A cup of coffee will keep you awake and concentrated all morning. Meanwhile, the way you prepare coffee will affect the drink’s flavors and quality, and it cannot be the same as making tea or other beverages.
The traditional way to prepare coffee is by brewing or using hot water for instant coffee products. However, can you prepare coffee by boiling it? What happens if you boil coffee?
I have conducted an experiment to find out the effects of boiling ground coffee. Check out this post to find out the answer!
What Happens If You Boil Coffee?
When coffee boils, the oil and components in the coffee beans will get over-extracted, creating a harsher and more intense bitter flavor.
Boiling Is Not An Advisable Method For Making Coffee
Most traditional methods for making coffee don’t involve boiling. Most coffee makers nowadays don’t reach the boiling point when brewing their coffee.
It’s because boiling coffee can affect its components and ruin the original delicious flavors of the drink. It will also destroy the compounds that create the fabulous aroma and natural flavor of the coffee.
You can try boiling your coffee for more than ten minutes to experience its flavor. The drink gives a harsh bitterness that may be unpleasant to taste, plus the flatter flavor and lack of natural undertone.
In addition, when you boil coffee in a pot, the coffee ground will sink and condense on the bottom surface. It will deprive your drink of the extra coffee grounds and make the beverage less flavorful.
Last but not least, research indicates that boiling coffee will lead to a decrease in caffeine, thus reducing its stimulating effect. The longer you boil, the more caffeine will be lost.
It Creates A Drink Called Cowboy Coffee
The process of boiling coffee creates a variety called cowboy coffee, which is popular for its harsher bitter taste and less delicious flavor than regular coffee products.
When going on a camping trip, people usually boil coffee grounds with hot water on a campfire. It will steep coffee grounds in water for longer and create cowboy coffee.
Meanwhile, the ideal water temperature used for making coffee should be below the boiling point (91 to 95 degrees Celsius). Boiling water at a higher temperature will destroy the flavorful components of your coffee.
My trick is to let boiling water rest for around 30 seconds so its temperature can drop a bit. Then, pour in the ground to stir and allow to mix for 5 minutes for steeping.
It’s critical to keep track of time because over-steeping can over-extract coffee oil and release more bitterness.
The Difference Between Coffee-Brewing And Tea-Brewing
The coffee makers possess a separate container used for steeping and separating coffee. Meanwhile, tea is steeped straight in the spot where it brews.
In addition, coffee grounds are much smaller than tea leaves, and they require a paper filter. Meanwhile, the open filters can work well with brewing tea since it requires more water to get through the filter.
Does Boiling Affect Your Coffee’s Flavors?
As mentioned above, boiling will make your coffee less tasty due to the over-extraction of oil. The flavorful components inside coffee will also decrease, thus affecting its fabulous scent and flavor.
In addition, compounds like sugars or acids will reduce or get destroyed throughout the boiling process. Meanwhile, it will retain the bitter taste from the fibrous components, thus making the coffee less pleasant to taste.
The Difference Between Boiled And Filtered Coffee
Boiling coffee and filter coffee both involve the use of hot water, but the process is a little different. Ground coffee is typically poured into hot water and stirred when making boiled coffee.
Making filtered coffee resorts to a method called low-pressure brewing. It means that you will pour hot water onto the coffee, not the other way around.
The Ideal Time For Boiling Coffee
My favorite method to boil coffee is using a burner. You can set it to medium-high heat and boil the coffee for two minutes. Remember to stir the drink occasionally to prevent the coffee ground from clogging the bottom.
After two minutes, remove it from the heat and strain off the drink. Let your boiled coffee cool down for around 4 minutes and pour it into a mug to serve. Don’t open the pot’s cover yet, and let the coffee rest during the process.
In addition, you should not boil coffee for too long because it will ruin the drink’s flavor and intensify its bitterness.
Methods To Extract Caffeine
The most effective method that can extract the highest caffeine is Pour Over. You can use a large-sized or medium grind to extract caffeine from the coffee beans.
Also, don’t pour too much water into the grind at a time because it will create a messy and wet mixture while reducing the amount of caffeine extracted.
Another surprisingly simple method is boiling the fine ground coffee in a pot (similar to how you make Cowboy coffee). You can add a little sugar and flavored milk to balance the bitterness of this variety.
