Hello gents. On my Christmas wish list this year, I'm requesting a French press and a burr coffee grinder from my wife. I've never, ever made coffee in anything other than a drip coffee make, Keurig, and a percolator. Can any of you give me some good advise on how to make the most fantastic cup of coffee with a press?
French Press and a Burr Grinder on my wish list
- Thread starter crleftwich
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This is how I make it, boil water in a kettle. Add one scoop of coffee powder in the press.It's better to use a course grind or French press coffee.I use my bodom plastic scoop. It's about 7 or 8 gm coffee, I guess.
Pour the water into the press and wait around 4 minutes. Push down the plunger slowly and strain the coffee to the cup.
Experiment later on with the amount of coffee for your taste. The coffee made in a French is better than all the other methods that you have used before. But that's my opinion.
Pour the water into the press and wait around 4 minutes. Push down the plunger slowly and strain the coffee to the cup.
Experiment later on with the amount of coffee for your taste. The coffee made in a French is better than all the other methods that you have used before. But that's my opinion.
There are quite a few good videos out there, this should get you started.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4YspZcIRPXw
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4YspZcIRPXw
Several keys
1. Good Beans. Santo Domingo is a great combination of quality and price. Medium grind, or medium/coarse.
2. Water temperature. Bring it to a boil, then off the heat. Don't pour the water over the coffee until it has stopped boiling.
3. Timing. 4 minutes. Not three and a half, not four and a half. Four minutes.
4. Good mugs. We use vintage Victor mugs.
5. Pour hot water into the mug first, to heat uo the mug, then pour that out and pour the coffee in. This keeps the mug from absorbing the heat of the coffee.
1. Good Beans. Santo Domingo is a great combination of quality and price. Medium grind, or medium/coarse.
2. Water temperature. Bring it to a boil, then off the heat. Don't pour the water over the coffee until it has stopped boiling.
3. Timing. 4 minutes. Not three and a half, not four and a half. Four minutes.
4. Good mugs. We use vintage Victor mugs.
5. Pour hot water into the mug first, to heat uo the mug, then pour that out and pour the coffee in. This keeps the mug from absorbing the heat of the coffee.
FYI, buy whatever FP you like, but be careful with the burr grinder. Cheap burr grinders are awful; you need to spend at least $100 on a Capresso Infinity, or better yet, $130 on a Baratza Encore (or if you don't mind hand grinding, $30 on a Hario Mini Mill).
So, which burr grinder are you looking at?
So, which burr grinder are you looking at?
Have to follow this thread to learn. My cheapish burr grinder just broke and I'm having to use an old mr coffee blade grinder just to get my caffeine! I'm pretty cheap so probably will be looking for a deal. I guess it's a good time for that. So any recommendations would be welcomed by me as well.
Presses first:
I have moved to stainless insulated french presses.
If you are not sure that a press is your cup of....... coffee. Get a basic glass press to start off with. Bodum. Bonjour, etc.
As with any coffee, get the freshest roasted that you can find. There are many online roasting houses that will ship same day as roast (some will send you stale so ASK when the roast date of your beans are BEFORE you place an order).
My press brew method.
Add just enough water to "bloom" the beans (they will mushroom up if fresh, this is called blooming). I wait 30-45 seconds, then slowly add the rest of the brew water in a circular motion, pouring down the grounds (they will rise up with the water level and I pour them down with the circle motion)
WAIT 2 minutes then using a wooden paddle (or spoon or chop stick) I stir the crust down into the water. You will get 1/2 to an inch of crust floating.
WAIT 2 more minutes, put the press plunger on and SLOWLY press the grounds to the bottom of the vessel.
I use the same ratio of coffee to water that I do for espresso.
7 grams per cup. SO for a 2 cup press, I use 14 grams. Some coffee is stronger/weaker tasting so this is not a set in stone measure, just a starting point.
If you want to "jump right in" go for a Frieiling or Bodum Colombia double wall stainless press.
I have moved to stainless insulated french presses.
