French Press Brewing Method

In my opinion the best coffee comes from a method using a full immersion technique. There are a few options out there, but today I'm going to talk about the French Press also known as a Press Pot.

So what is full immersion? It's basically a method in which your freshly ground coffee is in direct contact with the heated water for a given time to perfectly extract the brew.

The French Press provides a method of blending your coffee and water with a "press" mesh filter to plunge the grounds to the bottom and stop the extraction. It's a pretty simple process that produces an amazing cup of coffee. After my first burr grinder, my French Press was the second serious piece of coffee equipment I purchased and I've never looked back.

Brewing with a French Press is pretty easy. Using these steps and tips will result in a rich and robust cup of coffee like you have never had before.

1. Use freshly roasted whole bean coffee
2. Grind the beans to a medium to course grind
3. Use 2 tablespoons per 6oz. cup of coffee you are making
4. Use water just off the boil about 195°-205°
5. After adding your water to the coffee give it a quick stir with ac hopstick to ensure there are no dry air pockets of coffee and to start the coffee blooming process more efficiency
6. Normal brew time could be anywhere from 3-5 minutes depending on the coffee and your taste preferences. Test out a few methods and note your taste results and make needed changes on yournext brew.

All in all the French Press is winner for making great coffee with pretty basic equipment. It's great at home or even while camping since you just need to add coffee and boiled water. You may notice some coffee "sludge" at the bottom of your cup when finishing. I enjoy this last sip! If you don't, just know to skip it. You can also try grinding coarser the next time but a small bit of this is to be expected with this brewing method.

Single Cup Brewing with a Keurig

If you read my first blog post you know I spoke about automatic drip brewers as a way of coffee extraction. Another option in this method is a single cup brewer. The Keurig system does use some pressure during the brewing and therefore it’s a bit different then a normal drip method. You actually can end up with a small amount of crema on top!

I have the Keurig B60 Special Edition Brewing System and it’s proved to a hit with my family. Over the Christmas holiday everyone loved being able to choose their own coffee, tea or cocoa. Some wanted a bold brew and some wanted a flavored coffee. Choice and easy clean up are the true benefit of a Keurig.

The machine is sturdy and built to last but let me say Keurig customer service is top notch should you have any questions or problems.

The B60 has a few great features I wanted to highlight:

• Variable Brewing Temperature

• Auto on/off timer so it’s ready for you when you wake up and no need to remember to shut it off before you run out the door for work
• 3 Brew Sizes 6 oz, 8 oz, 10 oz – although the same amount of coffee isused for each so you need to find what flavor/strength setting works for you

The K-Cup selection available is amazing these days. And though I do prefer to use fresh ground coffee, these K-Cups stay pretty fresh as they are ground then sealed air tight and not opened until used by the machine. Saying that, I did a review of the Keurig My K-Cup Reusable Filter Basket which I tell about how you can use your own freshly ground coffee bought through ROASTe in your Keurig! I love doing this and honestly it’s usually what I do when using the machine. The family picks from the selection of K-Cups I have on hand most of the time.

After the holiday season was over both my parents and sister bought a Keurig. I think that says they enjoyed using mine! If you’re looking for fast single cup brew method I would not hesitate in purchasing a Keurig.

Exploring my brewing methods of the bean : Automatic Drip

Over the years I've expanded my knowledge of coffee and have explored both various blends from many roasters and with that several different brewing methods.

My initial thoughts for this blog post were to discuss the various brewing methods I have tried to date and then explore those I have yet to. I hope you find it useful and feel free to leave comments.

First and most common would be automatic drip. It's the "gold standard" in coffee preparation for many yet in my opinion it has contributed to people enjoying bad coffee in the US. The combination of stale ground coffee used by many and poor temperature control for brewing are the areas that cause me to say this method one of my least favorite to date. I do have a Cuisinart Brew Central that I use for larger gatherings and it does a nice job with fresh beans.

It's not a secret that an automatic drip machine is very convenient for everyday use. If you're someone who likes the convenience here are a few tips to better coffee in an auto drip machine.

1. Use fresh beans and grind to brew. I recently reviewed a nice Maui Red by Armeno Coffee as a suggestion.
2. Use the proper grind and dose. You may need to play with these variables with a new machine to find what works for you.
3. Rinse your paper filter with hot water to remove the paper taste before adding your freshly ground coffee. Better yet buy a permanent mesh filter appropriate to your machine and avoid this step.
4. If you're someone who drinks from a pot of coffee over several hours, consider one with a thermal carafe. These do not have heating elements at the bottom of the pot to keep the coffee warm. Over time warmers deteriorate the flavors of the coffee so using a thermal carafe eliminates this problem and keeps your coffee warm and in an oxygen free environment for the freshest taste. Be sure to pre-warm your carafe with hot water before brewing to keep your brewed coffee hot for the longest possible.
5. Use filtered water. Coffee is mostly water so start with the good stuff!
6. Use fresh beans ... Did I say that already?

In my upcoming posts I will explore other methods such as the French Press, Aeropress, Pour Over, Moka Pot, Vacuum/ Siphon brewing, Cold Brewing and Espresso Machines!

Cheers!

Tom