Let’s talk coffee

[MJ5150]

Thanks, but I pretty much like the French Press method. What is your method for French Press ? Right now, I grind my own beans to a coarse grind, add 2 1/2 tablespoons of coffee for a 2 cup mug. Pour hot water that is just starting to steam, just a little to cover the coffee for 30 seconds, then pour the rest of the water in, stir gently, cover, then wait 3 minutes.

I don't use a French press for a few reasons, one of them being limited space in our house. Your ratio of water to coffee seems about right, but it may be too coarse which could be contributing to the bitterness. Unless you're using low quality burned up coffee beans, I am not positive that is the reason your end product is bitter. Also at play here, what temp is your water?
Too hot of water brewed for too long gives you that bitterness that you just want to throw away.
Pour overs are my go to and then our Bialetti. I understand those two methods aren't the most efficient for the time conscious, but coffee is important enough to me in my life that I make time to do it right. If I don't have the time for whatever reason, I skip it till later. Then again, I don't use or need coffee to wake up or give me energy. It's purely a social experience for me or something I drink because it sounds good. I seldom drink it in the morning as I don't want to kick off my day stimulating my body in that way and having to deal with the fallout later.

-Mike

 

[jnewmark]

I don't use a French press for a few reasons, one of them being limited space in our house. Your ratio of water to coffee seems about right, but it may be too coarse which could be contributing to the bitterness. Unless you're using low quality burned up coffee beans, I am not positive that is the reason your end product is bitter. Also at play here, what temp is your water?
Too hot of water brewed for too long gives you that bitterness that you just want to throw away.
Pour overs are my go to and then our Bialetti. I understand those two methods aren't the most efficient for the time conscious, but coffee is important enough to me in my life that I make time to do it right. If I don't have the time for whatever reason, I skip it till later. Then again, I don't use or need coffee to wake up or give me energy. It's purely a social experience for me or something I drink because it sounds good. I seldom drink it in the morning as I don't want to kick off my day stimulating my body in that way and having to deal with the fallout later.

-Mike

Hmm, maybe I’ll try a less coarse grind. Don’t know the water temp. I wait until I see a little steam escaping from the kettle, then remove it from the stovetop and let it sit for a moment, then pour.

 

[knumbskull]

well, my wife got me a grinder and i found a good local roaster so i now enjoy a much better cup of coffee than previously. got a V60 pourover thingy to go with it.

just to say that @MJ5150 's tips and advice in this thread have been very helpful in learning how to make improvements in the process. so, thanks!

 

[definenredefine]

well, my wife got me a grinder and i found a good local roaster so i now enjoy a much better cup of coffee than previously. got a V60 pourover thingy to go with it.

just to say that @MJ5150 's tips and advice in this thread have been very helpful in learning how to make improvements in the process. so, thanks!

Having a good local roaster is such a blessing. I ran out of coffee lately, and, rather than use the nice sweet blend I bought for my wife, I bought coffee off the shelf. Allegedly, the coffee is from a "boutique" roaster in Nashville. No matter what I do, I can't get a good cup out of it. Always, weak and watery.

Hitting up the local roaster this week for sure.

 

[James Hart]

I brew [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] every morning... get 5lbs a month delivered every 6 weeks from a local roaster. I brew it in a Cuisinart drip machine, grind it 2 clicks finer than the finest drip setting. I use 12 servings worth of grounds (as per the maching) and 7 servings worth of filtered mineral rich well water (I live in the mountains in farm country). My wife gets about 15oz in her travel mug of sweetened Iced Coffee, I drink the remaining 27oz hot in my travel mug... we both use half&half.

I bought the coffee maker with the pod attachment because my folks have their specific pods that they each drink exclusively. They turn their noses up to my fresh stuff.

 

[pie_man_25]

I brew [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] every morning... get 5lbs a month delivered every 6 weeks from a local roaster. I brew it in a Cuisinart drip machine, grind it 2 clicks finer than the finest drip setting. I use 12 servings worth of grounds (as per the maching) and 7 servings worth of filtered mineral rich well water (I live in the mountains in farm country). My wife gets about 15oz in her travel mug of sweetened Iced Coffee, I drink the remaining 27oz hot in my travel mug... we both use half&half.

