions

From a tasting perspective, between the maximum and minimum recommended brewing temperatures, with just a 3°C difference, the brewed coffee flavors show quite distinct changes. Using lower water temperatures within the recommended range produces softer, more comfortable coffee. Choosing higher water temperatures can yield richer aromas and flavors, but higher temperatures also carry the risk of extracting astringent and undesirable flavors.

Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee typically uses 91°C water temperature when brewing most medium-light roast coffee beans, as this significantly reduces many unexpected occurrences and improves consistency. However, some coffee beans are suitable for higher temperatures, such as Ethiopian Uraga and Kenyan coffee beans, which can express richer flavors and solid acidity.

Advanced Temperature Techniques

Regarding water temperature selection, we now have more understanding. For example, the currently popular temperature reduction brewing method involves using higher temperatures (≥93°C) in the early stages of brewing to extract the middle and early segments, extracting rich aromas and flavor compounds. The later stages use lower temperatures (≤88°C) to adjust the coffee concentration and reduce the release of bitter compounds in the later extraction stages.

Important Notice :

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FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473