If you are not sure that a press is your cup of....... coffee. Get a basic glass press to start off with. Bodum. Bonjour, etc.
As with any coffee, get the freshest roasted that you can find. There are many online roasting houses that will ship same day as roast (some will send you stale so ASK when the roast date of your beans are BEFORE you place an order).
My press brew method.
Add just enough water to "bloom" the beans (they will mushroom up if fresh, this is called blooming). I wait 30-45 seconds, then slowly add the rest of the brew water in a circular motion, pouring down the grounds (they will rise up with the water level and I pour them down with the circle motion)
WAIT 2 minutes then using a wooden paddle (or spoon or chop stick) I stir the crust down into the water. You will get 1/2 to an inch of crust floating.
WAIT 2 more minutes, put the press plunger on and SLOWLY press the grounds to the bottom of the vessel.
I use the same ratio of coffee to water that I do for espresso.
7 grams per cup. SO for a 2 cup press, I use 14 grams. Some coffee is stronger/weaker tasting so this is not a set in stone measure, just a starting point.
If you want to "jump right in" go for a Frieiling or Bodum Colombia double wall stainless press.
Grinders:
It is hard to beat any of the Baratza grinders. well designed, easy to service, consistent grind quality.
Every Thursday they list their refurbs. Refurbs are customer returns that Baratza goes over, repackages, and resells them with NEW warranty (just like a new grinder ,only for less $$$)
They range in price from $100 to $800 for refurbished grinders. For press, their entry level grinder would be more than enough
I've used their products for decades, rebuilt a number of them, and they keep on grinding.
you can find a list of their current refurbs at this URL
http://www.baratza.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?search=action&category=RFRB
These are my 2 Baratza grinders. Just like with razors, it's hard to just have one
It is hard to beat any of the Baratza grinders. well designed, easy to service, consistent grind quality.
Every Thursday they list their refurbs. Refurbs are customer returns that Baratza goes over, repackages, and resells them with NEW warranty (just like a new grinder ,only for less $$$)
They range in price from $100 to $800 for refurbished grinders. For press, their entry level grinder would be more than enough
I've used their products for decades, rebuilt a number of them, and they keep on grinding.
you can find a list of their current refurbs at this URL
http://www.baratza.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?search=action&category=RFRB
These are my 2 Baratza grinders. Just like with razors, it's hard to just have one
Let me be very clear: there isn't a burr grinder under $100 that's worth a damn. You might as well save your money and buy a $20 blade grinder, or the Hario Mini Mill. I know $100-130 for an Encore is a shock to some people, but the difference in the cup/flavor, is massive; Baratza makes a solid griner that will outlast all the others (at that price); and they are easily serviceable, with Baratza's legendary customer service.
Worth.
Every.
Penny.
Hand grinders work just fine.
When it comes to the amount of time and the temperature of your water, experiment. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. For example, my wife and I prefer a longer extraction at a lower temperature, but that also varies with the coffee we brew. A little research will tell you how you can manipulate flavors and aromas through changing extraction times and temperatures.
Stir the grounds into the water for the first 10-15 seconds. That gets that blooming done.
Definitely check out the stainless, insulated presses. Bodum makes a great one. However don't make a bunch of coffee to leave in the press while you drink a cup. You will continue to extract. Either make only as much as you want at the moment (and then make another, smaller batch), or pour the large batch into an insulated decanter. It's not much extra work, but it's worth it.
Like shaving, enjoy what you are doing, experiment a bit, pay attention to what you are doing, and take one step at a time. You'll nail it down.
When it comes to the amount of time and the temperature of your water, experiment. Diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks. For example, my wife and I prefer a longer extraction at a lower temperature, but that also varies with the coffee we brew. A little research will tell you how you can manipulate flavors and aromas through changing extraction times and temperatures.
Stir the grounds into the water for the first 10-15 seconds. That gets that blooming done.
