Not boiling water to make coffee

Funkstard

Hello there, just getting to know the basics of making good coffee. I use a plunger to make coffee, have just gotten past the instant stage. I only recently found out that pouring boiling water over beans is a big no-no. I think this may be the reason for the coffee sometimes tasting quite bitter.

So here's my question; how do you know how hot to heat the water? Until just before the kettle clicks off, or when you start to hear it rumbling? Obviously I want a good hot cup of coffee, so I'm never sure at what stage to stop heating the water.

Any advice?

Thanks very much

JIZZLORD

when i'm using the plunger i just knock the kettle off before the boil. at that stage i wait a min before i stick in the water.

that's just my method.

RE*AC*TOR

A thermometer is surprisingly useful on this front.

Mr Magnolia

RE*AC*TOR wrote:

A thermometer is surprisingly useful on this front.

Yes, readily available. Check out the stickies on the main page.

I knock the kettle off before it boils though.

billyblanks

I once read when people are cupping coffee they wait 30 seconds after the water has boiled before pouring over the coffee....It works for me.

Gran Hermano

As the others said get yourself a 'frothing' type thermometer,
then when you purchase an espresso machine and make cappuccino/latte
you'll have it to check your milk temperature.

You will with time know by the noise of the kettle when to switch
off the kettle when it's hot enough and before it boils. Same goes
for frothing milk.

http://www.ristrettocoffee.com/shop/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=38
I believe Home Store+More stock also them.

Funkstard

Ok cheers. I think the letting it boil and waiting 30 seconds is what I'll do, anything else and I'd just not be bothered/forget after a while!

Gran Hermano

30 seconds in a well-insulated (plastic) kettle may not be long enough
for the temperature to drop sufficiently to avoid scalding the coffee.

Plus boiling the water and allowing it to cool as opposed to using water
that has not boiled will taste differently due to the loss of oxygen when
it boils.

TomF

My method is to put the coffee grounds in the beaker, then add cold water and mix with the grounds to make sure they are all thoroughly wetted and enough besides to submerge the grounds in about an inch of cold water. Then when the water in the kettle has just come to a "rolling boil" I pour the hot water into the beaker while stirring with a spoon. I do all this to keep the grounds from getting too hot and developing bad-tastes but to have it hot enough to be a piping hot cuppa cwoffee.

Some people will say that too long a boiling will deaerate the water and make the water insipid. I don't know if that is true, but I had a personal experience with the effect of water quality.

I used to visit an electric power plant where the coffee was prepared in a "drip" type maker that boiled the water and surged it once-through the grounds held in a basket and the water was caught in a carafe. The water used to make the coffee was ground water, that is, pumped from an aquifer, and it was full of dissolved salts, although still potable. I decided to bring a big container of deionized water to the plant on the theory that it was near absolute pure and should make a great cup of coffee. But the resulting coffee was awful. It had absolutely no taste to it.

At about that time I read a published report about a wide-famed pump in a small town, not too far from that same power plant, that gave water which made terrific coffee. People came from miles away to get the water to take home for making their coffee. Then the local health authorities had occasion to test the water and found it full of ammonium compounds. A little research revealed that the water pump was drawing its water from a spot directly under the corral of an abandoned stable. The water source was condemned as unsafe and the pump removed to the dismay of local coffee lovers.

Mr.Boots

85 degrees celsius is good for coffee

ian_m

I used to work as a barista. You can boil the water but let it cool, or throw in a splash of cold water on top of the boiled water. 80 - 85 degrees is good.

Trick is to get your cups and plunger warm before making the coffee. I pour the boiling water into the cups and plunger to heat them up for a minute or two. Then get fresh water to actually make the coffee. The brew then tastes fresh and it stays warmer for longer. And you don't get temperature differentiations when pouring warm coffee into cold cups and plungers. It's all nice and consistent.