I Tested James Hoffman’s Ultimate French Press Technique: Here's what happened. 

Step 6 (more important): a good grinder.

The one issue I noted with what you did was the grinding. Spinning blade grinders produce very poor results. What you produced is known as a bouldery grind. A mixture of large and small particles. That is why you had to remove so much when you skimmed it. The large particles don't release trapped co2 and therefore don't sink to the bottom. Also large particles are extracted at different rates to small particles. I strongly recommend you acquire a good quality burr grinder, either electric or manual, and you will be amazed at the difference it makes. Cheers!

Just a heads up, overextraction is basically impossible in immersion brew methods like this. The water will reach a saturation where extraction slows dramatically. You can honestly use a medium fine grind and still be fine. But please, if you’re buying high quality coffee get a good grinder. If you are using light to medium roasted coffee use boiling water

If you’re going to follow someone else’s recipe to try and get similar results then try and get as close to that recipe! Filtered water, grind coffee to resemble between pepper and salt, James says (yours was far too coarse) and he also says don’t stir too vigorously and definitely not to the bottom! Scoop off the foam and wait at least 5 minutes! Watch James’ video again and have another go 🤓

It looked like you were almost stirring the whole coffee instead of just stirring at the upper crust. You probably agitated it and a lot of it flowed back up instead off just settling down.

James' technique seemed so bizarre and opposite of what I thought about French press. I use his technique exclusively now and I impress myself with the results! Such good coffee!

Better Grinder = Better Coffee

Watch Hoffman’s video again and, if you’re going to comment upon it, do the technique AS he did it … accurately!

Made this yesterday for the first time. Worked like a charm. Waiting on my water to boil now.

Using James' method, I usually wait about 2-3 minutes to let some of the floaty bits to settle and sink again before scooping up the very fine sludgey bits that float back to the top again. After that i just usually watch another vid before decanting my cup.

I tried this as well. Works great. I noticed no difference placing my plunger just ever so slightly over top w/ cap down. I do find Filter water makes much noticeable taste difference & especially if you have fluorides. Absolutely filter that or vapor it out. I kettle boil since that’s a sure 100c & it’s a nice 66c when some (making sure u preheated your press) Do try to get a decent bur grinder

thank you Joe, nice validation of what i knew was going to be a wonderful end result. i have found James to be a very reliable source.

I appreciate the second opinion! I'm glad you enjoyed your cuppa - which is James's whole goal.

I think you need to watch how James really does it one or two more times ; - ) have been using his method since discovering it. superb!

I definitely think you had more floaty bits due to the coarseness of your grind. I made my first French Press today, following Hoffmann's guide, and I had very few floaters after the 4 minute stir.

Dunno about you, but I’ve done Hoffman’s way several times now, and it really works to get a clean, clear cup.

We had a commercial machine which made both coffee and espresso and all the frothing accoutrements. It died during the pandemic and with the kids moved out and visitors practically non existent, it was hard to justify fixing it. Wifie brought a Keurig home from her Mom's, result being I pretty much stopped drinking coffee. Missed the texture more than the flavor... with the machine leaving all those oils, you could still taste the coffee in your mouth 90 minutes later. The Keurig was weak, watery and reminded me of watered down cheap booze at a cheap "Gin Mill" (Grandma's term for the bars on every corner in Brooklyn) My "cawfee drought" ended when I was at a restaurant recently, and they brought the french press to the table. It was a stark reminder of what I was missing. Dug out the old french press and grinder and decided to replace both, adding a digital scale / timer cause I'm a lot lazier and maybe a bit more forgetful than I was back in my bartending days. One more thing about the restaurant visit though ... seeing a few grinds on the bottom of the cup brought a smile to my face ....I guess I essentially see it as a symbol of immersion brewing. Needless to say, enjoying coffee again tho the caffeine hits me a bit harder these days. One thing I have oft wondered however ... while the "ritual" of the french press is part of the experience which makes one appreciate it even more, I just don't get the two spoons thing. A handheld stainless steel tea strainer works great. One thing I didn't like about Hoffman's video was the "dump the grounds down the sink" thing. As one who has been designing and monitoring wastewater disposal systems for over 40 years, I would recommend not to do this: 1. It causes pipe clogging. The thing that keeps sewage gases backing up into your home of the P-trap...a fitting on your sloped drain piping that us U shaped and normally that U always has water blocking the gases. Well coffee grounds will collect in the bottom of that U shape and form a clump. .. 2. University studies at the University of Minnesota Water Resources Center and at a similar facility in Massachusetts have struggled to debunk the myth that coffee grounds are beneficial. "Coffee grounds will not break down in a septic tank; they will build up over time and might cause the tank to have to be pumped more often. Also, because they are so acidic, they can compromise the pH of a tank. If the contents of a septic tank become too acidic, it can create an unhealthy environment for the bacteria that contribute to the healthy ecosystem of the tank and help break down waste." In community based and larger treatment facilities carbonaceous removal and nitrification consume alkalinity and further treatment requires the addition of a carbon source and pH adjustment. Wastewater effluent has an average : Biological Oxygen Demand of about 270, coffee is 5,560 Nitrogen in wastewater is about 55, coffee is 330 I recommend holding the strainer end over the glass container and rinsing off the grinds into it, then filling the glass container with a good stream from the faucet and pouring the contents into a 6-8" stainless steel strainer and saving them for the compost pile where the acidity will be very beneficial.

