Feedback/Pointers? French Press and Baratza Encore

[Purplemonkey]

Morning,

Based on all the advice I got here, I ended up getting a Baratza Encore burr grinder yesterday. This morning I made my first pot of coffee using the Encore and a Bodum French Press (I've had the FP sitting around for a while now). I enjoyed the flavour of the coffee but there are some areas I could use some help on.

I used a 1:16 ratio of bean to water (beans were weighed prior to grinding). The grinder was set to 28. I boiled the water, turned off the head, ground the beans and then put the grounds into the preheated press. I poured in half the water to allow the bloom to develop, gave it a quick stir then added the rest of the water. I gave another quick stir then put the lid on and pressed down just so the screen part was just below the surface. Total brew time from the first addition of water to completion of press was 4 min. I pressed the plunger down slowly, keeping it level; this took about 15 s. I then poured off the coffee into our mugs.

1. The wife said that the brew tasted powdery. I didn't really notice it until she mentioned it. What can I do to minimized this? I'm assuming it is due to fines.

2. While the flavour of the coffee was good, I found it a little hard on the stomach. I'm assuming that it is because I'm not used to the strength of the brew. Would this best be addressed by decreasing the amount of bean used or by decreasing the brew time?

I have other questions but one thing at a time. Having SWMBO onboard is a big thing as then I have more funds for coffee related toys.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Mick]

Kick it up a couple settings (higher number). Each bean will grind at a different grind consistency so if you change beans or roasts you will need to adjust the grinder accordingly (based on the outcome of your cup of coffee).

Baratza recommends 30 as the starting point for Press grinds with the Encore

http://www.baratza.com/support/baratza-grinding-tips/

If you still get fines at the top setting you can take the cover off and reset the main adjustment to a coarser setting.

They market these to all segments from those grinding Turkish dust to french press rocks. As with anything, there is no one size fits all Swiss army knife answer.

Setting internal the grinder to the coarse baseline will make the number setting on the grinder go down for thee same level of grind before the adjustment

http://www.baratza.com/wp-content/uploads/recalibration.pdf

Press brewed coffee has more oils and particles than you will find in filtered drip or pour over as the filter captures the dust and some of the oils. I find that I like some beans brewed in a press more than I do in a filtered pour over. For me it is a matter of the beans and how they preform in the different brewing methods

You may want to get yourself an inexpensive Melitta next time you are at the grocery store and see if you like filtered coffee better than press coffee.

 

[StillShaving]

Some comments on your questions:

1. Does sound like some fines. You cannot eliminate them, but brewing a few ounces extra and leaving that behind in the press and/or waiting a bit longer before beginning to pour off into your cup and/or pouring into your cup more slowly can help minimize. As the longer you wait the more the fines will settle, as you have no doubt noticed.

2. Given that you liked the flavor and it was not bitter, then decreasing the amount of coffee or increasing the amount of water should be the right adjustment to make. Though if you increase the coarseness to 30 as @turtle recommends you may not want to change either, at least not until you have brewed at a coarser setting and still find it a little strong. As increasing the coarseness should reduce the extraction and number of fines.

 

[Purplemonkey]

Great tips Turtle and StillShaving! Much appreciated. I'll try a coarser grind in the morning.

 

[Mick]

Great tips Turtle and StillShaving! Much appreciated. I'll try a coarser grind in the morning.

If you still have problems with fines after going through the suggestions contact Baratza directly. They are very helpful, especially if they think you have tried to resolve the issue yourself before contacting them for help.

You should add an inexpensive pour over to your mix and see if you enjoy it more than your press. I've not priced the entry level Melitta drippers at the grocery store lately but I am sure they are around the cost of a cup of coffee at bigBucks....

 

[Purplemonkey]

Update: Tryed the grinder on 32 and SWMBO has given it the thumbs up! Woo hoo!

Now to convince her to let me buy more gear! Just when you thought you had your ADs under control...

 

[jamminjamy]

Update: Tryed the grinder on 32 and SWMBO has given it the thumbs up! Woo hoo!

Hello Purplemonkey,
This is actually my favorite method to brew coffee right now! I bought myself an Encore for Christmas and my current setting is 28 for french press. I tried the aeropress and pour overs but seem to like the press pot the best. I just posted my method here... let me know if you've figured out any other tips along the way, I'd be interested in seeing if anyone does anything differently: http://youtu.be/2jeK1GzdX9g

 

[Mick]

Welcome to B&B

Couple of tips for you

#1: Use some nail polish and mark the Baratza hopper at the grind setting notch so you can see what the grinder is set at from across the room

#2: break the crust (stir) after about half way into your brew time.

Other than those two suggestions it looks like you have it together very well.

 

[jamminjamy]

View attachment 546022

Welcome to B&B

Couple of tips for you

#1: Use some nail polish and mark the Baratza hopper at the grind setting notch so you can see what the grinder is set at from across the room

#2: break the crust (stir) after about half way into your brew time.

Other than those two suggestions it looks like you have it together very well.

awesome, thanks for the advice Turtle!

 

[Alacrity59]

What is best way to clean the grounds from a French press? I don't want to rinse them down the sink but even if I dig some out with a spoon first I seem to end up rinsing some down the drain.

 

[Sullybob]

If your French press big enough to fit your hand in? You could try shaking the grounds into the trash and then wiping the rest out with a paper towel or a kitchen sponge.

 

[Alacrity59]

If your French press big enough to fit your hand in? You could try shaking the grounds into the trash and then wiping the rest out with a paper towel or a kitchen sponge.

While not big enough to fit my hand this brought to mind a rubber spatula.

 

[NickCutlip]

I dump mine into a bowl, scrape out the rest with a rubber spatula. When the bowl is full I empty it in my garden.

 

[Mick]

While not big enough to fit my hand this brought to mind a rubber spatula.

I dump mine into a bowl, scrape out the rest with a rubber spatula. When the bowl is full I empty it in my garden.

I have a 2 lb plastic Folgers coffee can I dump into. Not had issues with 95% + of the grounds plopping out with a shake and whack on the plastic. The rest I rinse down the sink. Grounds go under the bushes outside when the 2 lb can fills up.

I suppose I could use the bamboo paddle that I break the crust with to pull out the remainder. It's a Vacuum pot stirrer but works well to stir anything coffee.