The barista at Blue Bottle told me my water temp was ruining everything

I always brewed my pour-over at a full rolling boil, thinking hotter meant more extraction. She said I was burning the grounds and getting bitter flavors, and suggested I let it cool for 30 seconds first. I tried it with a cheap thermometer and dropped from 212 to 205 degrees. The difference in taste was huge, smoother and less sharp. Has anyone else had their method completely called out by a pro, and did you stick with the change?

2 comments

2 Comments

paige5141mo ago

Honestly, that's a pretty big wake-up call. Did you ever notice that bitter taste before, or were you just used to it and thought that's how pour-over was supposed to be? I'm curious if the barista gave you any other specifics, like how long to actually wait or if your grind size needed adjusting too. Because once you fix one thing, it usually opens up a whole other problem you didn't know you had.

betty_reed611mo ago

Oh, totally, my friend Jenna went through this exact thing. She was using a cheap blade grinder and just assumed all coffee was that sharp, bitter mess. A barista at her local shop told her about the grind size and the "bloom" step and she was blown away. Now she's got a proper burr grinder and a gooseneck kettle and she's actually mad at herself for all those years of terrible coffee.