My First French Press

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.

[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.