I bought the coffee maker with the pod attachment because my folks have their specific pods that they each drink exclusively. They turn their noses up to my fresh stuff.

Let them have the musty old pods, more for you.

 

[MJ5150]

My friends over at Baratza put together a tutorial on grinding and brewing coffee, which features some links to my friends over at Brew Methods in Australia that includes video's with step by step instructions prepared in a way that the home brewer can easily follow. While it is true the grinding instructions are specific to the Baratza grinders on their page, the principles are the same and can be applied to about any grinder.
If you have some time and want to geek out on coffee, give it a look: Grinding Tips - Baratza

-Mike

 

[kesslari]

Thanks, Mike!

 

[jnewmark]

Already went from a " super coarse " grind, to more of medium coarse grind, and I can tell the difference, not as bitter tasting. The first video for French Press, has the guy pouring all the water over the grounds, and letting it sit for 4 minutes. Then he stirs, then waits another 5-8 minutes, before plunging, and then just to top of grounds. During this process, the plunger is left off until the very end. I always thought the coffee brewed with the plunger on for a number of minutes. I never heard of this method, but I'm going to try it.

 

[Lobster11]

I stopped using the French press method as it appears linked to coronary artery disease. Seems to be something wrong with methods that don't filter the coffee. Evidence of course may change with time. Currently I prefer espresso anyway.

I hadn't heard this before so did a little research. Sure enough, a little Googling turned up lots of web sites suggesting that if you drink unfiltered coffee you'll probably die tomorrow. However, the one site I found on my first pass that seemed potentially trustworthy was one at Harvard:

Pressed coffee is going mainstream — but should you drink it? - Harvard Health

...in which the conclusion seems to be that it's good to limit yourself to 5 or more cups of coffee per day -- filtered or unfiltered.

I then proceeded to track down the published study that caused the recent brouhaha, which you can read here:

Invalid Link Removed

You can draw your own conclusions. My own takeaway is that, although filtered coffee seems to be (very) slightly better on average than unfiltered coffee in terms of overall death rates: (1) moderate coffee consumption of either sort fares better than no coffee consumption; (2) the effect sizes for filtered-vs-unfiltered are so small as to not really matter; and (3) it's probably not good to drink 9 or more cups of coffee per day.

My own conclusion: I use a French press, drink three cups per day, and see no reason to stop doing so. YMMV.

 

[pie_man_25]

I hadn't heard this before so did a little research. Sure enough, a little Googling turned up lots of web sites suggesting that if you drink unfiltered coffee you'll probably die tomorrow. However, the one site I found on my first pass that seemed potentially trustworthy was one at Harvard:

Pressed coffee is going mainstream — but should you drink it? - Harvard Health

...in which the conclusion seems to be that it's good to limit yourself to 5 or more cups of coffee per day -- filtered or unfiltered.

I then proceeded to track down the published study that caused the recent brouhaha, which you can read here:

Invalid Link Removed

You can draw your own conclusions. My own takeaway is that, although filtered coffee seems to be (very) slightly better on average than unfiltered coffee in terms of overall death rates: (1) moderate coffee consumption of either sort fares better than no coffee consumption; (2) the effect sizes for filtered-vs-unfiltered are so small as to not really matter; and (3) it's probably not good to drink 9 or more cups of coffee per day.

My own conclusion: I use a French press, drink three cups per day, and see no reason to stop doing so. YMMV.

so what you're saying is, limit myself to a paltry 8 cups per day.

 

[definenredefine]

You can draw your own conclusions. My own takeaway is that, although filtered coffee seems to be (very) slightly better on average than unfiltered coffee in terms of overall death rates: (1) moderate coffee consumption of either sort fares better than no coffee consumption; (2) the effect sizes for filtered-vs-unfiltered are so small as to not really matter; and (3) it's probably not good to drink 9 or more cups of coffee per day.

Most studies that generate that kind of breathless coverage have conclusions based on similar effect sizes, at least in my limited experience.

 

[kesslari]

Already went from a " super coarse " grind, to more of medium coarse grind, and I can tell the difference, not as bitter tasting. The first video for French Press, has the guy pouring all the water over the grounds, and letting it sit for 4 minutes. Then he stirs, then waits another 5-8 minutes, before plunging, and then just to top of grounds. During this process, the plunger is left off until the very end. I always thought the coffee brewed with the plunger on for a number of minutes. I never heard of this method, but I'm going to try it.

