Why Your Coffee Kettle Can't Be Trusted

In this episode, I dig into one of the most overlooked variables in pour over coffee: kettle temperature accuracy. I ran an experiment with my Fellow Stagg Pro EKG and two separate thermometers, a cheap one around twelve dollars and a more accurate barbecue thermometer around sixty dollars, and what I found honestly surprised me. The kettle I trust most, the one I love, the one with what I think is the best spout in the business, was lying to me about temperature pretty much the entire time. I set it to 200 degrees Fahrenheit and got readings of 205, 207, and beyond. So I started thinking about how blindly we trust this device. We measure to the gram, we time to the second, and we just assume the kettle does its job. I share why I picked up a Bonavita as a backup and what this whole thing has taught me about how I dial in my brews now.

But this episode is not just about kettles. It is about how every piece of coffee gear has pros and cons, and how knowing those drawbacks is what actually makes you a better brewer. I bring in an offset smoker barbecue analogy to explain why inconsistent gear is not broken gear, and I talk about why questioning your equipment, your recipes, and even the advice you read online is the real path to enjoying your coffee. If you have ever wondered why your coffee tastes different from one brew to the next, or why a recipe that worked for someone else falls flat for you, this episode will give you a framework for thinking about the variables you may not have considered. You will learn how to use temperature swings to your advantage, how to think about your gear honestly, and why trusting your own palate matters more than following anyone else's protocol.

Transcript

[00:00] We measure to the gram. We time to the second. And we just trust the kettle. I did an experiment a couple weeks ago, and I just wanted to see how much we can truly, really trust everything that we do in coffee. Like I mentioned, we measure, we time, our pour technique, our recipes, we grind coffee, we do all that good stuff. We know what that's going to do to the coffee, right? But one of the things we don't do at all is actually see how accurate this thing is.

[00:57] It may seem like I'm picking on Fellow, because I'm really not. But I tried it with this device right here, the Fellow Stagg Pro, whatever it's called. Top of the line kettle. Love it. Still my favorite kettle. But I just wanted to see how accurate the temperatures were. I used two thermometers. One was a cheap one, about ten or twelve dollars. And then another one I have, about sixty or seventy dollars, used for cooking, used for barbecue and whatnot. I boiled water at 200 degrees Fahrenheit, about 300 grams inside the kettle. 205. Wait a couple seconds. 207. Filled it up more to 800, 900 grams of water, which is the max you're supposed to put into the actual device. 204, 205. Same type of thing. I let it get comfortable. It was still way above the 200 degrees Fahrenheit realm.

[02:32] And it got me thinking, wow. This is one thing we trust blindly. We don't really think about it. We turn the knob, it goes to some temperature, we pour our coffee, and that's it. We start to think about things to blame, because it's not our fault, right? We didn't even think about this thing at all. We think about the coffee, the grind size, whatever else we want to blame for our coffee not tasting right, or that person online giving us a recipe. But the thing is, this kettle lies to us all the time. And we don't even think to judge it, to question it.

[03:37] It was one of the reasons I went ahead and got a new kettle, the Bonavita, because I knew this one had mood swings, temperature swings. So I thought the Bonavita would be a little bit more accurate. I'm not gonna lie, it's beautiful. The handle is perfect. The look and feel is perfect. The spout is the best in the business. I like the way the machine turns on, turns off, easy dial for the temperature. It's a really nice premium device.

[04:19] And as I thought about all this, I was a little bit shocked, but I really wasn't mad about the whole situation. It was more so that now we can be honest with ourselves when it comes to this stuff. We can be better about engaging with what we're doing with this whole coffee thing. It's one of the many variables we don't think about, but it's extremely important.

[04:59] So now we understand what's actually happening here. Not so much why the temperature is not accurate, but it's letting us know that it's not accurate. So whenever we do a recipe, we have to take that into consideration. Lately, I've just been leaving it at 200 degrees, sometimes I go down to 195. But one thing I've realized is that if you're trying to see that dramatic difference in temperature, you're probably gonna have to go all the way down to 190, or up to 200 or 205, to see if there's a big difference in the taste and flavor of your coffee. That's like knowing your gear. That's like figuring things out, because now we have more information to really geek out about the things we're dealing with.

[05:59] And one of the other things I realized with this situation is that everything we deal with has pros and cons. Most of it is pros, but the con, of course, which is a big one, is the temperature swings, the inaccuracy when you put water in. That's another thing we don't realize. Whenever somebody gives us a recipe, say 200 degrees, how much water did they actually have in the kettle? What type of water were they using? Does that have an effect on it? We can geek out, go deeper into the rabbit hole, because we're already there. But it's one of those things where now there's just more information we can use to make the best sound decision.

