Posted Tue Jan 20, 2004, 4:24pm Subject: Re: How to Use a Press Pot
You could probably pick up a metal seive just about anywhere that sells kitchenwares. I think mine is actually a tea strainer. It's about 3-4" across and shaped like a bowl. I don't know about size, just make sure it's small enough to keep most of your coffee in the sieve and allow all the flour-like grinds to fall through. It's not perfect, but it's better than leaving all that powder in. Dump in the grinds and shake it around. Do it over the sink! Makes a helluva mess, but improves the coffee. Cheers! -Dave
Posted Tue Jan 20, 2004, 4:36pm Subject: Re: How to Use a Press Pot
COBoy Said:
Another question/comment in the "How Much Coffee?" vein. I've got a 32 oz press pot but with coffee thrown in, I can only get about 22oz. of water in there before the pot is full. So I'm weighing out only enough coffee for 22oz. and not 32oz.
Interesting! To be honest, I never really noticed. I have this small plastic scoop that came with an old French Press, and it was a little smaller than 1 TBSP. I found that the original instructions of "1 scoop per cup", bearing in mind that it was supposedly 8 cups, seemed to do the trick. Sometimes I'll put in one more for good measure (no pun intended). Mostly just use that as a guideline and then experiment from there. A lot of people I know have a definite preference for more grounds or less grounds. Hope that helps -Dave
Malibar Senior Member Joined: 4 Apr 2004 Posts: 157 Location: Durango, CO Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Bialetti Moka Pot (stovetop) Grinder: Rocky DL, Cuisinart... Drip: Pourover Cone, Bodum... Roaster: I wish
Posted Mon Apr 19, 2004, 7:49pm Subject: Re: How to Use a Press Pot
I just got a Bodum Chambord. I'm not ready to shell out the $$$ for a Rocky or M+, but I won't let the pot's maiden voyage be ruined by my B&D blade grinder. So, for the time being, I plan on using the commercial grinders at the cafe I work at. The grinders we have there are the large vertical Bunn commercial ones. I think one of the ideal dial settings will come from these options: *Coarse *Reg Perc *Elec Perc *Drip (We also have Rocky's for espresso, but I don't want to mess with emptying out the dosers and recalibrating the grind settings and stuff while the shop is open for business, y'know?) What do you think? Any forum post I come across seems to just say "coarser than your normal auto-drip". The pic on your Intro to Press Pots article illustrates the coarseness, but I'm just not sure on how coarse. I know with these grinders I can have the exact degree of coarseness I need, so why settle for guesswork? If you have any familiarity with the Bunn's settings, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Hemingway had the ideal cofee shop figured out: "A clean, well-lighted place."
heatgunroast Senior Member Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Posts: 360 Location: NYC Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Dalla Corte Grinder: Mazzer Mini; Zass, Baratza... Vac Pot: Royal Balance Brewer (wanna... Drip: Various press and pour-overs Roaster: Heatgun, Dogbowl
Posted Mon Apr 19, 2004, 8:29pm Subject: Re: How to Use a Press Pot
IMO I'd prefer a blade grind just before brewing to a perfecto grind that sat for several hours or a day. I'm one of the odd sorts who actually likes a "thick" (some call it sludgy) cup, so the uneveness of the grind for press doesn't bother. There IS a difference between a well-practiced blade grind and my Mazzer grind, but I see it as a different coffee prep rather than an inferior one. Just got back from a 5-day stay in a hotel where I got by very well with a blade grinder and SwissGold. Good beans, well roasted, right temp water (Ibis Mini), yum. Grind is is crucial for espresso, but not the end-all for press.
On another point, re: how much coffee? I say "too much," and then cut back just a little. You'd be amazed a how much coffee satisfaction you can get by increasing your dose by 50% above "recommended" amounts. Adjust to taste by manipulating grind and time-of-brew. I get the water boiling, give it a short shot from the tap to drop the temp. Martin
hopkin Senior Member Joined: 30 Jan 2004 Posts: 125 Location: Vancouver, Canada Expertise: Professional
Espresso: Synesso Grinder: Robur E Vac Pot: Hario Drip: Clover
Posted Thu Apr 29, 2004, 3:19am Subject: Re: How to Use a Press Pot - Temperatures
What about temperatures? It depends on the origin and roast I would say. A general guideline of ~197-204f is a start, but how acurate really are the basic thermometers that people would be using at home? Regardless, use trial and error, and using the same thermometer you will get the same results (even a broken clock tells the right time twice a day).
But lets complicate this further, depending on your altitude and barometric pressure, boiling points change. This makes using a kettle risky. Personally I don't like kettles because so many of them seem to have such a high boiling temperature (the water bubbles for 3 minutes and then shuts off). I find the characteristic and flavour of water changes if boiled too long, even if boiled say to 212 and allowed to cool to 200 degrees before pouring, its flat, awful.
I was really worried about my temperatures at home when using a press pot... but its a much more organic, feel whats right approach. Many principals of espresso can be applied when it comes to roasts and temperatures, but the methods are more basic. Thats actually the beauty of it.
Malibar Senior Member Joined: 4 Apr 2004 Posts: 157 Location: Durango, CO Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Bialetti Moka Pot (stovetop) Grinder: Rocky DL, Cuisinart... Drip: Pourover Cone, Bodum... Roaster: I wish
Posted Thu Apr 29, 2004, 11:03am Subject: Re: How to Use a Press Pot - Temperatures
Two words: digital thermometer.
Reads accurately and instantly. I got mine at a grocery store for $11. Might seem high for a thermometer, but view it as an investment just like having Silvia or Rocky around is an investment. One step closer to the perfect cup each time.
Hemingway had the ideal cofee shop figured out: "A clean, well-lighted place."
Posted Mon May 3, 2004, 5:05pm Subject: Re: How to Use a 'what' Pot?!?
Just on water temperature.
I agree with the previous post about (electric) kettles. Tea should be made with fresh cold water which has been heated to what the Japanese refer to as the 'fish-eye' stage. i.e when bubbles of steam form on the bottom of the heating container (and no, I don't know how far up Fujiyama one can do this). Rapid fire boiling, or worse, re-boiling water, results in de-oxygenated water (I'm told) and tastes flat. Too hot water, like too long steeping, extracts bitter tannins.
I imagine this goes pretty well as advice for coffee also.
4 months ago my tea kettle broke. I began a search for the perfect kettle. That led me to the idea of an espresso machine that also supplied hot water. That led me to research coffee machines. That led me to learn how to use the internet. That led me to Coffegeek. That led me to Rocky. Then to Elektra (this Friday Please gott!). $2000 later...
I'm still looking for the kettle. Anyone out there know anything about kettles? I'm toying with an underbench instantaneous (filtered) hot water tap to save bench space for my espresso setup.
Anyone know if these have adjustable thermostats or any other advice?
Posted Fri Jul 23, 2004, 10:52am Subject: Re: How to Use a Press Pot
Thank you for the guide, but does anyone know what is the proper setting for my LaCimbali Avinox grinder? I just got it (though its over ten years old) and it apparently has about 42 grinder settings...
I started at the top (41), because thats where it was set, and the knob is really hard to turn, but that is clearly an espresso setting -- My press pot still makes good coffee, but is markedly more bitter than the stuff I had them grind for me at the Peets down the street... and they are beans from the same bin.
I'll probably figure it out through trial and error, but if anyone just knows the answer, I'd appreciate it.
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