Kettle temperature for pourover

#1: Post by **RyanJE** » September 8th, 2015, 10:52 pm

Hello All,

So I understand the ideal brew temp range for coffee. However, what I could not find is the ideal "setting" for an adjustable electric kettle. I have the Bonavita 1l gooseneck. But not sure what to set the kettle temp at, assuming the temp drops some before and when hitting the coffee bed.

I'm thinking 208 setting on the kettle hoping for 200-205 brew temp? But I have no way to actually tell.

#2: Post by **Riceman42** » September 8th, 2015, 11:41 pm

I typically go between a 206-208 for the majority of coffees I brew, which are light to medium-light roasts. I'll bring it down to 204 or so for medium to dark roasted coffees. It's also worth it to experiment with every different coffee you brew due to the varying degree of roast levels and densities of each coffee.

What grinder do you use?

#3: Post by **drgary** » September 9th, 2015, 12:22 am

I brew dark roasts (just starting second crack) as low as 175F and lighter ones as you two describe. The low temp for dark roasts is a number Alan Adler recommends for the Aeropress and he favors that roast level. Recently I had a Guatemalan Huehuetenango go a bit long when my roaster telemetry briefly failed (loose connections). By the next day there were small bits of oil coming out on some beans. But it's really good with the water temp measuring 175 in my travel kettle.

#4: Post by **Bluecold** » September 9th, 2015, 7:33 am

Just put a temperature sensor in the bed if you want to know the brewing temperature. I found that for my typical process I lost about 6 degrees C
Matt Perger - Reddit AMA brewing discussion (which promptly killed the thread)
But others seem to disagree (without offering data, I might add)
Why does Ben Kaminsky dismiss siphon brewing?

#5: Post by **bostonbuzz** » September 13th, 2015, 9:46 pm

I shoot for 199-201 in my flow controlled hario, and I usually let it coast down to around 197 by the time I'm done brewing. At 204+ with my fairly light roasts I'm getting some hot/burnt tastes. I'm sure this is brewing around 190 however in my brewer of choice - a chemex. I haven't experimented going down, however, to 175, etc.

September 13th, 2015, 10:27 pm

I recently had one of Gary's dark roasts brewed at 175 in our coffee shop and it was tasty!

September 13th, 2015, 11:30 pm

I brew light roasted Africans at 209..hot

#8: Post by **TomC** » September 14th, 2015, 3:29 am

Bluecold wrote:Just put a temperature sensor in the bed if you want to know the brewing temperature. I found that for my typical process I lost about 6 degrees C
Matt Perger - Reddit AMA brewing discussion (which promptly killed the thread)
But others seem to disagree (without offering data, I might add)
Why does Ben Kaminsky dismiss siphon brewing?

The only portion I was referring to in pour over was in regards to the kettle losing heat, more drastically with small kettles, much less so with large ones and the material of the filter holder, not contradicting your slurry measurement findings specifically.

September 14th, 2015, 10:22 am

For my roasts (which tend to run from City to City+) I usually find that a 205F - 209F range works best. This is for use in a plastic v60 cone, which tends to retain heat in the brewing slurry very well, as well as for immersion brewing in a double-walled Espro press. When I measure the actual slurry temperature using these kettle temperatures, I typically see it range from 197-202F.

September 16th, 2015, 11:54 am

Full Kettle, Full Boil, Big pours. keep the heat high on those little brews.