How To Make Coffee Without Using Coffee Maker
You don’t need coffee makers to prepare a delicious and convenient cup of espresso in the morning. All you need for this method is a stovetop, a pan, and ground coffee.
First, pour ground coffee and water onto the saucepan with similar ratios to using a coffee machine. Then, boil the mixture at medium-high heat while stirring regularly for two minutes.
Then, let your coffee sit for four minutes before serving. You can add milk and your favorite toppings, like whipped cheese or sugar, to enrich the drink’s flavor.
Can You Boil Coffee With Milk?
Milk and coffee are indispensable combinations for many coffee lovers. The good news is that you can add milk to a French press and use it to brew with the coffee grounds.
Milk also works with other methods like cold brewing, pouring over, and even mixing with instant coffee. However, you should not boil milk with coffee since it can burn or scald the texture.
Since milk contains additional components like fat, micro compounds, and proteins, it won’t boil like water. Unlike tap water, milk products can burn when they reach boiling temperature.
In addition, milk can extract the oils and compounds of the coffee grounds faster, resulting in a harsher bitter taste. Therefore, I recommend you use regular water to boil with coffee.
Is Tea Better Than Coffee?
While coffee brings you a boost of caffeine and antioxidants, tea is a mild and healthy drink that can soothe your soul. In general, I recommend you involve both drinks in your diet to achieve the best health-boosting effects.
It may surprise you, but most brewed tea products and drinks do contain caffeine, though the total portion is significantly lower than coffee products.
According to research conducted by Christopher Gardner, a cup of tea typically contains 30-50 mg of caffeine, while the number for a cup of coffee is around 80 to 100 milligrams.
Based on this study, you can conclude that coffee contains two to three times more caffeine than tea. Meanwhile, you should only consume a moderate amount of caffeine daily.
Therefore, tea is a milder and more suitable choice for those sensitive to caffeine or who want to reduce their caffeine intake. On the other hand, coffee is ideal if you want to concentrate and get an instant boost of energy.
In addition, tea carries more sustainable nutrients and energy than coffee, including L-theanine. When combined with caffeine, this chemical can help you concentrate better.
Nevertheless, you can decide on your drink choice depending on your personal taste. I recommend combining both types to diversify your taste and supply you with essential nutrients.
FAQs
Everything you need to know about boiling coffee is available in this section. Keep reading to discover more interesting details.
Is Boiled Coffee Good For You?
Boil coffee has both positive and negative effects on your health. On the good side, it supplies your body with antioxidants and caffeine, enhancing your healing process and preventing chronic diseases like Parkinson’s or diabetes.
Meanwhile, consuming coffee excessively can cause insomnia and jitters, plus an increase in acrylamide (a harmful chemical born when roasting coffee beans).
Does Boiling Coffee Destroy Caffeine?
No, boiling coffee won’t remove all the caffeine content from its component. However, the total portion of caffeine in coffee will decrease slightly via the boiling process.
The longer you boil coffee, the more caffeine it will lose. It also depends on the concentration of caffeine in your coffee product.
Does Boiling Water Damage Coffee?
Yes, boiling water can affect the coffee’s flavor and damage its components. When you combine coffee with too hot water (more than 205°F), it can extract bitter compounds from the coffee beans, leading to a bitter or burnt taste.
Therefore, you should leave boiling water to rest for one to two minutes before pouring it into ground coffee. The ideal temperature should be slightly below the boiling point (195°F and 205°F).
Does Boiling Coffee Make It Bitter?
Yes, boiling coffee can lead to the over-extraction of the bitter compounds in the coffee beans. As a result, the beverage will develop an unpleasant and harsher bitterness or burnt flavor.
Can You Just Boil Coffee?
Yes, you can boil coffee if it’s the most convenient and time-saving method. However, boiling will partially affect the coffee’s flavor, creating a strong and more intense bitterness.
In addition, the coffee ground can sink and condense in the bottom of the boiling pot, leading to loss of coffee ground when you pour it into a cup.
Final Thoughts
In summary, boiling coffee will release more oil from the coffee beans and increase its bitter flavor.
Therefore, boiling is not an ideal method for making coffee. It will deprive the drink of its natural flavor while enhancing its unpleasant bitter taste.
The best way to prepare coffee is by pouring hot water (slightly below boiling point) into the coffee ground or brewing it inside a coffee maker.
Thank you for reading the post!