I have a French Press question.

I've been using my FP for three months and I really enjoy the coffee. My question is this. There's quite a bit of coffee that floats to the top and creates a layer maybe 1/4" thick or more. It seems to me that the coffee at the upper portion or top of this layer is not being extracted. I would think the bottom of this layer would inhibit the circulation of water. Who else has ever thought about this?

French Press is one of my favorite coffee brewing methods. There are a few methods that people suggest to address what you're talking about. 1. try saturating the coffee at the bottom of the carafe for 30 seconds, making sure everything is mixed before continuing to fill the carafe. In other words, pour about 2 inches of water, mix and wait, then fill the carafe to the top. 2. Although most people suggest a 3 - 4 minute infusion period before inserting the press, an option is to insert the press in the carafe right after pouring the water, and press down only very slightly...EG less than 1/4 inch. Like the first option, this saturates all of the coffee.

Having said all the above, I don't do either. I pour slowly and use an amount of coffee that makes my ideal brew with a 3 minute extraction and press.

I let it form a crust at the top, then after 3-4 minutes crack into it and stir it up then press slowly.

When I make coffee, I add enough water to fully saturate the grinds plus a little more and stir. I start my timer and I let that set for 30 sec and then I add the remaining water and stir as I pour. I extract for a total of 4 minutes then press. What got me thinking about the accumulation on top was a method I tried where you use a couple of spoons to remove the grinds off the top before pressing the plunger. You end up removing about 70% of the ground coffee and was suppose to give you a cleaner cup with less sediment. I didn't find this to be true. Seemed to me you need all the grounds to act as it's own filter to hold back part of the sediment.

Anyway, seeing how much of the coffee grinds are at the top got me to thinking that the standard method of brewing in a FP does not make use of 100% of the grinds in the carafe during the brewing/extraction period. I'm going to try experimenting with pushing the plunger down to various depths at the beginning of the brew cycle to see if I taste any differences.

I make my french press like you, but add a second pour and swirl, then top off with more water. ( Also rinses down any loose grounds) Press after 3 or 4 minutes

I find having a good grinder and using the proper grind to be the answer.

I stir routinely throughout to make sure I'm getting a full extraction.

I always leave a few bits of coffee grounds floating on top. Makes a great conversation piece and something for my wife to complain about rather than make her own drip coffee

Vesteroid said:

I find having a good grinder and using the proper grind to be the answer.

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+1

ThEoRy said:

I let it form a crust at the top, then after 3-4 minutes crack into it and stir it up then press slowly.

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Austin said:

I stir routinely throughout to make sure I'm getting a full extraction.

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Seems like stirring during the extraction process is a winner. I gave it a try this morning, at the beginning, which I did anyway, and

then at the two and three minute marks. The coffee definitely turned out better, seemed to be smoother. I'm going to brew the

coffee this way for the next two mornings and then go back to the old way just to make sure there's really an improvement. :coffeelots:

I stir the water and grinds together thoroughly at the start for about 30 seconds, then push the plunger down just enough to hold the beans under the water.
rather than taking the plunger out and mixing, I just pump the plunger up and down a few times every few minutes to squeeze the bubbles out and mix the beans.

As the grinds absorb water they release more bubbles. I usually consider the coffee to be done when new bubbles stop forming. around 5 minutes.

I'm using a small bread plate to cover my FP during extraction. Then when I do stir I don't make a mess with the plunger. Another thing I noticed by stirring a couple of times during extraction. The plunger goes down easier because more of the ground coffee is floating down in the water instead of being caught in the crust.

Next thing I got to do is find a good source for roasted coffee. My one local roaster is a PITA to get to and they don't observe their own published hours for business. If it cost me $5.00 in gas to go there and a hour of my time, I might as well buy online.

99Limited said:

I'm using a small bread plate to cover my FP during extraction. Then when I do stir I don't make a mess with the plunger. Another thing I noticed by stirring a couple of times during extraction. The plunger goes down easier because more of the ground coffee is floating down in the water instead of being caught in the crust.

Next thing I got to do is find a good source for roasted coffee. My one local roaster is a PITA to get to and they don't observe their own published hours for business. If it cost me $5.00 in gas to go there and a hour of my time, I might as well buy online.

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The best source of fresh roasted coffee is yourself. A Behmor home roaster will pay for itself in six months, and you won't ever be at the mercy of your local roaster.

What PT said....home roasting is where it's at

Pensacola Tiger said:

The best source of fresh roasted coffee is yourself. A Behmor home roaster will pay for itself in six months, and you won't ever be at the mercy of your local roaster.

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If I went that route, who would be a good source for the green coffee beans? This might be worth the expense if the learning curve isn't too long. All I'm after is "The Best Cup of Coffee" every morning.

I think I can get there given enough time.

