French press

[Jim]

Gents,
I'm going to try my new Baratza Virtuoso grinder with the French press this weekend. Can you make a suggestions on where I should start number wise? The book says 34-40. No sense in reinventing the wheel!
Thanks!

 

[ouch]

I don't know if science will ever come up with anything that retains as much nuance as a French press. I have a love/hate relationship with the inevitable sludge, but whatever a filter, Aeropress, or the like gains in removing it may not be worth the loss of texture and flavor. Whenever I try, say, one of Scotto's special selections, I only seem to "get" it when using a press.

What a simple and functional device.

 

[Sabledog]

I love mine--except the grounds from that "final bit".....

I don't know what number to start with, but I'd recommend trying to match regular drip grind.

 

[dpm802]

I'm not sure where 34-40 relates on your scale, but French Press calls for a consistent, course grind. This should keep the sludge to a minimum, although you don't want to eliminate it entirely.

If you don't already do so, keep your beans in the freezer, in a sealed container. No need to defrost them prior to grinding, they are ready immediately when you take them out.

Only grind as much as you need at one time. Beans will retain their flavor a long time (assuming proper storage,) but ground coffee does not.

Your grinder probably came with a little brush to sweep it out. Use it frequently to maintain the best taste, and shop around for a better one to replace the cheap plastic scoop/brush that's included with most grinders.

You can learn an awful lot about beans/grinding/presses etc by investing $2 and a few minutes at your local Starbucks. Ask the barista to explain what they're doing and why they do it that way ... most are more than happy to talk about their craft (assuming the store isn't busy at the time.)

 

[ravkesef]

WE have started every morning with a French press for the past 20 years. Nothing else comes close. (hobby: I'm a taster for a coffee company. Really!) Now, here are a few techniques to get the most out of your FP.

First of all, you have an excellent grinder, (it's the one we use for our morning cup,) and the recommendations are good--34-40. You can open the grinder all the way up to 40 and not suffer any flavor loss.

Now: as to technique. This is what we do every morning, regardless of the coffee we're drinking. (let me assume that you're going for the gold here--no cheap stuff. Invest in a top quality coffee. You will be rewarded in this world and the next.) This method brings out the full flavor and every subtlety and nuance of the coffee. Trust me on this one.

heat 24 oz of water to 200-205.

grind 40 g of coffee, place in the bottom of the carafe.

Add enough of the water (not more than 2 ounces,) to moisten the coffee. The coffee will "bloom" -- i.e., expand as it gives off CO2, a sign of freshness. wait 3 minutes. make sure the water stays at 200-205.

With a plastic tool of some sort, give the coffee one or two light stirs, to break the crust and move it around--very slightly. Add the remaining water, (don't stir!) wait another 3 minutes. (I usually wrap the carafe in a towel to maintain the temperature.)

push plunger down and enjoy a full, rich cup of coffee. leave the last swallow in the bottom of the cup.


an alternative method that gives a lighter brew, not as fully flavored:
add all the water, wait 4 minutes, stir, push plunger down.

 

[letterk]

If you've seen any of Jim's coffee photos, you know he only drinks the good stuff.

I've found I prefer the grind on the finer side. You can get quicker and from my point of view, more body, with a finer grind. The drawback is more sludge, but there are ways to deal with that (don't drink it all!). I believe this is suggested by one of the editors over at coffeegeek as well. Because of this, I'd suggest starting that the recommendation and test from there.

 

[letterk]

If you don't already do so, keep your beans in the freezer, in a sealed container. No need to defrost them prior to grinding, they are ready immediately when you take them out.

Only grind as much as you need at one time. Beans will retain their flavor a long time (assuming proper storage,) but ground coffee does not.

No offense, but beans absolutely loose their flavor quickly, and even more so in the freezer. Ground coffee will go stale in minutes, whole beans in about 2 weeks or less depending on the bean.

 

[ravkesef]

No offense, but beans absolutely loose their flavor quickly, and even more so in the freezer. Ground coffee will go stale in minutes, whole beans in about 2 weeks or less depending on the bean.

+1 on that. Only buy from a roaster who puts the roast date on the package, and use it within 5 days of opening. Don't freeze it, don't refrigerate it. the flavor loss is profound. just use it within days of opening. And only buy what you will be using during that period. Don't stock up on sales.

 

[mankini]

What is the best french press and why? Can it be used for loose tea?

 

[Sabledog]

No offense, but beans absolutely loose their flavor quickly, and even more so in the freezer. Ground coffee will go stale in minutes, whole beans in about 2 weeks or less depending on the bean.

+2

I roast mine and taste the difference as it ages. it's usually good for 2-3 weeks and hopefully I don't have it for any longer than that.

I've been doing a 2 minute press with a stir of the plunger after 1 minute (drip grind as suggested by SweetMaria's) but I will try the "bloom" approach very soon.

 

[_JP_]

If you don't already do so, keep your beans in the freezer, in a sealed container. No need to defrost them prior to grinding, they are ready immediately when you take them out.