That's truly brilliant in terms of marketing. Use someone's name for clickbait, then not follow their instructions, so fans will leave a bunch of comments and youtube will promote your video even better. Bravo! No sarcasm btw! Good luck with your channel. P.S. Waiting for the video "tested ultimate chemex techniqe, but I don't have chemex, so I'll just use a cup and paper towel instead" ;)

I plunge after 4 minutes and i like the coffee so im just going to keep doing that

Don't forget you had some larger coarse-grind coffee which would take longer to saturate and drop to the bottom. Hence, you had more coffee grinds floating.

Even a manual ceramic burr grinder would be 100x better than the blade grinder you used. A metal burr grinder would be much much better.

doesnt the coffee get cold? I mean how hot is it

Lots of other great comments here. Better grinder will make a huge improvement to what is shown! Another point I didn't see raised which is the age of the beans used. I used to buy coffee beans in big 2 to 2.5 lb. (1kg) bags from Costco here in the US. The printed date says "best when used by" which doesn't reflect the roast date. I finally started buying beans from a local roaster where the beans are 5 to 10 days from their roast date......and a much lighter roast than what the typical store-bought beans are. What I found is the flavor and robustness wasn't compromised......in fact, much, much improved. The other big thing I found with the fresh and lighter roasted beans was a much clearer brew and much less gritty sediment than with the older, higher roasted beans. I also see less foam and floaters with the fresh beans. This is with my exact brew method I have used for the last 5 years or so........1:15 ratio.......200 to 205 F water......quick stir..........let brew/sit for 4 minutes........second quick stir.........brew/sit for 6 more minutes........skim minimal floaters.......gently/slowly plunge........gently pour.

you have counter space for a proper burr ginder. a proper grinder won't break the bank you can fiind petty good one's for under $100 and great ones for $300

😱😱😱 got a mini heart attack from that "grinder"

Like others have said, after four minutes you just need to gently break the crust rather than stir. This way the grounds fall to the bottom and you just get a few left, caught in the crema that forms on top. Also, sorry to repeat what others have said, but you need to get a better grinder. A Wilfa is excellent, and the basic model, which is still very good, can be got here for about €100 (I live in Italy, so don't know prices your end)

I was watching a video about a technique where you also use a paper filter in a French press, I'm going to give it a shot as apparently it works very well

I cold brew Folgers coffee in a shitty $8 glass and can't comprehend any of this extra stuff. There are differences, but are they worth the extra patience and work for an average joe with limited free time?

Blade grinder and Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee? Also, you get rid of the foam a little, without disturbing the grinds. You, on the other hand, had removed half of your coffee grinds instead. But thanks for the video.

After that long time steeping, how is the coffee still hot enough?

Just tried his method it turned out great.

Nice vid. Would suggest a decent grinder to get even grind size

I love French Press. I’ll be criticized for this but I don’t really think about any variables at all - especially in the AM when I’m still groggy I just put some grinds in and let it sit for 3 or 4 minutes. Always comes out good.

