As an avid tea drinker myself, it’s normal to expect different teas to require different brew temperatures so it’s not surprising that this applies to coffee as well! But for sure an underestimated (and under appreciated) brewing variable which I’m looking forward to exploring more in my future coffee brews :3
Totally agree, it's a variable used with great specificity in tea but somewhat lacking in the coffee scene! Hopefully videos like this can shine a new light on the topic to then promote further exploration in the lower coffee brewing temp field! Good luck with your cooler water temperature brews :D
Cheers, if you end up giving cooler water temps a whirl with your V60 then please let me know of your experience!! Always interested in other people's experiences and perspectives on these topics👍👍
@@brewinghabits I have reduced my temperature from quite a high of 97C to 92C. It has improved adding a little more acidity and balance. Love and peace. Tim
@@timmarshall4881 that's awesome to hear, it really is the small changes that can make the biggest of impacts. Just having temperature under one's extraction toolbelt really opens up a lot of variation when it comes to tinkering with brewing recipes 🔥🔥
You are the best, the information you have gathered is very much appreciated, such a interesting question that you have fleshed out so well, thank you.
Great video. A topic I haven't seen discussed often (and to this detail). I wonder if there's a thought around most brewing methods that temperature (as a variable for dialing in) poses a challenge and you're better off tweaking other variables. Personally, I do a lot of immersion brewing and I find that it lends itself well to adjustments. Your comments on the AeroPress kind of confirms that for me. Also maybe roast is a factor. For lower temperatures I do better with darker roasts. One way I play with temp is to brew using a medium-dark roast, ground to Turkish and use a 1:3 ratio with water, steeping for 30 minutes at a starting temperature of 70℃. I then filter it through muslin cloth (could take 15-30 min). It makes a really strong concentrate that I dilute with hot water at 85℃, anywhere between a 1:3 to 1:5 ratio. I arrived at this while doing what you kind of mentioned in the beginning, balancing the different variables to bring out specific qualities of a coffee. I adjust temp, time, and ratio mostly (and sometimes the mineral content of the water). It results in an interesting brew and I find that it has a big influence on mouthfeel and finish because you can have a cup that you'd think would be too strong but would not be overwhelming with either bitterness or acidity. It's almost as smooth as cold brew but also has a touch of acidity and a lot of complexity.
As you say, the temperature variable is a topic that coffee brewers should talk more about! It might not be the easiest variable to tweak, but it does have a massive impact. Dark roasts are for sure a different beast. They are susceptible to over-extraction due to the bean becoming more brittle (creating more fines, leading to more extraction) and the roast tasting notes being easier to extract into the cup! That's an exciting way of creating cold brew. Usually, the time is in the hours, but you tweaked the grind size to compensate for the lower brewing time! This concept of playing around with variables is something I wish was more prevalent and shared. There are many ways of getting a good cup of coffee! I just posted a video yesterday about brewing with the Aeropress, and it touches heavily on the concept of balancing variables that control extraction.
Very interesting, Paul. I checked the map and temperature links and was surprised to find a boiling point one degree lower than I expected. I'll try lowing my brewing temperature by one degree tomorrow morning. Another tweak to add to my arsenal, thanks!
Temperature is for sure a topic not talked about enough! A one degree change probably won't make or break your recipe. If you want to explore, perhaps lower it by 5ish degrees but then compensate with a slightly finer grinds setting? Regardless of what you end up trying it, let me know how it goes :D
@@brewinghabits A question came to mind regarding the brew equipment. How much heat might you lose in the process of brewing a pour over for example. And should you therefore start with a higher temperature knowing it'll cool off in the process?
From what I remember from a James Hoffmann's video, the slurry of the coffee is indeed cooler, however I argue that we are over relying on water temperature to increase extraction in our brews instead of modifying other variables. So even thou the heat will be lower, if one changes another variable like grinding finer, increasing the brew ratio or increasing time, the end result will still become a balanced cup of coffee that might be more or less delicious.
@@brewinghabits You were right that a one-degree change wouldn't make a difference. I did it at completely the wrong time too. I roast my own coffee and just changed to a new origin (which I roasted two days ago) for today's brew. I had been drinking some Honduran and switched to a Costa Rica to brew my morning cup today. Not a fair comparison by any stretch. I got a tasty cup though so I'm not complaining, ha ha. Just a tad over-extracted so I'll start tweaking tomorrow (I only have one, 10-oz cup a day). Do you have any tips for brewing between different coffees or even different roast levels? I roast light to medium, depending on the bean.
If you change it one degree cooler everyday it will eventually make a difference :D Whenever I switch from one bean to another, I totally forget what I did prior and go with a tried and tested "neutral" benchmark recipe that I know has worked for many of my past brews. I don't think there is anything tangible we can really transfer from past brews other than experience, which then leads to a quicker dial-in. As for techniques between roast levels, I actually did a video on different roast levels! To mention one thing that can be done differently is to play around with coarser grind settings with lighter roasts. This is because light roasted beans are more dense than darker roasts, making it so less fines are produced in coarser grind settings. On the flipside, using a finer grinds setting with darker roasts is good to keep the range of grind sizes as close to eachother as possible. Usually delicate and unique acidities are a highly sought after characteristics in lighter roasts so I would recommend using boiling water and a high brewing ratio to emphasize those cup qualities!