You won't find beans frozen at any coffee roaster, coffee house, or anywhere else that they sell whole beans. You shouldn't freeze them either.

 

[ravkesef]

What is the best french press and why? Can it be used for loose tea?

There really is no "best," since we're talking about something that is pretty close to a commodity, except that I prefer the ones offered by Bodum. In fact, they're all so much alike that for all practical purposes, the only differences between the Bodum ones are in the decoration, etc. You can get top of the line for under $30. For a look at the various models which Bodum offers, click here. And yes, you can use it for loose tea as well, but you will really need to clean it thoroughly when switching from one to the other.

 

[ouch]

What is the best french press and why? Can it be used for loose tea?

Bodum makes great French presses, and similar devices for brewing tea that I don't like. Get an yixing pot for tea.

 

[doleeo]

If you've seen any of Jim's coffee photos, you know he only drinks the good stuff.

I've found I prefer the grind on the finer side. You can get quicker and from my point of view, more body, with a finer grind. The drawback is more sludge, but there are ways to deal with that (don't drink it all!). I believe this is suggested by one of the editors over at coffeegeek as well. Because of this, I'd suggest starting that the recommendation and test from there.

John, I do the same thing. I believe it was Tom Owens at Sweet Maria's who wrote the article that I read a few years ago recommending this method.

As for coffee freezing, I advocate it to some extent. There was a very lengthy story about freezing FRESH coffee on Home Barista a while back. If your up for a good albeit geeky read about coffee Here it is

 

[kongjie]

I have a Bodum at home, but I have to admit that one of my indulgent pleasures is to go here and order a French press coffee. They give you a cup and the press on a small tray: combined with a book or a notebook, it gives me about 90 minutes of pleasure.

 

[comfortablynumb]

Gents,
I'm going to try my new Baratza Virtuoso grinder with the French press this weekend. Can you make a suggestions on where I should start number wise? The book says 34-40. No sense in reinventing the wheel!
Thanks!

When I used to drink coffee, I used a La Pavoni grinder, I usually set on number that produced a medium fine ground. The preferred grind for French Presses is usually coarse, but if you can get it a bit finer with out producing excess sludge in the cup that would produce a better cup.

What is the best french press and why?

IMHO the Swissgold, Why? it has a micro-screen filter and thus less sludge in the cup as opposed to the Bodum models. I don't dink coffee anymore, so I'm not sure how hard they are to find now.

Can it be used for loose tea?

Sure, although you may want to devote one to coffee and one to tea, so as not to impart any coffee flavor on the tea. Basically loose tea can be brewed in anything, lacking a proper tea pot I usually use a 1 cup Pyrex glass measuring cup.

 

[Doc4]

Now: as to technique. This is what we do every morning, regardless of the coffee we're drinking. (let me assume that you're going for the gold here--no cheap stuff. Invest in a top quality coffee. You will be rewarded in this world and the next.) This method brings out the full flavor and every subtlety and nuance of the coffee. Trust me on this one.

Add enough of the water (not more than 2 ounces,) to moisten the coffee. The coffee will "bloom" -- i.e., expand as it gives off CO2, a sign of freshness. wait 3 minutes. make sure the water stays at 200-205.

With a plastic tool of some sort, give the coffee one or two light stirs, to break the crust and move it around--very slightly. Add the remaining water, (don't stir!) wait another 3 minutes. (I usually wrap the carafe in a towel to maintain the temperature.)

push plunger down and enjoy a full, rich cup of coffee. leave the last swallow in the bottom of the cup.

Even I, a coffee neophyte with a 5 lb tin of pre-ground coffee sitting in my kitchen freezer as we speak, has discovered the joy of the French Press.

+1 to the method described above, which has the added advantage of getting you a hotter cup o' joe. My method is to boil a bit of water, and add just enough to the Press to get the coffee wet. Then I let it sit for a few minutes, occasionally giving the Press a good swirl to mix up the coffee. Then I boil another batch of water, and add it and giggle the press a bit so the floaters sink before being pressed. Then press and drink.

For me, the key is using as little water as possible in the first step, and having the water in the second step properly boiling.

 

[Suzuki]

Bodum makes great French presses, and similar devices for brewing tea that I don't like. Get an yixing pot for tea.

Big +1.

Unless you plan on pouring off all the tea as soon as its done brewing, allowing tea to sit on the leaves will result in bitter, over brewed teas.

This is especially so when brewing green or oolong teas, which often only require about 1 minute or so of brewing time and turn nasty quickly if they're over-brewed.

 

[ouch]

Bodum makes a teapot that uses a plunger to effectively separate the leaves from the freshly brewed liquor, but it still doesn't work so good.

 

[billybadger]

Now I understand what you all mean by a 'French Press' - you mean a cafetiere...

Anyone use a machine? I've got a Gaggia bean to cup beast, always produces great coffee with a slight head - always gets me going in the morning. Sadly at work they only provide awful instant muck