Espresso 101 article... but what about brew temperature?

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jorgeelizondom
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#1: Post by jorgeelizondom »

Hi all,
Reading the espresso 101 article "How to Adjust Dose and Grind Setting by Taste" again that, BTW, it tells you to dial in the shot by moving in two axis: grind finer/coarser and/or increase/decrease dose. But where does brew temp adjustments play here?

Should you keep brew temp fixed when dialing and only hover around these two axis? Or is it really three axis at play here?

Thanks for your help.

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MNate
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#2: Post by MNate »

I imagine that's in class 201. Would be a good article to read too, I suppose. 301 is pressure. And advanced degrees in using your Flat or Conical.

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Jeff
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#3: Post by Jeff »

There's at least five, or is it seven, or is it eleven, ... , axes to think about, and they all interact.

One very incomplete list might look like:

Ambient temperature and humidity
Grind; size, flat or conical, single-pass or multi-pass, bean-at-a-time or bulk fed, RDT or not, ...
Dose
Basket
Prep techniques (at least 11 axes here, alone)
Filter paper above, below, both, none
Preinfusion; pressure or flow rate, volume, flow or pressure termination, temperature
Blooming; hold time
Early extraction; pressure or flow rate, ramp-up speed, peak, temperature
Bulk extraction; pressure or flow rate, ramp-down speed, initial and terminal, temperature
Late extraction; pressure or flow rate, ramp-down speed, initial and terminal, temperature
Goal weight in cup

Learn the basics. Once you've got a given coffee dialed in, try it up and down 2°C / 4°F and see if you can taste a change. You may not be able to, depending on the coffee, your gear, and how repeatable your prep is. If you can, then do you like the difference?

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HB
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#4: Post by HB »

My general rule: To decrease acidity, raise the brew temperature; to increase acidity, lower the brew temperature.
Dan Kehn

ojt
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#5: Post by ojt »

I'm probably out of my league here, and I do agree with the above, but I also think this presumes you have already nailed the approximate optimal brew temperature for the bean. As we know all beans "require" different brew temperature. So if we talk about dialing in a bean we don't know we would first guestimate the probable brew temperature.

If it is a light roast and / or very dense bean, go for higher temperatures like 93 to 95 degrees or so. If it is a dark roast or perhaps Robusta go for lower, even down to below 90 if only robusta. After that do what Dan just said :) Dial it in to taste.

Easiest example for me is this: using a pretty dark roast, if everything else seems to check (no channeling, flow is good and even, not too fast or too slow, etc) but it tastes bitter, lower the temperature.
Osku

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Spitz.me
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#6: Post by Spitz.me »

You highlight something that is, to me, really important to remember. The question about how brew temperature would affect the Espresso 101 guidelines is really important because at the time that article was posted, most of us on here were just trying to get machines that could brew at 200F consistently. Playing with temperature wouldn't be a thing for the masses for years following. Jim can correct me if I'm wrong here, but the assumption was plainly that you could even brew an espresso at 200F, not that you could choose a temperature to tweak.

Someone today SHOULD read that article and wonder why temperature isn't even mentioned once. An astute article for the time not to muddle with something people couldn't control so it focused on the fundamental controllable variables for the time.

Still, these Espresso 101 guidelines are based on how you actually get your coffee to the point where changing temperature makes the most sense. Shifting temperature can improve your shot at any grind/dose really. You want to change temperature to fine tune the espresso. That's what I believe anyway...
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ojt
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#7: Post by ojt »

Spitz.me wrote:Still, these Espresso 101 guidelines are based on how you actually get your coffee to the point where changing temperature makes the most sense. Shifting temperature can improve your shot at any grind/dose really. You want to change temperature to fine tune the espresso. That's what I believe anyway...
Agreed. I wouldn't be able to articulate well how I go about the initial dialing-in but as I said above for me it is about guestimating the initial temperature, then dialing in the rest, and then fine tuning with temperature. Just thought might make sense to mention this :)

The article itself, IMHO, is still very much valid and I keep referring it to others. It just leaves the assumption that temperature is already mostly dialed in.
Osku

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Bluecold
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#8: Post by Bluecold »

Spitz.me wrote:You highlight something that is, to me, really important to remember. The question about how brew temperature would affect the Espresso 101 guidelines is really important because at the time that article was posted, most of us on here were just trying to get machines that could brew at 200F consistently. Playing with temperature wouldn't be a thing for the masses for years following. Jim can correct me if I'm wrong here, but the assumption was plainly that you could even brew an espresso at 200F, not that you could choose a temperature to tweak.
That article was posted even after a PID'd Silvia went out of fashion.
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