Can someone explain the science to me of why if you make pour over coffee with water from a kettle vs water from a microwave it tastes so different? I’m always on team kettle but I want to know why I genuinely feel like it tastes so different. Microwaved water coffee tastes muddy and flat to me
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Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 22-Apr-2026 23:52:41 JST
Adrianna Tan
- GreenSkyOverMe (Monika) repeated this.
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SnoopJ (snoopj@hachyderm.io)'s status on Wednesday, 22-Apr-2026 23:57:58 JST
SnoopJ
@skinnylatte my first question would be "does the effect survive a double-blind trial?" :blobfoxlaughsweat:
but otherwise the mineral content others mention could be responsible? I'm very skeptical of the proposed aeration mechanism since it's being poured over anyway.
I used to microwave water for french press coffee before I got a kettle and I've never noticed a difference, so that's part of what informs my intuition for a psychological effect here
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Adrianna Tan (skinnylatte@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 23-Apr-2026 00:03:55 JST
Adrianna Tan
@SnoopJ I don’t feel it as strongly with a French press compared to pour over and Chinese and Japanese teas
But I’m also used to kettle only (never heard of microwaving water until I came to Murica hahah)
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Claire, The Ultimate Worrier (waitworry@sakurajima.moe)'s status on Thursday, 23-Apr-2026 00:11:35 JST
Claire, The Ultimate Worrier
@skinnylatte this article suggests it is because the kettle heats the water evenly while the microwave does not
https://www.tastingtable.com/1485281/difference-between-boiling-water-microwave/
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Jim Flanagan (jimfl@hachyderm.io)'s status on Thursday, 23-Apr-2026 00:15:31 JST
Jim Flanagan
@skinnylatte (Having read all the responses so far) No.