What Water Temperature To Brew Pour Over Coffee?
When it comes to brewing coffee, water temperature is one of the most overlooked but powerful variables. Get it right, and you’ll bring out sweetness, balance, and clarity. Get it wrong, and you’ll be left with something sour, flat, or bitter. Let’s break down how water temperature affects coffee, from pour overs to espresso and how to dial it in depending on your roast.
Why Does Water Temperature Matter?
Water is the solvent that extracts flavour compounds from coffee grounds. The hotter the water, the faster and more aggressively those compounds are dissolved.
- Cooler water (<85°C) = Slow extraction = sour, sharp, underdeveloped flavour.
- Ideal range (90–96°C) = Balanced extraction = sweetness, body, and acidity in harmony.
- Hotter water (>96°C) = Fast extraction = bitter, hollow, 'ashy' flavours.
Think of temperature like a volume knob. Too low and you barely hear the music. Too high and it’s all distortion. The sweet spot depends on your coffee and brew method.
Brewing Pour Over Coffee
Pour over gives you a high level of control, and water temperature is a key lever you can pull to fine-tune flavour.
Light Roast Coffee
Light roasts are denser, less soluble, and naturally bright.
- Use hotter water (94–96°C) to draw out sweetness and aromatics.
- Enhances citrus, floral, and fruity notes while balancing acidity.
- Go too cool and you’ll get sour, underdeveloped flavours.
Medium Roast Coffee
Medium roasts are balanced, sweet, and forgiving.
- Brew at 91–94°C.
- Lower temps emphasise chocolate, caramel, and nutty flavours.
- Slightly hotter temps bring out liveliness without being sharp.
Dark Roast Coffee
Dark roasts are highly soluble and extract very easily.
- Stick to 88–92°C.
- Cooler water prevents excessive bitterness and smoky, ashy flavours.
- Keeps the cup smoother and more drinkable.
Tips For Using a Variable Temp Kettle
If you set your kettle's water temp to 95ºc regardless of the brand it's unlikely that all of the water inside your gooseneck kettle is actually at that temperature, in fact the gooseneck spout itself acts as a heatsink for your first pour.
The best way around this is that you can pour some hot water into your coffee dripper, this no only preheats your dripper, it pre wets your filter paper and set's it correctly in place. It also knocks out the initial chill from your gooseneck spout.
What you don't want to do is overcompensate by brewing hotter, this is largely guesswork without a thermometer and if it's already at boiling point you run the risk of over boiling your kettle.
Our final tip for kettles is to just do a super quick google search of your location and find out the altitude above sea level.
This is important as you don't want to run your kettle over this temperature.
Espresso and Temperature
Espresso is brewed under pressure, which makes temperature even more critical. A change of just 1°C can drastically alter your shot.
- Light roast espresso: Higher heat (~94–95°C) is essential to extract enough sweetness and balance acidity.
- Medium roast espresso: Sweet spot is around 92–94°C, delivering body and clarity.
- Dark roast espresso: Cooler shots (~89–91°C) stop bitterness from dominating.
If you’ve got a machine with PID temperature control, use it. Small tweaks can mean the difference between a bright, juicy shot and a flat, burnt one.
Stability Is Just as Important as Heat
When brewing pour over, keeping things hot and steady makes a massive difference. Preheating your kettle and dripper isn’t just a luxury it’s non-negotiable. The brew bed loses heat quickly, and if your temperature drops during brewing, you’ll end up with a cup that’s uneven, thin, or under-developed.
That’s why variable-temp kettles and pre-heated drippers are the way to go. They’re what keep your extraction consistent and your flavours balanced.
- Pour over: A good kettle with temperature control like the Fellow Stagg EKG ensures consistent heat. Pre-heating your brewer also helps.
- Espresso: PID-controlled machines are far more stable than thermostat-based ones. If you’re using a single boiler machine, allow time between steaming and brewing to stabilise temperature.
Fluctuating temps = uneven extraction = muddled flavours.
Other Factors to Keep in Mind
Water brewing temperature isn't the only variable that alters the way your coffee tastes, brew temperatures interacts with other variables in your brew that all combine to change how your coffee tastes:
- Grind size: Finer grinds extract faster, you can often use slightly cooler water when using finer grind sizes.
- Coffee density & altitude: High-grown coffees are harder and denser, so they usually respond well to hotter water.
- Coffee dripper material: Ceramic retains heat, plastic loses it quickly but holds most of the heat int the brewer, always preheat drippers for the best result.
- Bloom phase: Hotter water during bloom helps degas fresh coffee and primes the bed for even extraction.
What Water Temp You Should Use For Roasts?
Here’s a quick reference you can use when dialling in your brew, start from these temperatures and then adjust to taste.
| Roast Level | Pour Over Temp | Espresso Temp | Taste Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light Roast | 94–96°C | 94–99°C | Bright, aromatic, sweet, structured |
| Medium Roast | 91–94°C | 92–94°C | Balanced, chocolatey, rounded |
| Dark Roast | 88–92°C | 89–94°C | Smooth, mellow, less bitter |
Water temperature is one of the simplest yet most effective tools you can use to control flavour. Start hotter for light roasts, cooler for dark roasts, and then adjust to taste. Once you’ve got the hang of it, you’ll notice how even a couple of degrees can completely reshape your cup of coffee.
If you’re brewing pour overs at home, experiment by splitting your brew into two batches at different temps. Taste them side by side. It’s one of the best ways to train your palate and understand the role of heat.