I think you may want to rewatch that video,lol

Instead of a French press would you get the same results if you poured it through a comparable filter?

Great video loved it 7:50am

I would grind with a good grinder so that all grounds are evenly cut and work with press better.

Seems like the stirring at 4 mins and only pressing the plunger down into the water are the keys to a silt and floaty bits free cup.

I tried the Hoffman method and like you I had a lot of floating beans. I found that there is still some sediment at the bottom of my cup, albeit much reduced. I noticed that you didn't decant all your coffee and if you did, you'd see similar result. The flavour was harsher than my normal method so maybe over extraction? Next time I'll try steep 5 minutes instead of 7.

“I will follow to tee”!! Enjoyed your video nonetheless.

Try this: put your grounds and hot water in the french press. Put filter in place at the top of the water line and steep for 10 minutes ( I do this to reduce evaporation). After 10 minutes very slowly plunge the coffee. I then slowly pour 2/3rds of the coffee in a warmed thermos and then I filter the last third into a cup using a paper towel and strainer. I know... not as sexy as the other filtering methods, but it works.

Step 1 - “actually” follow the process using the proper equipment.

Oh my god, I laughed so hard, made my day :D Talks about the best coffee beans in the world and uses a blade grinder for spices to grind the beans. Come on. Seriously? Even a beginner with a little half-knowledge knows that the coffee grinder is the most important thing next to the beans.

Okay, but where's the shirt link? Bladerunner is my favorite - love the shirt! 😁

I received a coffee maker like this. I've never used one like this. I don't have a scale . So I'm going to guess...

My two step method for a crystal clear clean tasting coffee with no silt. Proper amount of freshly ground coffee, medium fine, into French press. Add boiling water, set timer for three minutes then gently stir floating coffee until it sinks below surface. At three minutes lower plunger then pour coffee through paper cone filter into a carafe. I use a 1.5 liter French press and pour it into a 1.5 liter Melita Carafe with a #6 cone and filter. Of course it can be scaled down for one cup or anything in between. Because the water is hotter and the grind is finer the extraction is more efficient with no off flavors, and the silt is collected in the filter. This is a quick way to brew 1.5 liters of consistently excellent coffee. I home roast many different coffees and this method works with them all. I also highly recommend using a quality bottled water, artesian spring, if possible delivered to your door in 5 gallon bottles.

Thnx for posting this! Like your tweaks, I made french press same way you normally had. Will try this technique next time! And I usually just do pourover most of the time, and JUST got a new espresso machine! So Will be seeing how this french press result compares to the other two types of coffees... Espresso's really in a world of its' own, so mainly just Pourover vs french press! Here we GOOOO!! Subbed n Liked! Cool!

Oh, the taking out too much was probably from either stirring too fast & not enough time to let debris settle. Could be from an uneven grind but usually is very little left up too

So what’s up with this cholesterol problem with metal filtered coffee?

It’s a great method ❤

As long as you have the money to buy the equipment you are good to go. That's the barrier most do not understand.

Thanks❤❤❤

huh? what do you mean, over-extraction? you cant over-extract with a french press due to it's concentration gradient. It doesn't over-extract because water can only absorb so much, and once it reaches it's equilibrium, it's done. Immersion brew methods like the french press are considered some of the most forgiving for this reason. Over-extraction is more of a percolation brewing problem.

The reason you removed so much coffee from the surface is because of all the boulders due to the grinder you used. Needed to be finer and more consistent, which you could get from a proper burr grinder.

Me still being far too lazy while watching this video: Ah yes, eyeball pre-ground store brand coffee with tap water.

You said you were going to follow his method "to a T" but then you used a blade grinder and didn't follow his technique??

You haven't uploaded in a while, which is a shame because I really enjoy your videos! Cheers!

what is the size of your french press?

Well, if you change type of water, then you change a lot already - like in beer, water quality and taste have big impact on final drink taste.

