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Relative coffee newbie here, french press changed the game. (self.coffee)

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by bigmclargehuge to c/coffee

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I've been a closeted coffee guy for a couple years. I go out of my way to order beans I really like (a robusta variety called Indian Parchment), and this might be sacrilege on this board, idk, but I was perfectly happy running a Keurig with reusable cups I'd fill with my own grounds.

Now, I have access to a nice 1.5l french press. I looked up how to use it and it seemed easy enough so I gave it a shot, and sure enough even after my handful of fumbling attempts and some trial and error, my coffee is leaps and bounds better than what the Keurig can produce. So, here's where I'm at:

I have a weird little antique hand crank grinder that, once I cleaned it up, actually works great and can produce a nice coarse grind. My press is a stainless steel 1.5L variety, can't remember the brand, was given it by a friend. I like a strong cup so I aim for a roughly 13:1 ratio of water:ground. However, I'm without a food scale so I'm using a calculator to convert to cups and tablespoons. I usually put the grounds in first, then pour boiling water over top. Let it sit for about 3.5-4 minutes, then press, then pour.

I know my first step to really dial in my consistency is a scale, so that's on the list. Any other tips to step my game up?

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 9 months ago (2 children)

You’re doing pretty much everything right. The key is to zero in on the grind and getting consistent with that, keep the water temperature the same and brew with it right off the flame and personally I would “bloom” the grounds by getting them just wet enough to, well, they bloom you’ll see, then fill halfway, stir a bit with a spoon and then fill to the top and complete the brew.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I don't think you need to bloom coffee grounds when using a French Press as you're about to totally immerse the coffee in water anyway. It does look neat, though!

[–] agent_flounder 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

When our espresso machine kicked it I was using a French press again for a while and did the bloom thing for the first time based on some advice from who knows where. I should have done an A-B test comparing bloom to not bloom, because I'm skeptical that it matters.

[–] bigmclargehuge 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Interesting, maybe just a preference thing? I'll give it a shot either way to see what happens.

[–] agent_flounder 1 points 9 months ago

No idea but I'm curious to hear what you find!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Most coffee brew has some type of pre infusion with the hot water, espresso, pour over, dripper…if you don’t bloom you miss out on all the volatile oils that pop off the surface of the fresh grounds.

Trust. And pre infuse 🙏

[–] [email protected] 0 points 8 months ago

KK. I'll pre-infuse with half a litre

[–] bigmclargehuge 1 points 9 months ago

Awesome thank you for the input. I do think I'm pretty happy with the grind, although I'll look into adjusting that just to play around. I'll also give your bloom method a try