I'm just getting started on learning how to make good coffee. I bought a cheap Krups blade grinder (seems to work pretty well), a new Bunn Heat & Brew coffee maker and started off with grinding Peet's Big Bang. I'm making some of the best coffee I've ever had, it's rediculous how much better it is. I actually can't wait to make my morning coffee. My question is: Is French press really that much better or is it just the novelty of being able to make good coffee in a really cool way? I'm asking because I really don't know the difference. Btw, I'm really liking the Ethiopian coffee, I can possibly see myself with a French press or pour over in the future.
I'm relatively new to coffee brewing as well. I originally did lots of research on espresso and found that the cost of entry into that arena was prohibitively expensive for me. That was when I realized I had a french press that was given to us when we got married. I pulled it out and started using it. I had been brewing drip with a Krups for years. What i like about french press is that you don't filter out the oils that are left behind in the paper filter of drip coffee. There is tons of flavor in those oils. In addition, some fines do get through the screen. The oils and fines have an impact on the mouth feel and taste. In my opinion a positive impact. After I had been using the french press for a year or so I realized that there was more to it. I watched a couple videos on Youtube and realized there were some things I wasn't doing. I started weighing both the coffee as well as the water to get the right ratio. I also learned that plunging the plunger only serves to make the coffee taste bitter. So as good as I thought my coffee was that first year or so, it improved vastly once I started paying attention to what I was doing. I'm now making some really nice smooth coffee that isn't bitter. My preference is for cafe au lait. Milk with some steamed milk and froth. About 1/3 of each. Also, I bought a good quality grinder, which frankly was the first thing I had done because no matter what way you brew coffee, the grind has the greatest impact on your cup of coffee. I have the Krups one you have and it's stored away unused. I found that I could never get a consistent grind. Some were very fine and some were large chunks. My Baratza Virtuoso gives me a nice consistent grind that I can dial in so that there are almost no fines in my cup of coffee. I have learned that coffee is a lot like shaving. You may have though those carts were giving you a good shave until that day you pick up a double edge and try a brush and some quality shave soap. Same with coffee. I now buy my beans from a roaster that I know is giving me beans that were roasted about a week before. So, to your original question, I prefer french press over drip. But I also prefer espresso over french press. And french press is actually pretty simple. Put the grinds in the carafe. Fill it with water. Let it sit 4 minutes. Take out the grinds floating on top. Let it sit another 5 minutes. Glorious coffee. I notice the difference now. I wouldn't notice the difference unless I had tasted what it could be with some technique. It's all in the technique.
Thanks for your reply. I've got a lot to learn. Like our love for shaving I can see that if I'm not careful, my new love for coffee could get out of hand. Just like shaving, learning about coffee is going to be one step at a time or it's going to get expensive quick. I think the key is to just enjoy the process and growth. I've looked a French presses but found myself also intrigued by Chemex. Lots of ways to make coffee. Thanks again for your reply, I enjoyed reading it.
2nd cup of C&S instant this morning. Doubled the spoonful, tasted fine, I'm still breathing. Ain't got around to the Brim yet.
I make one cup of coffee a day and for the last year or two I have been making pour overs (V60, Kalita Wave, Stagg XF) with various extras like the Melodrip and Gabi Drip Master B. I picked up an AeroPress Go recently and have been experimenting with the different brew methods you can do with that (with various recipes on the Internet). Any other people here do AeroPress?
I like my Aeropress and use it in rotation with Melitta pour over and Hario V60. I prefer the inverted method. I set the Aeropress up on the plunger, put in the grounds, then CAREFULLY pour in the water, stir, screw on the filter cap and the filter, then let the coffee brew for two minutes. Then I invert the device on top of my cup and slowly press. This produces an excellent full-bodied cup. My Aeropress is several years old and I'm having some trouble with it that is frustrating. If I don't thoroughly clean the plunger with hot water and soap after each use, it will leak when I press down. I replaced the rubber part of the plunger in a different Aeropress several years ago. That replacement part was rather expensive. The Aeropress I have now was a freebie. Someone was cleaning out the kitchen at work and put out a bunch of abandoned old coffee mugs, etc., with a sign "Free". There was a fairly new Aeropress in the pile of junk! Guess who gave that Aeropress a new home?