[06:54] Let's talk about pros and cons again. I'll give you a non-coffee related example, but kind of the same situation. I barbecue on the weekend. And when I barbecue, I have different smokers, different grills, all that stuff. One of the grills I have is called an offset smoker. It's really big. It does a good job. But when you actually look at it for what it is, it has a firebox on the side that stays extremely hot, and then a cooking area where the air and heat flow through it. And a chimney to exit out. Many manufacturers try their best to get it as evenly heated as possible. Some of them tell you different techniques to actually run it. But when you really look at the device for what it is, it has its drawbacks. It has inconsistencies you have to deal with. And the more information you know about the pros and cons, that's how you can use it to your advantage.

[08:40] Sometimes, depending on the actual meat and what I'm trying to do, I know that even though the front of the cooking chamber is a little hotter, sometimes I'll move the meat there to get that heat at first, give it a nice crust, depending on whatever I'm cooking. And then later in the cook, I may move it back, I may turn it. I may play around with the firebox, with airflow, leaving the whole chimney stack open so I can have constant flow. Play around with the cold area, the hot spot. The point is that it's not perfect. You can't really grill on it. Sometimes I really don't like steak on it. Sometimes I just like a regular kettle grill, because it does a good job of anticipating that smoke and cooking the steak relatively quickly. But it has drawbacks, things I don't like about it. Same thing with this kettle right here.

[10:06] Like I said, nine times out of ten, it's exactly what I want. I actually retired my Hario kettle just because this spout is just as good to use compared to that spout, and that spout is legendary to me.

[10:27] But I guess one of the biggest things I'm trying to get you to understand is that the kettle isn't broken. It's inconsistent. It lies all the time. Just like anything and everything else we deal with. It truly does. The biggest eye opener about this is that we are aware of it now. We can understand the things we're trying to do with coffee even more, because now we know the disadvantages. Things we can do to mitigate those situations.

[11:13] As I explained earlier, if you're really trying to see a big swing in temperature, you probably want to brew your coffee at 190, because you know it's going to not actually be at 190. It's probably going to be at 195. Then 202, 203, you'll get that other extreme. Those are things you can do to understand your coffee even more. Same thing with the grinder. Not all grinders are created equal. I have four hand grinders. They all have their pros and cons. And as long as we can maneuver around that, we can still create the best coffees we can on other devices. Are they perfect? No. Are some of them gimmicky? Yeah. I still question what you would need a Melodrip for, or even a booster. I'm starting to come around to the fast paper thing, because you can manipulate grind size to bring out different things in coffee. Light, medium, and dark. I'm starting to understand that through these advantages and disadvantages of the gear we have, we can truly really be one with the coffee.

[12:41] So I needed this experiment. I didn't know what I was going to get out of it. But I'm not mad at this device right here. I'm truly not. It's just letting me know that I need to pay attention to it. It lets me know that whatever I do with that input, it's not going to give me exactly the output I need and want. So I have to manipulate it, I need to change it, I need to do all that good stuff.

[13:15] And the other big thing here is that goes for you too. No matter what somebody else says to you, it doesn't matter. It's your coffee. I've been saying that lately. I don't know who you are. I don't know what you care about. Quite frankly, it doesn't matter. You do. You care about it. But I am saying you need to care and pay attention to all the things you're doing. If that person is telling you to do something, question it. If you're wondering why your coffee is not tasting the way it's tasting, question it. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work. But know why this thing is doing what it's doing. And manipulate, control, understand, and enjoy your coffee the best way you know how with the gear you do have. That's really what I'm saying here.

[14:37] So is this the best kettle out there? I do think so. I think it's still one of the best kettles out there. There are other ones right behind it. They're coming along. They're doing pretty good. And again, I love mostly everything about this kettle. Even sometimes the finickiness of the actual device when it comes to the display, but also the inconsistency of the temperatures. We can use that to our advantage. We can figure out how we can do what we want to do with our coffee. Because now we know. Now we understand.

[15:24] Now we know that if we measure a couple grams here and there, is that going to make that big of a difference? More than likely not. Probably the ratio is where we need to be in order to manipulate, to see what works for that particular coffee. What about the time? Does that matter? How much does it really matter? I'm not saying you don't give a shit or care. But if your brew is two minutes and forty seconds, think about that coffee too. Ask yourself how it's tasting.

[16:12] And when you do that, you're going to get a lot closer to enjoying your coffee. They speak to you differently all the time. We just have to stay there and pay attention. So we care about our time. We're brewing the coffee. We care about how many grams we're using and the amount of water. We should also care about the temperature, and what's that really saying. And if it's accurate, and if it's not, how can we adjust to bring out the best? That's all we're doing.

[17:05] Just try to question it all. Because if you do, you're going to be in a better place. But remember, it's all about that coffee too. Where it was grown, the processing, what that roaster did to it.

[17:21] Let me know what you think. Have you thought about the trusty old kettle before? Have you questioned it before? Have you done a quick little experiment of putting a thermometer, one or two different ones in there, to see if it really works? Probably the thermometers aren't right. I don't mind. But have you questioned the trusty old kettle before? Question your coffee protocol and your devices. Have you realized the pros, the cons, all that good stuff? It may not matter to you. It may not. It may be the missing link in really being more consistent with enjoying your coffee. Let me know what you think. I'll talk to you later. Bye.