Silt in french press coffee.

Is some "silt" to be expected?

I call it silt because it is very fine, and I only see it if the coffee sits. I've taken to shaking/swirling my coffee before I take a sip, (I use a travel mug) and it isn't noticeable when you drink it. I've used coffee ground by a local roaster, and my grinder is a Porlex JP-30. The grind from the local roaster (who I assume has commercial machine) looked nice and consistent, and the grind from my grinder seems pretty consistent as well.

The silt isn't a deal breaker, just wondering if I should be doing something different.

There's always gonna be some fines in grounds

It's to be expected. Some pour through a paper filter or other very fine filter to reduce or eliminate them.

They don't bother me, though. Truly, I embrace and even enjoy them. There are a lot of other goodies that are removed when you filter out the fines. In fact, when I drink drip coffee that's gone through a paper filter, I tend to find it stripped down.

Ok thanks, they don't bother me either, I just wanted to make sure I was doing things right. I'm still in my first week of making french press coffee, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

valkabit said:

Is some "silt" to be expected?

I call it silt because it is very fine, and I only see it if the coffee sits. I've taken to shaking/swirling my coffee before I take a sip, (I use a travel mug) and it isn't noticeable when you drink it. I've used coffee ground by a local roaster, and my grinder is a Porlex JP-30. The grind from the local roaster (who I assume has commercial machine) looked nice and consistent, and the grind from my grinder seems pretty consistent as well.

The silt isn't a deal breaker, just wondering if I should be doing something different.

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If you have too much 'silt' ... your coffee is being ground way too fine. I usually use a Cremina 67 for espresso but once a week, take out the French Press and grind my coffee on the COARSE side. Less silt, smoother coffee.

The fines can not be eliminated but can be minimized by pressing slowly so that minimal turbulence is created, then letting the coffee set after pressing so that they settle out in the bottom of the press pot and not your cup, and then pouring slowly as to no disturb the fines which are still settling. But all that takes extra time when one is salivating for that fresh brew.

It's a feature, not a bug.
At least it's not going to taste like paper.

We knew an Iraqi lady who showed us how to make Turkish coffee. When you finished the drinking coffee, flip the cup over for a few seconds, then look in the bottom at the pattern the silt made and tell your fortune from it. Like tasseomancy.

From what I understand from use and reading on the net.Its, just something that comes with a press pot cup of coffee..If you don't like it, you might won't to try a paper filter coffee maker..

I know you said it doesn't bother you but I'll say it anyways. My wife can't stand the silt so when I make it for her I will wrap a coffee filter around the plunger and then press slowly. It works well to remove the silt.

I use a burr grinder at a coarse setting. I always have some silt in my coffee...especially when I'm finishing off what's left in the French press.

Take a look at The Espro. It brews a cleaner cup with the addition of a mesh filter basket. Be advised that there will be a small amount of silt though much less than the original. Clean up requires a few more steps though very easy to do. Well made solid design with slick engineered filter basket. Looks good on the countertop too.

If you want silt less coffee look into a V60 though it's a rabbit hole of proper equipment and pour technique. It's the only brewer, in my experience, that extracts the flavors that you read on the bag. The trade off will be the removal of oils and a coffee consistency that can be tea-like at times. Cheers!


~Royce

Yes it comes with the territory. Fresh ground coffee. Just had some although I used an Aeropress this time.

Check out the "Rafino" it is a sort of a sive to eliminate fines and boulders from your grind I have pre-ordered it as it is not yet in production. I use a siphon brewer and it gives me a cleaner cup than a French Press but it requires weighing out the water and grounds and sometimes adjusting grind size to get consistent results. You might prefer a pour over like the clever brewer.

That Rafino/Kruve sieve system looks interesting. Good to see someone making filters like that. I vaguely recall reading a thread years ago where someone tried a similar experiment to filter/sort their coffee before brewing and found that the taste was different but not necessarily better using a more precise grind. The Rafino/Kruve packaging looks good.

I would assume a lot of wasted coffee at $16-$25 for 16oz. How about Geisha? No way. I see nothing interesting in that ronco gizmo. $50-$150 depending on how many particle size options you need all the while losing you money each time you use it. If SCAA recommended it then maybe I would take a glance at it.


~Royce

DudeAbides said:

I would assume a lot of wasted coffee at $16-$25 for 16oz. How about Geisha? No way. I see nothing interesting in that ronco gizmo. $50-$150 depending on how many particle size options you need all the while losing you money each time you use it. If SCAA recommended it then maybe I would take a glance at it.


~Royce

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That assumes you are just tossing the fines or the boulders but those of us who use multiple brewing methods can probably find a use for the very vast majority and give what remains away. I wouldn't pay $129.00 for it nor I would I pay $2,100.00 for a Mazzer Kony grinder but it isn't my money and IMO people spend equal or greater amounts on far stupider things.
I roast my own so my costs for a pound of coffee are generally in the $5.00 - $8.00 range (Geishas excepted). Allow me an eye roll at the notion of paying $20.00 to $25.00 a pound for coffee.

LostHighway said:

That assumes you are just tossing the fines or the boulders but those of us who use multiple brewing methods can probably find a use for the very vast majority and give what remains away. I wouldn't pay $129.00 for it nor I would I pay $2,100.00 for a Mazzer Kony grinder but it isn't my money and IMO people spend equal or greater amounts on far stupider things.
I roast my own so my costs for a pound of coffee are generally in the $5.00 - $8.00 range (Geishas excepted). Allow me an eye roll at the notion of paying $20.00 to $25.00 a pound for coffee.

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I will not toss boulders and fines as I will experiment with times and steep boulders longer and fines for less time to even out my extraction (I use a siphon). I too roast my own coffee, have done so for almost eight years coffee keeps getting better and better experiment after experiment (also book after book, and conversation after conversation). I would spend the $ on a Mazzer etc.

211bma said:

I will not toss boulders and fines as I will experiment with times and steep boulders longer and fines for less time to even out my extraction (I use a siphon). I too roast my own coffee, have done so for almost eight years coffee keeps getting better and better experiment after experiment (also book after book, and conversation after conversation). I would spend the $ on a Mazzer etc.

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What is reasonable generally comes down personality, intensity of interest and available funds. I weigh my beans to the 1/10th of a gram and track my water temps to the degree (F). My wife thinks I'm crazy but she really likes the coffee so I haven't been blue papered yet. I'm decidedly not in high cotton or I probably would have a much nicer roaster and grinder, be looking at high end HX or dual boiler espresso machines and maybe considering the Kruve sieve system. If you can afford it and it makes you happy go for it. There are kinds and levels of consumption that make my gorge rise but I don't think even the most extravagant home roasting, grinding, brewing set up would even remotely approach that point.