Definitely check out the stainless, insulated presses. Bodum makes a great one. However don't make a bunch of coffee to leave in the press while you drink a cup. You will continue to extract. Either make only as much as you want at the moment (and then make another, smaller batch), or pour the large batch into an insulated decanter. It's not much extra work, but it's worth it.
Like shaving, enjoy what you are doing, experiment a bit, pay attention to what you are doing, and take one step at a time. You'll nail it down.
My cheapness sometimes works against me.
I bought a $15 Mr. Coffee blade grinder before I knew what a burr grinder was. That wasn't just cheapness, it was heavily weighted with ignorance. Then I started looking around at Burr Grinders and got a deal on a ~$50 Cuisinart burr grinder. I don't remember what I paid but probably less than that if I bought it,
I would have been better off doing more research I guess as once I had it, I couldn't justify getting anything else. It was good enough for the drip coffee maker but once I bought a french press I found that the grind would jam it up. Plastic bits and pieces have broken off over time but now the motor seems to have failed.
So back to the blade grinder until I figure out a reasonably priced but good burr grinder. Initial take from reading the above is that a hand grinder might be in my future, but I'm not going to jump at the first deal that comes along this time.
Thanks for the input...
I bought a $15 Mr. Coffee blade grinder before I knew what a burr grinder was. That wasn't just cheapness, it was heavily weighted with ignorance. Then I started looking around at Burr Grinders and got a deal on a ~$50 Cuisinart burr grinder. I don't remember what I paid but probably less than that if I bought it,
I would have been better off doing more research I guess as once I had it, I couldn't justify getting anything else. It was good enough for the drip coffee maker but once I bought a french press I found that the grind would jam it up. Plastic bits and pieces have broken off over time but now the motor seems to have failed.
So back to the blade grinder until I figure out a reasonably priced but good burr grinder. Initial take from reading the above is that a hand grinder might be in my future, but I'm not going to jump at the first deal that comes along this time.
Thanks for the input...
Hand grinders are fine, but not fun. 
I have better things to do in the morning than work up a sweat. If you don't mind, the Mini mill or Kuissential are fine.
I'll say it again: There isn't an electric burr grinder under the $130 Encore worth buying. I'm not making that up. Just suck it up and do it.
I have better things to do in the morning than work up a sweat. If you don't mind, the Mini mill or Kuissential are fine.I'll say it again: There isn't an electric burr grinder under the $130 Encore worth buying. I'm not making that up. Just suck it up and do it.
Hand grinders are fine, but not fun.
It takes me roughly one minute to grind 30g of beans with my Hario Mini, i.e., less time than it takes my water to heat up.
I travel with a OE modified Kyocera CM-50 hand grinder.
For a few days, weeks..... It beats BAD coffee
I can say for sure that I am looking forward to getting back to my Forte grinders after more than 7 days with a KILLER hand grinder
For a few days, weeks..... It beats BAD coffee
I can say for sure that I am looking forward to getting back to my Forte grinders after more than 7 days with a KILLER hand grinder
Nice. I usually brew espresso, or my Technivorm, so it's just not for me. It's cool for camping, travel, or single serving purposes.
Not much to add to the discussion except that the Frieling insulated FP is really excellent.
I have nothing to add into the conversation other than my thanks for all the information, as I'm looking into getting a better press or method for brewing coffee ever since our coffee maker died (which means the inability to use the convenience of frac packs now), so it's definitely been a good read!
I read a book this summer in which the detective states life is too short to drink bad coffee!
I have a 9 year old Carpresso burr grinder that is going strong. I've done the press, actually have two, both glass. My typical method is a Bonivita drip machine that pauses to allow the grounds to bloom! Like wet shaving, the coffee hobby can take over your wallet!
Eric
I have a 9 year old Carpresso burr grinder that is going strong. I've done the press, actually have two, both glass. My typical method is a Bonivita drip machine that pauses to allow the grounds to bloom! Like wet shaving, the coffee hobby can take over your wallet!
Eric
Whoa, yeah, grinding a bunch of espresso with a hand grinder might change my tune.
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