OMG! I appreciate running across your video. I just got a Bodum Kenya French Press and used your table for the strength of my coffee and I used strong and that was too much for my espresso grounds. I'll scale it back, but I just added water to it when I prepared a cup. Very quality taste this way!!! I just have to have patience with the time and its worth it. No grinds escaped and I plunged mine all the way down! I risked it. Coffee so smooth and no grinds.
Hi, do you put the lid on just at the 4 min mark when you plunge or do you put it on after the stir and wait? Also, would you do anything differently if using a steel insulated press?
I put a lid on right after the stir, as it keeps the temperature higher. I might leave it off with an insulated brewer, but you should try brewing both ways! May or may not even matter to you.
i recently bought a french press, i thought regular ground coffee would work, ie costo brand kirkland ground coffee. what that name of that coffee grinder you are using?
It's a Baratza Encore grinder - see the link in the description! A coarse grind will leave a cleaner, less muddy taste than pre-ground coffee. Grinding whole beans right before will be much fresher too. Last thing, Baratza Encore grinder (what I use) is a great entry-level grinder and well priced. It can grind for pour over and moka pot too. But, a cheaper OXO burr grinder is fine for French press. Either way, you won't go back once you get a burr grinder!
It's not. He's just showing you a way to be meticulous. U can also do it quickly as well. Just skip over the fine details. Don't measure, estimate, One quick stir. Wait a few minutes Slam the plunger all the way! and it's gtg or at least good enough !!! Or you can be particular and meticulous 🤷♂️ either way works great
I've only recently started using a french press after making coffee with a Keurig machine. I have not started measuring coffee with a scale like this man does. If you look at the instructions on a bag of coffee beans, they'll usually tell you how much water to add to a certain number of tablespoons of coffee, which is what I do and that seems to work fine. But you do have to heat the water hot enough first, and wait for it to steep in the press with your coffee grounds for about 4 minutes, which is important. The whole process will take about 6 to 7 minutes. If you want coffee faster than that, use a Keurig.
wow i bet the coffee companies luv you promoting the use of all that coffee for a 8 oz cup. at that rate it cheaper just to use caffeine pills then drink tea or water ... when i do make coffee i make mine in a make shift pour thru old glass warmer from 1930s. i just put a permanent filter basket on top then boil water and keep pouring like the equivalent of small coffee pots of water (small 6 cup i believe it was) for one rounded plastic 53 cc scoop ... gives me roughly 40 oz of coffee +/- a bit taste ....
Ah... I think the 1 Stir thing will be most helpful, thank you! Also, the slow press and not all the way to the bottom. Can't wait to try these! Oh, and starting the timing at the first pouring of the water. I have been pouring in the water slowly, taking about 45 seconds to fill the French Press, and THEN starting a 5 minute timer. I will change that, thanks to you! BTW, I use the exact same Baratza grinder 😁
@@craftcoffeespot Yeah, I'm gonna try it tomorrow. I'm thinking those 2 steps and the proper timing should help. I don't mind if the coffee comes out 'too' strong, I do like it very strong and rich, just not sour, acidic, or bitter. I guess that's why I would leave the Organic Coffee Company French Roast sit so long, but with this Cubano I think I'm going to have to change things somewhat. Also too, I've been consistently using 40 grams of the beans, but my French press I think only holds maybe about 12 oz, so I've always thought it seemed like a lot more than many others recommend. But, it always seemed like I had to use that much to get it to be strong and flavourful enough. On your chart, for strong it does show 40 grams for about 16 oz., so that is close. I need to measure exactly how much the press holds. I do fill it to the exact same place every time and it ends up filling a normal cup to about 1/2" from the top and then another normal cup about halfway, so that's why I'm guessing 12 oz. ***EDIT I just looked up my French Press from my orders on Amazon 4 years back, it is the Bodum 17oz Chambord French Press, which I totally did not remember 😊I fill it to about 1" from the very top, I pour the water until it reaches the bottom of the chrome ring that holds the glass part. So, since I don't think I should fill it any higher than that, I'm guessing that probably is then about 16 oz, so that fits what you recommend for 'strong' coffee. So, basically, when I pour all the water in and I put the top on it firmly, the screen is sitting just above the water line, which is about 1" from the top of the glass, which I HOPE is right! 😁
