Origin specific brew temperatures?

Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
ripvanmd
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#1: Post by ripvanmd »

I find that I seem to be blindly settling on optimal brew temperatures for my daily 6c Chemex. Has anyone developed any guidance as to optimal brew temperature based on origin, processing type or degree of roast? I'm sorry if this has been covered but I could find little on my H-B forum search.

leon
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#2: Post by leon »

My own limited experience is that I generally enjoy natural process coffees or darker roasted coffees brewed at slightly lower temperatures. And washed coffees or lighter roasted coffees at slightly higher temperatures. But I defer to the more experienced members here.

JosephM
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#3: Post by JosephM »

Good question--there's far too little discussion of brew temps for a world in which just a couple degrees can make or break a good cup. While there are a number of factors other than origin (some mentioned above; e.g., process and roast) that mean this is to some degree a matter of experimenting to find the right temp for each particular coffee you try, origin seems to play a huge role. To that end, there was a good post on this over at CG a while back, here: https://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/general/674003. Check out the third post in that thread (tahoejoe's post), lots of good information there, with which I'd also agree.

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drgary
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#4: Post by drgary »

I like that link on CG, which suggests brewing parameters between 197-205F. But that range still seems aimed at someone using an automatic drip brewer that's SCAA certified. I have a BraZen Brewer, but it sometimes doesn't go low enough. And my BonavitaTS brewer sometimes doesn't go high enough.

I've been plunging into home roasting, which introduces randomness. Most of the roasts are fortunately drinkable but I may need to tweak outside the SCAA range. Also occasionally I review coffees blindly for the Home-Barista Favorite Espresso series.

If you're brewing a coffee that's transitioned into second crack, where there's oil on the surface of the beans (you can also taste the additional harshness by chewing a bean), I like to follow Alan Adler's guideline for the AeroPress, where he brews at 175F. I've found that using a Bonavita PID kettle I might brew such a coffee optimally at 177 or 178F but higher than that extracts the bitter harshness typical of darker roasts. You can end up with a cup that's sweet and reveals acidity for such coffees brewed at that temperature.

On some very light, Nordic roasts, I may brew as high as 209 or 210F. Brew method may be Clever Dripper, AeroPress, pourover, espresso, but dialing in with a simple method before trying espresso is often a time-saver and helps determine the espresso flavor I'm going for.
Gary
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ripvanmd (original poster)
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#5: Post by ripvanmd (original poster) »

Thanks for pointing me in the direction of that post on CG. With home roasting, drip brewing and now espresso I feel adrift in a sea of variables. So what's a few more? It seems that I need to break from my routine temperatures a bit more.

brianl
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#6: Post by brianl »

There is a reason that temperature is rarely discussed: It doesn't really matter for brewed coffee (like it does for espresso). I don't taste a difference between the 195-205 range. You'll get more decisive results just adjusting the brew time for a few seconds. In fact, Matt Perger now recommends brewing with boiling water.

That said, the latest trend is going way outside this range and I'm interested in the results. It seems to just be used at the competition level and it's hard to attribute it to the temperature alone.

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drgary
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#7: Post by drgary »

brianl wrote:There is a reason that temperature is rarely discussed: It doesn't really matter for brewed coffee (like it does for espresso). I don't taste a difference between the 195-205 range. You'll get more decisive results just adjusting the brew time for a few seconds. In fact, Matt Perger now recommends brewing with boiling water.
Not my experience at all. But then I'm not a barista champ. I would suggest trying temperature and time changes for yourselves.
Gary
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brianl
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#8: Post by brianl replying to drgary »

All the time, between 195 and 205. In fact I stopped measuring temperature after awhile and get very consistent brew. To each his/her own.

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drgary
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#9: Post by drgary »

YMMV. I'm not alone in this. From the review of the Bonavita BV1800SS by Mark Prince on CoffeeGeek:

"And then there's brewing temperatures. Here, Bonavita has hit a veritable home run. As far as the SCAA is concerned, that is. But there may be problems for a lot of consumers, especially those who prefer darker roasts. The thing is, if you buy fresh roasted coffee (ie, roasted 5-10 days before you're using it) that is roasted, at most, to a Full City level roast (no surface oil), this thing will brew... near perfectly. There, I said it."
Gary
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TomC
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#10: Post by TomC »

There's been several World Aeropress Championship winning brew recipes using very low temp water and i'm sure if I started digging them up, I'd find some in the Brewers Cup Championship as well.
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