208F recommended brew temperature for espresso!

#1: Post by **Moxiechef** » December 12th, 2022, 9:10 pm

I recently bought 5# of Passenger's Montecarlo. When asked, they recommended a brew temp of 208F, 20g>50g in 30 seconds. Very tasty stuff.

That said, I've never seen such a high brew temp. Is this becoming more normal?

JB

#2: Post by **spressomon** » December 12th, 2022, 9:29 pm

Highest recommended temp I have heard about to date. Caffe Lusso's recommended 205F for their Gran Miscela Carmo is the highest brew temp I've used so far.

#3: Post by **Quirquincho** » December 12th, 2022, 9:41 pm

Mr. Espresso recommends brewing temps in the 206-210F range for their Italian espresso blends. Despite these being medium to medium-dark blends, hotter temps bring out the best of them somehow (sorcery).

#4: Post by **Pressino** » December 13th, 2022, 12:49 am

That's getting mighty close to the BP od H2O. I wonder if it might present problems setting the temperature of the brew boiler on dual boiler espresso machines.

#5: Post by **Randy G.** » December 13th, 2022, 2:34 am

Pressino hit the point. X-degrees measured where?

December 13th, 2022, 5:29 am

I'm gonna reach out to them again, I wonder if it was a mistype.

#7: Post by **cskorton** » December 13th, 2022, 8:18 am

I wouldn't worry too much about the temperature. A difference of about 3 degrees is hardly anything, and Passenger knows their stuff well.

Their Montecarlos is one of my favorites, and it's pretty forgiving. It is a lighter roast, so I'm not surprised to hear the higher brewer temp. My guess is the higher brew temp helps settle the front clementine note and brings out more of the almond/nuttiness at the finish.

Does it taste good? Great! You're good to go!

December 13th, 2022, 10:17 am

Yeah, it's a tasty coffee.

This was their response this morning. A 208 boiler temp gives me a 203ish group head temp on my GS/3.

I'll try both temps on my next batch.

"We use a 2.5:1 ratio.
20g in and 50g out - bar pressure on machine is a constant 7. Boiler temp is 208.
Pull time averages 32-35 seconds most of time - seems to be the pocket for our water, machine, and grinder."

#9: Post by **cafeIKE** » December 14th, 2022, 4:34 pm

I've run my DB boiler temp, no offset, as high as 225°F for a ≈203°F brew temp for Caffé Lusso Rescue: Freedom Blend

Water boiling point @ 10 bar is ≈356°F / 180°C.

#10: Post by **ziggomatic** » January 27th, 2023, 11:43 pm

Thought I would follow up with this a bit, I heard back from Passenger today asking about Montecarlos brew recipe and they said their group head temp is around 202.

Similar to as mentioned earlier in this thread, they said 20g in 50g out in 33-36s.

I was actually pulling some shots this week with the grouphead set to 208. Some shots were decent but I couldn't get much more than the toasted nuts flavor to come through. Still delicious!