Introduction

Within pourover, taste largely depends on 3 factors:

• Temperature — water, brew style, etc. all matter, but IMO temperature is the most direct lever for taste available to the brewer.
• [TODO] Green coffee — terroir, processing, etc.
• Roast level

Taste and temperature

In my experience, temperature is the best lever to control which flavors are expressed.

A LOOSE APPROXIMATION of the order in which flavors are extracted as temperature increases:

1. cellulose (twigs, raw peanuts)

2. green (savory, salty, grassy when bad; matcha / green tea like when good; much less present with more development)

3. fresh herbs (lemongrass, ginger, mint, etc.)

4. brightness (vinegar when bad, bright when good; fruitier with more development)

5. florality (generally just gets stronger with more heat; less present with more development)

6. sweetness (white sugar, fruit juice; cooked fruit and more caramelized brown sugar with more development)

7. brown (”generic” coffee flavor when bad, chocolate / nuttiness / baking spice when good; much less present with less development)

8. astringency (mild tealike tannic astringency when good)

9. bitter (overextracted; like over-brewed tea)

   	Ultralight	Nordic	Light	Medium+
   100ºC	Bitter	Bitter	Bitter	Bitter
   97ºC	Green tea	Brown	Bitter	Bitter
   95ºC	Strong florals, mild brightness and sweetness	Green tea	Black tea, some brown	Bitter
   92ºC	Strong florals, mild brightness	White sugar, fresh fruit, juice	Jammy, brown sugar	Brown
   90ºC	Fresh herbs	Bright, floral	Fresh fruit, juice	Chocolate, nuts, spice
   87ºC	Green	Fresh herbs	Bright, mild florals	Dried fruit, malt
   85ºC	Cellulose	Green	Vinegar, harsh brightness	Cooked fruit, jam
   82ºC	Cellulose	Cellulose	Cellulose	?
   80ºC	Cellulose	Cellulose	Cellulose	Cellulose

Tasting notes