Temp was mentioned... "Just off a Boil". My Electric Kettles offer 200° and 205°, just off a boil. I use 200°. As mentioned below... your grind is way too coarse. If you want to up your coffee brewing... invest in a good grinder! Made all the difference for me. A good hand grinder, made for coffee, will work... but that gets old if making a 60-gram dose. But even those will cost $100+ for a good one. I bought an entry-level Baratza, refurbished for about $250. It was the best purchase I made as far as affecting my coffee brewing.

Is that a keurig in the back?

Never ever saw anyone remove the grounds floating when all you have to do is put the plunger in to the top of the water and at steeping time you plunge the liquid to press the grounds to the bottom and enjoy.

The reason you had so much coffee floating around after you mixed it is because you put the spoon all the way to the bottom and stirred. He only stirred the top of the water where the bits were floating. Not the whole thing. Just the floating parts.

Holy crap man! 2 cups of water to 4 tablespoons of coffee.. put the coffee in the coffee maker, heat up some water and pour enough to cover the coffee.. mix(just a little) once you have a nice gold/brown head on it add the remaining cup and a half or whatever you have left.. let it sit for 4 or 5 minutes and push the filter filter screen down slowly.. and yes, I use espresso fine grind. Makes a great cup of coffee without being stuffy about it. It’s not a $1500 bottle of wine.

Joe, you really need to read the newspaper while waiting, you can not just stand up doing nothing. It makes all the difference!

You have more floaty bits because they were larger and needed more time to soak in water

I enjoy a silty sludgy organic coffee

It looks like a very weak cup of lukewarm coffee. As a french press user for 40 years, the taste and temperature have always been very important but the bit of sludge at the bottom of the cup was never anything I lost sleep over.

You have a super calming presentation vibe, Joe and appreciate you putting content online. But I sincerely believe you lost even the most basic coffee lover when you ground your beans with a weedwacker. Consistent grind is square one. Also, discounting the need for high quality water was wrenching. Municipal water right from a tap can be iffy with traces of chlorine and other chemicals, and greatly determines the taste of recipes from pizza and bagel dough to especially coffee. Best of luck with your channel going forward, but a few basic coffee tools will really go a long way in successful results and credibility.

removing the very grinds that literally makes the coffee ?? I dont get it

Way too coarse a grind - That's why too much floated to the top. He found it hard to break old habits - and his normal habit of grinding must be exaggeratedly coarse. He heard sometime about a 'coarser' grind being less bitter - so ground for about 2 seconds just barely breaking the beans into big chunks barely capable of releasing any flavour.

chunkiest coffee that i have ever seen, i can dice onions finer than that🤣

Hoffman says water just "off the boil", not 200 degrees.

HAH! 15 minutes Pause early in the cold morning! Good Luck! p.s. Am I the only Bloke who survived Covid............... who can't smell the aroma or differentiate between French Roast and the cheapest Floor Sweep Dark Grind at WallyWORLD?

you stirred it too much, you agitated the coffee " James Hoffman's words not mine" but pretty close I'd say. I have been following his steps for the better part of 2 years now and oh my if it's not the best way to do french press. coffee tastes better using this method.

James didn't stir the bottom only the top a little, not like you did. Then mostly removed the slug off the top. Maybe that's why you had so much coffee grinds you stired the bottom to. Try again and see by not stirring the bottom. Might help.

His technique is great in order to achieve a cleaner cup. But the ratio seems wrong to me. 1:17 ratio is way to mild. I've done this with hundreds of grind sizes but I never get to have a nice cup. However, adding more coffee to a 1:12 or 1:13 ratio seems to improve this

“I will follow them to a tee” “You’ll notice my differences…” Me: …huh? 🧐

First, your grind is way too coarse and irregular. If you are using a high quality coffee then you really need a good burr grinder to get the best out of it. Otherwise you are just wasting coffee and money. Second, not using filtered water is definitely not an option. It is a must.Third, a fine grind can produce sludge but will never lead to over extraction since over extraction is not possible with immersion techniques, like the French press. All the best.

I think it's great but I gotta be proactive. I have to start this 5 minutes BEFORE my gf asks for a cup of coffee or else she'll be waiting forever.

Medium coarse fine are all subjective.

This is a coffee channel and you don't have some sort of filtered water pitcher?

