My First French Press

[Volusianator]

Originally Posted by mariogolbee

Congrats on the French Press. I love using mine but the coffee never really ends up hot enough for me.

I googled about cold brewing yesterday after reading this thread and decided to try it. I just used a pitcher, a carafe, and some coffee filters. After about 18 hours I came up with some fantastic brew. It has so much more flavor with no bitterness whatsoever. I think next time I'll save some time and effort and just cold brew in the French Press for easier filtering.

Care to give a step by step?

Originally Posted by Volusianator

Care to give a step by step?

I placed 1 part freshly ground coffee to 3 or so parts room temperature filtered water in a pitcher, stirred it all up to be sure all of the grounds were wet, put the lid on, and let it sit over night on the dining room table for about 18 hours. Instructions I found said to let it sit anywhere from 12-24 hours depending on desired strength. After 18 hours I rubber banded a coffee filter to the carafe (French Press) and would occasionally fill up the filter and let gravity do the rest. When I noticed the filter barely dripping I would gently hand squeeze it and replace it with a different filter. I did this about four times. Last, I rinsed the pitcher and transferred the contents from the carafe to the pitcher.

Next time I will simplify by using the same coffee to water ratio, but I'll just do the whole darned thing in the French Press and transfer it over to the pitcher afterward for storage. I may run it through a paper filter after the press or I may not.

The end result is very concentrated, sort of like espresso. It can be warmed up or drank cold but should be diluted. I tried it heated, cool, and iced, each time with 1-2 parts 2% milk. I like it all three ways and will experiment some more in the future. Everything I read says it will stay fresh and untainted for up to two weeks in the fridge, unlike traditional brew.

Please excuse the grammar and sentence structure right now. It's bed time. Enjoy, I know I will.

[forgop]

Originally Posted by Volusianator

Care to give a step by step?

These are the instructions for the Toddy system, although I'm sure the same concept works in a french press as well.

http://www.toddycafe.com/customerser...structions.php

[BlindedByScience]

We've been doing the French press thing now for a couple of years, and there is just no going back. I'm hooked on Mr. Jerry's "Killer Beans" and have done business with him for several years. I have started to check out the local roasters, though...some good stuff here in PDX.

In addition to the French press, I bought a Baratza grinder a couple of years back. No, they aren't cheap...and there is no comparison to the blade grinders. A good conical burr grinder will give you the most consistent grind imaginable. This is one of those dumb things that makes me smile every time I use it.

Lastly, as a friend of mine put it....here's the "next step off the cliff"....home roasting. Haven't gone there yet, but I'm looking into it.

Cheers - N.F.H.

[Volusianator]

Damnit, this is starting to sound tempting.

Originally Posted by Volusianator

Damnit, this is starting to sound tempting.

It's really that good. Please excuse my semi-overcomplicated description of the process last night. It really takes little effort and is well worth it.

[OLS]

Two things to remember, though, coffee should NEVER be made with boiling water. If you boil water,
let it sit for 5 or so minutes before using it to make coffee. And secondly, if you use hot water from the tap,
make sure you do not have a conventional water heater. If you have that kind of instant heat deal,
that's OK, but drinking hot water from a conventional tank water heater is not good for you.

[replicant_argent]

Originally Posted by OLS

Two things to remember, though, coffee should NEVER be made with boiling water. If you boil water,
let it sit for 5 or so minutes before using it to make coffee. And secondly, if you use hot water from the tap,
make sure you do not have a conventional water heater. If you have that kind of instant heat deal,
that's OK, but drinking hot water from a conventional tank water heater is not good for you.

Could you elaborate on these? Depending on the ambient temp and the container the water is in, 5 minutes could put it below optimal brew temp.

As far as the other.... No real reason that water would be harmful, in my experience. If you were on a well, with untreated water, and you had some high temp biological contamination, that might be an issue, but in general not an issue for 99,999 people out of a 100,000. What are you referring to? Soft water? Not really an issue, as the sodium levels in softened water are so low that for it to impact your health you would need to drink bathtubs of it to affect you. Daily. The sodium, in a softened water system are used in the ionic exchange process in the softener, and the resin bed is flushed of virtually all free NaCl in the final bed rinse.
Curiosity killed the cat, I suppose.

[BlindedByScience]

Originally Posted by OLS

Two things to remember, though, coffee should NEVER be made with boiling water. If you boil water,
let it sit for 5 or so minutes before using it to make coffee.

When I made coffee this morning, like every morning, I wait for the water to just start to boil. I turn the stove off, count to ten, and pour it into the french press. The Specialty Coffee Association of America recommends a temperature of 195-205F for making coffee. My guess is that if you boiled water (~212F +/-) and let it sit for five minutes, you'd be well below their suggested minimum.

