Brew temperature, coffee aging
-
atao
- Supporter ♡
- Posts: 178
- Joined: 17 years ago
I recently found that I got much better taste from an Kenya Gaturiri when brewing at 196 instead of my usual 200 degrees. I was getting (to me) very sour (or perhaps metallic) brews at the higher temps, with normal or even with long extraction times (french press). I was surprised by this because what i've read commonly talks about ~200 deg being a good brew temperature. Verve coffee did a temperature study where they implied even higher temps are better received in taste tests.
I also had a quick discussion with the provider of the Gaturiri, 4-barrell, and got a very helpful response that indicated that some Kenyans do respond well to cooler brew temps. And further, that when the bean ages, you might want to further lower your brew temp since there's less CO2 to get in the way of extraction.
I'd been under the false assumption that brew temp for, well, brewing, is something that's pretty stable during the few days/weeks you have the beans. I'd also been under the false assumption that lighter roasts demand higher temps.
Anyways, I realize that you need to adjust temperature to taste but it would have been helpful if there were a guide that discussed issues like this. If others have any more insight or if there might be some kind of general guidelines (such as Kenyans do better with cooler water) I'd love to hear them.
I also had a quick discussion with the provider of the Gaturiri, 4-barrell, and got a very helpful response that indicated that some Kenyans do respond well to cooler brew temps. And further, that when the bean ages, you might want to further lower your brew temp since there's less CO2 to get in the way of extraction.
I'd been under the false assumption that brew temp for, well, brewing, is something that's pretty stable during the few days/weeks you have the beans. I'd also been under the false assumption that lighter roasts demand higher temps.
Anyways, I realize that you need to adjust temperature to taste but it would have been helpful if there were a guide that discussed issues like this. If others have any more insight or if there might be some kind of general guidelines (such as Kenyans do better with cooler water) I'd love to hear them.
-
MWJB
- Posts: 429
- Joined: 11 years ago
When we talk about brew temperature we are normally talking about the temperature of the water we add, rather than slurry temperature. By the time the grinds are fully wet & the brewer is full, even if your water started out "right of the boil/just stopped rolling" it's probably not much over 91C.
I tend to add the water just as it has stopped rolling, into the brewer, then add grinds on top of the water & fold in, with a quick stir at the start of the steep. Brew temp is around 90-91C.
Thing's I'd look at though are water TDS (higher the TDS more aggressive the extraction) and whether your kettle actually taints the taste of the water if left to boil? I have a couple of kettles that are fine so long as I don't let the water hit a rolling boil...yet other kettles I use regularly are fine if allowed to boil, then cool.
I tend to add the water just as it has stopped rolling, into the brewer, then add grinds on top of the water & fold in, with a quick stir at the start of the steep. Brew temp is around 90-91C.
Thing's I'd look at though are water TDS (higher the TDS more aggressive the extraction) and whether your kettle actually taints the taste of the water if left to boil? I have a couple of kettles that are fine so long as I don't let the water hit a rolling boil...yet other kettles I use regularly are fine if allowed to boil, then cool.
