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Had a shouting match with my barista over pour-over temps last Tuesday and it made me rethink who's actually right
He swears 205°F is the only way for light roasts but I've been using 195°F for years with great results, so which side of the water temp debate do you land on and has anyone actually done a blind taste test to settle it?
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kevin_schmidt971mo ago
Hard disagree with your barista. 205 is way too hot for most light roasts unless you're using a really thick paper filter or something. I did my own side by side with a natural ethiopian and the difference was night and day. At 205 it tasted like burnt toast water. Dropped to 195 and got all those blueberry and jasmine notes coming through. The whole "only one temp works" thing is just lazy honestly. Every bean and every grinder is different so you gotta play around. Your setup might be totally different from his shop's equipment.
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emerychen1mo ago
James Hoffmann's got a YouTube video where he did a blind test with different temps for light roasts. He landed around 195-200F for most light roasts, said higher temps can bring out too much bitterness. I tried it side by side once with a Kenyan lot, 205F made it taste flat and overextracted while 195F gave me brighter fruit notes. Your barista might just be stuck on one way of doing things, a lot of shops get locked into one number.
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