Now I'm curious; I'll stick a thermometer in the water tomorrow and find out where I'm at....

[kgoings]

Some good reading here...might pick up a french press today to give it a try.

[Volusianator]

OK, it's official, after doing a little more reading, cold brewed just seems like way to much work for a cup of joe. I really don't want to take 18 hours to make my coffee.

[forgop]

Originally Posted by Volusianator

OK, it's official, after doing a little more reading, cold brewed just seems like way to much work for a cup of joe. I really don't want to take 18 hours to make my coffee.

It's not any more work to make cold brewed coffee than it is for a french press and honestly, french press is probably more work. With the cold brewed coffee, you have the initial element of time obviously, but you have a concentration that will yield a LOT of coffee to drink over several days. Add water to your preferred dilution and you're all set. You could make up enough in one batch of the cold brew to last a week. I now make coffee once every 6-7 days compared to daily with the french press. The process is much the same, but the yield/taste of the cold brewing is night and day. With the french press, you're boiling water, brewing, and cleaning up every day.

[awsmith4]

Originally Posted by forgop

It's not any more work to make cold brewed coffee than it is for a french press and honestly, french press is probably more work. With the cold brewed coffee, you have the initial element of time obviously, but you have a concentration that will yield a LOT of coffee to drink over several days. Add water to your preferred dilution and you're all set. You could make up enough in one batch of the cold brew to last a week. I now make coffee once every 6-7 days compared to daily with the french press. The process is much the same, but the yield/taste of the cold brewing is night and day. With the french press, you're boiling water, brewing, and cleaning up every day.

Do you drink it cold? Sounds pretty good for summer. Can you reheat if the weather calls for hot coffee?

Originally Posted by awsmith4

Do you drink it cold? Sounds pretty good for summer. Can you reheat if the weather calls for hot coffee?

I drank it cold, at room temp, and heated. It can't really be "reheated" since it was never heated to begin with. I enjoyed the same coffee each way just the same.

[forgop]

Originally Posted by awsmith4

Do you drink it cold? Sounds pretty good for summer. Can you reheat if the weather calls for hot coffee?

I keep the concentrate in the decanter refrigerated, pour in a glass, add water from the water dispenser in the fridge, add a little vanilla or hazlenut creamer and spenda, and voila. Might add an ice cube or two to make it really cold. I prefer that over the hot coffee nowadays.

My wife microwaves her coffee in the morning, but prefers the iced coffee in the afternoons.

[OLS]

Yeah, I realized after that waiting 5 minutes was way too long, but my 15 minutes of time to
edit were up and I blew it off. When I came back and saw the debate was on, I figured I would
come on and eat my crow. 15 seconds maybe to wait?? As long as it is not BOILING water.
And that's from the coffee Experts at Community Coffee.

As for the tank water, higher concentrations of lead and I am guessing also contaminants from the
fiberglass tank itself.

[Mr B]

The only drawback to the Cold-Brew would be if you wanted it hot. Coffee never has the same, good, fresh brewed flavor if it is reheated. No matter if its in a pot or the micro, it never tastes as good.

I will stick w/ the Press for hot coffee. I will probably try the cold brew this summer though.

Originally Posted by Mr B

The only drawback to the Cold-Brew would be if you wanted it hot. Coffee never has the same, good, fresh brewed flavor if it is reheated. No matter if its in a pot or the micro, it never tastes as good.

I will stick w/ the Press for hot coffee. I will probably try the cold brew this summer though.

Have you actually tried cold brew heated before making this bold claim? I agree that a reheated cup of traditionally made brew is not quite the same. Cold brew is not heated in the first place, though.

[forgop]

Originally Posted by Mr B

The only drawback to the Cold-Brew would be if you wanted it hot. Coffee never has the same, good, fresh brewed flavor if it is reheated. No matter if its in a pot or the micro, it never tastes as good.

I will stick w/ the Press for hot coffee. I will probably try the cold brew this summer though.

I don't know about that because it's never been heated in the first place. I know one time a few weeks ago we brewed a pot in the french press due to the extreme cold and just couldn't believe how much more bitter it was. Haven't made another french press pot since.

[forgop]

Just put another "pot" in...

My instructions I shared in another thread:

After putting in plug/filter:
1) Pour in 4 cups water
2) Put in 4 cups of course grind coffee
3) Put in 3 more cups of water
4) Do not mix/stir, but gently fold in the dry grounds in the water until it's all soaking
5) Approximately 12 hours later, pull the plug and filter into the decanter
6) Determine the dilution you like best-I think the manual says a 3:1 or 4:1 wateroffee concentrate, but you need to determine what works best for your taste.