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?
Okay very good to know. I only read a brief blurb about steep times, they gave 4 minutes as a starting point so I figured I’d try that but this weekend when I have some more time I’ll try something different (I have an 8 pound bag of beans so I’m perfectly happy experimenting😅)
As for cold brew, I’ve done it quite a few times and been happy with it but never tried pressing it after, just poured it through a filter so I’ll give that a shot next time I do cold brew.
Note: I have no experience brewing or drinking robusta varieties or blends, but I figure the basics are the same/similar to arabica.
For immersion brew methods such as the French press, you get a huge dropoff in extraction rates as time goes on. A two minute steep will be massively underextracted compared to a four minute steep, but in my experience a four minute steep and a 10+ minute steep will be pretty similar in terms of extraction. A bonus of a longer steep time is that the coffee will be at a better tasting temperature.