@@craftcoffeespot Bro, all I can say is that you frigg'n *ROCK!!!* 👍 Yep... I followed your instructions precisely and I must say that it was indeed one of the most balanced cups of coffee I have made! 😁 I could TOTALLY tell the difference, there was no acidity, all I can really describe the flavour as, is 'Balanced' Like I mentioned, there are no levels shown on the French press itself, so I just fill it up to where when I put the top on it would be just above the water level. I can't tell by the cups because they are just generic household cups, but going by the water I put in the glass tea kettle and how much is left, I would guess that I am using somewhere in the neighbourhood of between 450 to less than 500 ml, so that should be about right. The ONLY thing I don't think you address in your excellent video is I don't think you mention how hot the water should be. Or, if you do I missed it. I use a standard old fashioned glass tea kettle. Some say that when you turn off the heat after it is fully boiling, you should wait about a minute, or basically when the movement settles down (I really don't want to bother with a thermometer 😊) and then start your pouring. But, otherwise I followed everything you said and WOW, yeah, I would say it came out perfectly. The only thing is that I might want to make it a bit stronger, and I really don't want to use more than 40 grams each time, it already goes fast enough as it is! Perhaps, maybe after doing everything else exactly the same, do you think I might let it sit 5 minutes instead of 4? Would that make it a little stronger, but without affecting the balance of it too much, what do you think? Otherwise, WOW man! You totally nailed it, out of all the voluminous RU-vid/web articles that talk about this, *YOU* nailed it mate! Thank you SO very, very much! If you have a moment and you wouldn't mind, please, if you could just comment on the timing or anything else that I may do to make it a tad stronger without affecting the taste too much, and also about the timing with boiling the water and temperature, that would be awesome, thanks!
@@latheofheaven NICE!!!! Love hearing this kind of success! Two comments: 1) I have a kettle set at 200 F even. That works for me, and I think the 1-3 minutes after boil works the same. Temperature is a nice “tweak” to try. Just be consistent. 2) tweak your grind size. I suggest grind a tad finer once you get used to it. Finer will push the taste a little stronger and my guess is you’ll like it that way. Be careful, because too fine will get bitter fast. Anyway, glad you liked it! Always love hearing a success story!
I am about to order a French press and I keep hearing about how grounds are the biggest issue with the press. What are your thoughts about simply getting a pour over stand to place a coffee filter in and just run your French press coffee through it? Is it more trouble than it’s worth? If the grounds are a consistent concern then adding an easy filtration step to the prep might make it much simpler to avoid grounds.
Hmmm, I'm intrigued, but I suspect the filter will "water down" the French press by removing oils, making it taste bland. Also, I wonder if it's just better to make a proper pour over in that case... ...Another solution is to break the crust after four minutes, scoop out the floating grounds with a spoon, wait a few more minutes, then slowly pour out the coffee. That is the Hoffman French press method that I reference. But, it adds more time...my recipe aims to avoid that with a middle ground of one stir and slow press. Lastly, just don't drink the last two sips, where most of the grounds are anyway.
I think you are contradicting yourself in this video. You say "stir once and only once", but you've actually stirred the coffee TWO times: once when you first added a small amount of water, and then again when you added the remaining water. When you finished adding the water, you actually stirred the coffee more than once to my eye (more than one circle of the spoon in the press).
You got me - I do stir twice. There was an extra stir at the bloom stage, but that's really to make sure all the coffee is saturated. It's less about the "true stir" that you do when all the water is in, which is more meant to increase extraction once. What is most important is to avoid over stirring later in the brew, because it causes too much sediment to get into your cup
A lot, but also less than you think. When testing ratios or grind sizes, it's many cups of coffee in a row. Sadly, I dump a lot of good coffee to limit caffeine intake. On a regular day, it's only 1-2 cups a day. I found one well-made cup of French press on a Saturday morning with good beans is far more satisfying for far longer than three cups of a coffee pot. You don't need to drink that much when drinking well.
