French Press First Use

After a week of suffering with the coffee in the cafeteria at work (Starbuck's medium roast drip-brewed,) I opened a french press from my awesome brother Christmas morning. On top of that, he threw in a giant bag of freshly burr-ground mocha-java from a local roaster. I put it to the test today.

Used water at about 200 degrees from my electric kettle
Measured out 4 cup's worth of grinds
Poured some water in there, stirred, and let it steep for 1 min
Poured the rest of the water in, capped, then gave it another 3 mins
Pressed, and poured

A few sips later with it black (and I NEVER drink coffee black,) there is really only one thing to say:

It took a lot of willpower not to immediately drive to the Starbucks down the road, rip the sign right off the building, and burn it in effigy as punishment for their blatant disgracing of the coffee bean.

Edit: I actually used 4 scoops of grinds (enough for 4 cups)

My first FP experience didn't go as well as yours but eventually I realized how big of a difference there can be between the home brewed coffee and coffee shop stuff.

By the way, I never learned to enjoy Starbucks. We've got Tim Horton's here in Canada. Until I started to brew my own coffee, Timmies were as good as coffee got in my books.

Congrats! I predict you'll never go back. My wife and I have bounced between drip, Italian espresso pots, even Nespresso (which isn't bad, but oh so expensive!) and we always return to the French Press for quality coffee.

By the way, I'm going to give your two-step fill method a try. I usually fill up the pot and wait for the water to be absorbed before topping it off.

I actually found that method by searching Youtube on how to use the press, so I can't take credit for it. Almost all of them used that 1 minute then 3.

The week of Starbucks was out of unfortunate necessity. It was cheap, available, and I could pay without having cash. I've always thought that their coffee was the most acrid swill I have ever tasted.

I agree with you - I don't consider myself a coffee enthusiast, but the coffee I make from my French Press is so good I drink it black or with a little bit of milk, as opposed to the milk and sugar that I have to put in other coffees to make them palatable.

My GF and I have been on the FP for one year now and just love the results.
My method is a little different though, I pour all 0.75 L of hot water from the lettle into the press with 45 grams of freshly ground coffee being sure to cover all grounds as I pour.

Let steep for 1 minute, stir and let it go for another 2.5 mins, press gently for the last 30 seconds and voila we are treated with the goodness.

Glad you are enjoying!!

If you like it au lait, you might try boiling water and 5 to 8 minutes

we use a French Press for our tea, there just is no way to brew it better!

not to long ago we broke our press and had to use the coffee maker, it's OK but.....

Mycon said:

After a week of suffering with the coffee in the cafeteria at work (Starbuck's medium roast drip-brewed,) I opened a french press from my awesome brother Christmas morning. On top of that, he threw in a giant bag of freshly burr-ground mocha-java from a local roaster. I put it to the test today.

Used water at about 200 degrees from my electric kettle
Measured out 4 cup's worth of grinds
Poured some water in there, stirred, and let it steep for 1 min
Poured the rest of the water in, capped, then gave it another 3 mins
Pressed, and poured

A few sips later with it black (and I NEVER drink coffee black,) there is really only one thing to say:

It took a lot of willpower not to immediately drive to the Starbucks down the road, rip the sign right off the building, and burn it in effigy as punishment for their blatant disgracing of the coffee bean.

Click to expand...

PLUS you get that divine jolt of caffine-y goodness where you are fit to wrestle a bear.Let's see Starbucks do that!!

Congrats on discovering the French press. Now you're ready to explore home roasting of coffee, which allows you to take it several levels up the path of enlightenment. Check out www.sweetmarias.com (no affiliation) and look at the Behmor 1600 roaster.
Best regards, Ken

A roaster would be completely ideal, but since it would essentially annihilate my food income that may have to wait (but what, you worry? )

What I CAN get right now is a burr-grinder. You guys all seem to like the Maestro, but the reviews on Amazon blasted it. I await your coffee wisdom!

I loooove my press. The problem is that I haven't found a good coffee with low acidity as I have a bad acid reflux problem. I'm now using a Keurig and I love it. If you use the right kind of coffee for you, it's not weak like I thought it was.

But, I have to admit that I always use sugar unless I use a press. I found that you can actually TASTE the coffee flavor which I love. I don't think I took the water to 200 though. It tasted burned to me if I did.

That mocha-java I started with seems to be pretty mild on the acid. I have reflux too though I am on meds for it. I got an Ethiopian blend from a different roaster and it was much more acidic. A lot of your local roasters would probably be glad to give you a rundown on their varieties.

I use my french press daily. Congrats on discovering it.

Starbucks coffee tastes like mud.

I alternate between two different coffees on a daily basis(both come from a local roaster). My favorite of the two is the Kenyan, with its strong chocolaty goodness. It is quite acid though. The other Papa New Guinea is much more mild, and tastes virtually acidless.

jjjackso said:

Starbucks coffee tastes like mud.

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Burnt mud.

Tim

draysniro said:

I loooove my press. The problem is that I haven't found a good coffee with low acidity as I have a bad acid reflux problem. I'm now using a Keurig and I love it. If you use the right kind of coffee for you, it's not weak like I thought it was.

But, I have to admit that I always use sugar unless I use a press. I found that you can actually TASTE the coffee flavor which I love. I don't think I took the water to 200 though. It tasted burned to me if I did.

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It's not the acid. It is likely the "oil".