# Getting the Right Temp Using a Kettle



## Ashley.h (Dec 28, 2017)

Hello all,

My first post here so be kind haha, and apologies if this has been covered before.

I use an Aeropress for making my coffee and love it. My problem is I cant seem to get a good temperature using a electric kettle but dont really want to spend £40 on a goose neck pour over kettle with a thermometer on top. I have thought of a couple of cheaper ideas but would like some opinions before I do any of them.

1) Can I use a milk frothing jug and thermometer to boil water on the stove top?

2) Can the milk frothing thermometers be put into the electric kettle and switch it off when the temperature is reached?

Appreciate all your help,

Ash


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Whatever your water temp is, in the kettle, it will drop when you pour it into the Aeropress. I pour water at a rolling boil into mine.

If you want cooler water (for some reason I can't actually think of), always boil the same quantity of water, then leave it a known length of time to cool.

Milk frothing thermometers tend to be slow to hit a reading, they will work better on the way down from a high temp, than on the way up, but should be fine with heating water on a stove top in a small pan/ibrik (I don't know if a milk jug is typically up to the job, or whether the handle will stay cool enough to touch).

I can't help feeling you're chasing red herring though, problems with the flavour are unlikely to be because your brew water is too hot.


----------



## Ashley.h (Dec 28, 2017)

The problem im having with the water temperature is reading stuff online about the magical 91-96 degrees (if thats correct) and im getting over worried i feel about achieving this.


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Ashley.h said:


> The problem im having with the water temperature is reading stuff online about the magical 91-96 degrees (if thats correct) and im getting over worried i feel about achieving this.


It's not magic, it just helps to extract coffee in reasonable time. It is also the slurry temp, not the temperature of the brew water leaving the kettle. If your water is rolling boil at the time you pour into an Aeropress, with coffee dose, that'll be the best chance you have of hitting this range at start of brew. Temp will drop with time. Insert plunger enough to stop drips to act as a lid (temp will drop faster if uncovered), or use a small light cover (I have some watch glasses that fit OK) if you brew inverted.


----------



## Ashley.h (Dec 28, 2017)

Thanks for clearing that up, I use the inverted method as i find it easier, I may have to watch the amount of time I leave it to brew as it may be to long. I currently pour enough water in to cover the grinds and leave it for 20 seconds, I then give it a couple of stirs and top the tube right up putting the cap with the wet filter paper on and leave it for 1 more minute, I then flip it and slowly press it for about 20-30 seconds.

Ash


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

You don't need to do the 20s bloom, if anything this will drop the temp further, just get all the water in as soon as you can.

You don't brew too long, I promise. Inverted, this is almost impossible because of the temperature drop. If you get a drink you like after a minute or two steep, then great, but you can leave it half an hour or more. The limit is really how cool can you tolerate your brewed coffee.

Keeping the slurry at 91-96c is only really feasible if you can maintain slurry temp, like with a siphon/vac pot, or you are replacing the brew water with fresh, hot water in a drip scenario.


----------



## Ashley.h (Dec 28, 2017)

Thanks for the advice


----------



## AndyDClements (Aug 29, 2016)

if you do need to drop the kettle temp to 91-96deg (given the above you may no longer want to) then assume that the cold tap water is c10deg, the kettle water c100deg (more likely 99) then just add a tiny amount of tap water to the boiled kettle, say 1/10th-1/20th of what's already in the kettle.

When I do an Aeropress, I d use water noticeably below boiling point, c90deg. That's because it seems far less acidic that way but it means it's even further from the taste of espresso-derived drinks, so not the way that lots of people like it.


----------



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

I use a normal kettle ( into a pouring kettle ) for Aeropress and Chemex and V60 . I don't know what the exact temp is each time , but i follow the same process to make the drinks and get good results .


----------



## emin-j (Dec 10, 2011)

I have a kettle with a temperature readout and turn off settings of 80-90-100 , I used to use the 90 setting for coffee but it wasn't quite hot enough for me so now I use the 100, put the kettle on first then prepare the shots and by the time the shots are ready the temperature of the kettle has dropped to 94-96 so perfect for me.


----------