I was curious about this because I'd always heard "brew for 4 minutes, the longer than that it brews, the bitterer it gets?.
@MJ5150 ?

 

[MJ5150]

I was curious about this because I'd always heard "brew for 4 minutes, the longer than that it brews, the bitterer it gets?.
@MJ5150 ?

It all depends on the grind. If you're grinding coarse, 5-8 isn't out of the question. If it's finer, then you'll get bitter coffee letting it brew that long due to over extraction.

-Mike

 

[jnewmark]

I was curious about this because I'd always heard "brew for 4 minutes, the longer than that it brews, the bitterer it gets?.
@MJ5150 ?

Yeah, every video I have seen of French Press brewing has the plunger on while brewing, except this one. Well, I tried it and I was sorely disappointed. Coffee tasted rather bland to me, not bold tasting in any sense. I like to experiment with brewing times, but, at some point, I place the plunger on top so the coffee " steeps " for a while , kind of like tea. I thought this " steeping " was an important part of the process, but maybe I'm wrong. I use an 80/20 blend of Sumatra and Costa Rica beans. Typically, I will pour the water over the coffee to just cover the grind and let sit for about 30 seconds, then pour the rest in, then stir, and cover for about 5 minutes, then plunge. Different waiting times for both " pours " yield different taste experiences, but trying it like that first video of French Press brewing was not what I was expecting at all.

 

[pie_man_25]

Yeah, every video I have seen of French Press brewing has the plunger on while brewing, except this one. Well, I tried it and I was sorely disappointed. Coffee tasted rather bland to me, not bold tasting in any sense. I like to experiment with brewing times, but, at some point, I place the plunger on top so the coffee " steeps " for a while , kind of like tea. I thought this " steeping " was an important part of the process, but maybe I'm wrong. I use an 80/20 blend of Sumatra and Costa Rica beans. Typically, I will pour the water over the coffee to just cover the grind and let sit for about 30 seconds, then pour the rest in, then stir, and cover for about 5 minutes, then plunge. Different waiting times for both " pours " yield different taste experiences, but trying it like that first video of French Press brewing was not what I was expecting at all.

Ngl I don't overthink French press. I grind relatively coarse and let it sit for like five minutes... Or maybe until I remember that I've got coffee.

Usually it tastes good to me.

 

[definenredefine]

Ngl I don't overthink French press. I grind relatively coarse and let it sit for like five minutes... Or maybe until I remember that I've got coffee.

Usually it tastes good to me.

This is pretty much my approach as well. Grind beans while water boils, pour and stir, brew while I make breakfast (5-10 minutes, usually.)

 

[Lobster11]

Yeah, every video I have seen of French Press brewing has the plunger on while brewing, except this one. Well, I tried it and I was sorely disappointed. Coffee tasted rather bland to me, not bold tasting in any sense.

My thinking has always been that having the plunger in place on top of the coffee/water is important to help minimize heat loss -- i.e., to keep the water at the ideal brewing temperature for as long as possible. It seems to me that leaving it off is likely to lead to rapid cooling and thus under-extraction, all other things equal. No?

Another little "trick" I use during brewing is that when I notice the grounds floating to the top, I'll push down the plunger about a half-inch and then pull it back up. This breaks up the "cloud" and seems to function just like gentle stirring. Any reason why this isn't a good idea?

 

[pie_man_25]

My thinking has always been that having the plunger in place on top of the coffee/water is important to help minimize heat loss -- i.e., to keep the water at the ideal brewing temperature for as long as possible. It seems to me that leaving it off is likely to lead to rapid cooling and thus under-extraction, all other things equal. No?

Another little "trick" I use during brewing is that when I notice the grounds floating to the top, I'll push down the plunger about a half-inch and then pull it back up. This breaks up the "cloud" and seems to function just like gentle stirring. Any reason why this isn't a good idea?

I do the same thing tbh.

 

[MJ5150]

As you enjoy your coffee on this fine Monday, you can tip your cup to this man: Angelo Moriondo.
He is credited with inventing the first espresso machine, and he was born 171 years ago on this day.

-Mike