Tons of choices. Sweet Maria's is one place to start. Green coffee buyers club is another. I would pick a vendor that sold pounds till you get a feel for what you want...most minimums at the gcbc are 5lbs or even 10

The Behmor 1600 is being fazed out and is sold out everywhere except for one place and it's local. The replacement, Behmor Plus, is going to be $70 higher for basically the same machine.

Anyone else tried an Aeropress before.... It's a less bitter, stronger version of FP coffee...

99Limited said:

If I went that route, who would be a good source for the green coffee beans? This might be worth the expense if the learning curve isn't too long. All I'm after is "The Best Cup of Coffee" every morning.

I think I can get there given enough time.

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As mentioned, Sweet Maria's is a good place to start. They offer a sampler pack of eight varieties:

http://www.sweetmarias.com/store/coffee-list/others/samplers/green-coffee-sampler.html

Well PT, you just cost me $300. Wasn't even thinking about a coffee roaster and here you come along and say, "Hey, you need a Behmor coffee roaster." At least this will allow me buy and drink pricier coffees since it seems green coffee is about 1/3 the price of roasted coffee.

99Limited said:

Well PT, you just cost me $300. Wasn't even thinking about a coffee roaster and here you come along and say, "Hey, you need a Behmor coffee roaster." At least this will allow me buy and drink pricier coffees since it seems green coffee is about 1/3 the price of roasted coffee.

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You're welcome.

Just be careful sharing. Everyone who tastes your coffee will ask you to roast some for them, too.

Yes and dont count on cheaper lol, there are greens on GCBC for 25.00 a lb and remember you lose about 20% weight when you roast them

I use a bigger roaster than the Behmor, so I dont know how to roast with that exact model, but get on one of the coffee websites and learn about the basic terms and weights / times...there are dedicated threads to the behmor on a variety of sites including green coffee buyers club, and I believe home barista (could be coffee geek too, I dont go there much anymore).

Vesteroid said:

Yes and dont count on cheaper lol, there are greens on GCBC for 25.00 a lb and remember you lose about 20% weight when you roast them

I use a bigger roaster than the Behmor, so I dont know how to roast with that exact model, but get on one of the coffee websites and learn about the basic terms and weights / times...there are dedicated threads to the behmor on a variety of sites including green coffee buyers club, and I believe home barista (could be coffee geek too, I dont go there much anymore).

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Never thought about coffee losing weight when roasting, but then I never thought about roasting coffee other than a passing, "Maybe.." Seems like 12oz is about the max this machine can roast at a time, which is 4 days of coffee drinking. Anyway, new hobby to go along with my other new, time consuming hobby. Ordered the roaster this morning around 1:00am, will have it tomorrow. Now I've got to get some beans from SweetMaria's.

I roast 300 gram batches in my Behmor. That yields around 255 to 260 grams of roasted beans, good for about four and a half liters of brewed coffee.

Congratulations on making the move to home roast!

I thought about grabbing a hottop a year or so ago, but read there is a steep learning curve. Is that factual or will it be like most things I read like that online and be way less difficult than advertised. The only thing I tried that was actually difficult was learning to bake artisan bread well. The curve on that for me was pretty steep.

rahimlee54 said:

I thought about grabbing a hottop a year or so ago, but read there is a steep learning curve. Is that factual or will it be like most things I read like that online and be way less difficult than advertised. The only thing I tried that was actually difficult was learning to bake artisan bread well. The curve on that for me was pretty steep.

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Hey, if PT can do it, a caveman could do it. :laughat:

I've watched a bunch of videos and I know I'm as smart as any of those folks. I bought some practice beans because I'm sure I'll make some mistakes. I think the #1 rule is, Don't Walk Away from Your Roaster. I've dry roasted a ton of slivered almonds and pinion nuts and they can go from perfect to burnt in seconds. I think coffee roasting will be the same. You have to pay attention and in the case of coffee beans, listen for the first and second crack.

I pour in coffee, then pour in my water in a slow circular motion to wet the beans, in 3-5 min i stir with a spoon, then I press it slowly. I say three to five because I'm looking at the color and consistency of the crème waiting for it to become almost the color to the bean.

I ended up trying quite a few different methods. They ranged from pouring 1/3 of the water, wait 2 mins then pour the balance of the water in while stirring and finishing extracting. I've also tried stirring a couple of times during the extraction. And there's a few other ways I've tried. What I do now is pour in the coffee, add enough water to wet the grounds. Let it bloom for 30 secs and then .... depending on much extra effort I want to do I'll either pour in 1/2 of the water and do the full extraction, creating a concentrated brew. I'll then add this to the other 1/2 of the water in my thermos. This method actually makes a pretty nice cup of coffee. I saw a video on youtube where a guy did this with I think a vacuum pot. The other method is the regular ole french press method. Although I do gently submerge the crust so it's about 1/2" below the surface. And I always extract for 6 minutes. I started with 4 minutes, then 5 and finally with the advice of some true coffee guys settled on 6 minutes.