The Temperature Of Water Makes All The Difference When Brewing Coffee
Regardless of what roast you prefer or how you take it, a nice cup of joe is something we coffee lovers look forward to every morning. If you're the bold and black coffee type, it's that strong and soothing hit to officially perk you up. If sweet and creamy is more your cup of tea — er, coffee — it's that deliciously satisfying sip to start the day off right.
All it takes is two ingredients, coffee beans and water, and boom: you're ready to brew your ideal cup of coffee. But as easy as coffee is to make, it's just as easy to get wrong. To make the most of that morning cup, it's important to understand what's behind the brew.
A good cup of hot coffee comes down to how well it's been brewed, and how well it's been brewed comes down to the water that flows through its beans. The temperature of that water matters more than you might think. Here's why.
How water temperature affects coffee extraction
Whether you use the pour-over method or a French press, you might boil your water because you assume that the hotter the water you add to your coffee beans, the hotter your coffee will be. But while that's true, there's much more to it than that — that's because the hotter your water is, the quicker the extraction process will be.
Extraction occurs when hot water draws out the acids, oils, and caffeine from the coffee grinds; these are things that flavor your coffee and give it the specific characteristics you love. But you need an appropriate balance of this dissolved goodness — too little extraction, and the coffee can lack body or taste sour; too much and it'll turn bitter or harsh.
All of this means that you need the extraction rate to be just right when you brew your coffee, and that's controlled by the temperature of the water. So in order for extraction to be not too slow and not too fast, you need water that's not too cold and not too hot.
So ... what temperature should the water be?
You obviously don't want to sip on a lukewarm cup of weak coffee, but you don't want to burn the beans with boiling water and sip on bitter sludge, either. So what's the sweet spot for not-too-cold, not-too-hot water?
The National Coffee Association has been nice enough to define a specific temperature range for ideal extraction: to make the most of your morning cup of joe, stick to water that's somewhere between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit (via The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf). For reference, water's boiling point is 212 degrees Fahrenheit, so you want it very hot but not quite boiling.
If you don't have a thermometer (or you don't want to use one every single morning while you make your coffee), a good rule of thumb is to bring your water to a boil, and then let it rest for a couple of minutes to bring the temperature down. This should leave you within the ideal range, and set you up for perfect brewing conditions.