I call bs on no sludge. I did this too but still comes out sludgy and I know it’s because I used the same type of grinder he did in this video. Some of the coffee is coarse and some fine and is just too inconsistent. With a burr grinder, I bet the coffee will come out completely smooth

Two big ptoblems: You do actually need to use filtered water; A spinning blade grinder won't work well.

i believe u have your metrics wrongly adverrised..i believe u r using correct measures though when preparing the coffee..just the numbers on the screen

you did the stirring wrong, only touch the surface and not stir it like a soup. James' technique works

Man, you riuned the final result already at the beginning, it with your brrr blade grinder.

I’d say no need to wade through all this - just do what James Hoffman’s ‘Ultimate French Press Technique’ video tells you - which is what this guy concludes at the end!

Need a conical burr grinder

You can't copy it exact because of differences in water quality. A slight change in the quality of your water can change a lot. You'd have to have VERY exceptional water quality to skip this step.

I don't understand why people are trying to make a silt-free cup of coffee with a French press. That's not how it's designed to be used. It's like trying to make chicken taste like beef. If you want silt-free, use a drip coffee maker with a filter. Other than that, take the press for what it is. They make excellent coffee when used as designed, and most of the silt settles out after a few minutes in the cup. The other thing is that that ratio of coffee is way too strong. I like strong coffee, but that ratio makes it so wildly strong that you can't taste the nuance of the coffee.

You need a grinder!

I just actually almost "to the T" repeated James Hoffman's French Press Hack (Minus gram scale, so more "to the S" I think by not filtering your quality tap water, you as well aren't quite reproducing the experiment. A chopper not a burr grinder, eh? Party foul perhaps because less uniform grinds likely?! Temperature is NOT mentioned in JH's YT Ultimate FP method, but I am TOTALLY convinced from another YT vid of his 212F/100C H20 is the way to go for best extraction. Aha, you actually stirred after 5 mins rather than just "breaking the crust" I had far far fewer floaters than you with my med/ coarse grinds after just breaking the crust literally 4 or 5 floaters plus the foam removed. I'll use a tea style strainer spoon next go. It is arguably beneficial to moisten the beans pre grind, I have not tried this in a blade grinder, only my burr. Looked like when you poured you could have plunged a bit further down and poured a bit more into your jar. as I poured I could see a tad of silt at the bottom of the angle of pour so I stopped decanting b4 that came out. My second attempt (with dampened burr ground beans), I probably could have poured cautiously without the screen/plunger it was that clear,,,,there were no dregs/zero silt at the bottom of the empty cup, so success. Thanks for repeating the experiment. try it again with filtered water a burr grinder and BREAK THE CRUST dont stir vigorously at 5 mins, You seriously had 10 x the floaters I had. Tomorrow I will have a gram scale and shall try BOILING WATER FIRST followed by GRINDS ATOP WATER. This has become my goto with my also goto Clever dripper. I will also wet a spoon and stir my beans b4 placing in the hopper. Yes cleaning the grinds from the FP IS A HASSLE.

Sorry but so much of what you did is wrong. Water and your grinder are important. Not stirring all the way down. And I stopped watching after that. I so wanted to like your channel but if you don't even have a proper grinder how can you know anything about coffee?

You used a whirly blade grinder!?!?

I was gunna watch this.. then I saw you were using a mr coffee button press blade grinder… stopped watching immediately.

I have a french press and I like it. This technique is ridiculous. Using two spoons to take out "floaty bits" is crazy. Just accept that there will be some grounds and get on with your life. Screw James Hoffman, he's a snob.

I don't think you can call the coffee silt-free when you didn't even pour out all or most of it. You just poured a tiny amount.

Hoffman says to wait 4 minutes to allow the floaty bits to sink. He didn't.

All my French Press coffee comes out completely sentiment free without pulling out the floating grounds. I CHEAT!! I can do this two ways. The first way is using a large paper drip coffee filter and wrap it around the screen plunger and then plunge away, the paper filters all the crap out. The other way is to simply pour the coffee into my AeroPress and filter the coffee through it by plunging it through an AeroPress filter. Either way I get zero sentiment in my coffee.