That is great that you were able to get an AeroPress for free. I am sorry your current AeroPress issues. How much coffee and how much water do you put in the chamber for your inverted recipe? Do you dilute your finished brew? If so, how much water do you add for your recipe? Trying the inverted method was next on my list but I first decided to try this recipe which has the traditional position of the chamber but putting the plunger in to keep the coffee from leaking while the coffee is brewing in the chamber. So no flipping the assembly over before pressing. It was pretty tasty. This recipe is from Tim Wendelboe who started world AeroPress brewing Competitions. I look forward to trying cold brew soon as well. I had a gift card that I used to buy the Go version. So it was free for me too. I figured I would try it out and if I liked it, I would buy the larger/original version. I do plan on buying the full version so I have the funnel (to help keep coffee grounds from going everywhere and for pressing into my Fellows mugs which have smaller openings) and more chamber capacity. So many recipes are based on the original AeroPress and take advantage of the larger chamber. I could do the recipe from my link above, but I filled the Go chamber at least 3/4 full to do it. It is nice that the Go doesn't take up much counter space since it all packs into one small container. I plan to use it while traveling. I did pick up the AeroPress stainless steel filter as well. It works. Leaves the oils in place instead of removing them like the paper filters so the coffee has more of a French press flavor to it. It is a nice backup if I don't have any more paper filters (or if you want a different type of brew). I learned several tips from this video including that you can reuse the paper filters multiple times. I am sure you already know all about those things since you have used the AeroPress for a while. I am just getting started exploring this brewer. Thanks!
The Aeropress Go seems like a great traveling brewer. I have taken my Aeropress on trips, but it doesn't pack very well. My technique is kind of by eye. I use one level scoop of coffee and add hot water up to about one inch from the top. This presses out to about half of a cup of strong coffee so I add hot water to make a full cup. I did get one of the stainless filters, but I didn't like cleaning it. It can get quite clogged after a few uses and needs a trip through the dish washer. I found that I prefer the taste of the coffee through the paper filter. This is a fun gizmo! Enjoy!
Thanks for the recipe! I agree with you about the taste with the stainless filter. I prefer the paper but it is nice to have a backup with the stainless filter. I have to wait a while before cleaning off the stainless filter so not to burn myself. In a video, I saw that you would want to use boiling water on the stainless filter to make sure to get the old oils off of it (if it was not cleaned well) or that it could give the coffee a rancid taste. The Go travel filter case only carries 20 filters, but since you can reuse the paper filters, that may be enough for a trip. I have a small metal shaving soap tin that can hold about half a box of filters in it, so I would take that for longer trips, I suspect. I keep the metal filter in the Go filter case. Thanks about the issues with traveling with the original AeroPress. I plan to use the Go for traveling but I may pick up the pouch with the original so I can contain the Go, my metal shave tin, and maybe the funnel. Most of the third-party attachments are for the original AeroPress, but I don't have any of those on my immediate horizon. Coffee is a fun hobby! Thanks for the input!
I ordered an original AeroPress today to go along with my AeroPress Go. I am having fun with this versatile brewer. Last night I was watching a video of inventor Alan Adler at a conference and he mentioned that you can use the inverted method to brew loose tea. I might give that a try as well. In case anyone else is toying with the idea of trying the AeroPress, here is a video with nine different ways to brew with an original size AeroPress. Time stamps for the video: 0:00 Intro 1:05 Espresso Style 2:38 Cold Extracted Espresso Style 4:00 Classic Black Coffee 5:47 The Inverted Method 7:19 AeroPress On Ice 8:36 Cold Brew 10:06 Cold Drip 11:36 French Press Style 13:08 Supersized AeroPress
Hey everyone, I was watching videos for AeroPress recipes and ran across a video promo for a new book by James Hoffman called 'How to make the best coffee at home'. The US release is September 15. I went on Amazon to look at it and they had it for pre-sale for the Kindle for $5.99 US which I thought was pretty inexpensive so I ordered it. While I was there, I saw his 'World Atlas of Coffee' for only $1.99 US as well. I picked it up too. I figure it is the least I could do since I have benefited from several of Jame's videos. Enjoy!
I have enjoyed many of James Hoffman's YouTube videos. It is amazing to find myself following his every word as he performs blind taste tests to compare the differences between brewing temperatures or grind sizes. Totally captivating!
I really like how James make videos to test popular steps in making coffee to see if they really make a difference or not (like warming a French press before brewing coffee, for example). I also find his videos entertaining like the one where he bought all the coffee brewers at Ikea to see if any of them could make good coffee. Then he gave away all the items to his Patreon subscribers.
