[Finch Platte]

Big Boulder is always bringing along a coffee press on our mtb weekends (there's yer content, right there), and his coffee is always pretty damn good, so I ran out & bought one. A smaller, bachelor-sized one, tho.

The instructions say to use coarse-ground coffee. I did that, and I had to use 2x as much coffee, it was still too weak, and it had dog turd-sized chunks of grounds floating in it. I'm boiling the water, adding it to the coffee, stirring, then letting it steep 4 minutes afore drinking.

What am I doing wrong? Help me, Mr. Whizzer!!!

I still can't cook hash browns, btw.

fp

 

[formica]

http://ar.essortment.com/frenchpresscof_rtki.htm

 

[triscuit]

Here is how I make mine (a glass french press was my regular coffee maker for a long time, and I have a little lexan one for camping).

Use course ground coffee.

3-4 tablespoonfuls should be enough for the smaller pot.

Put in the grounds, pour in boiling water. Put in the plunger top and push the plunger down evenly about 1 inch below to top of the water level and let sit for 4 minutes (I know the instructions they give with the lexan ones say to stir, but the glass one said to do it this way, and you don't get a spoon all dirty and it works great). Make sure you push down the strainer part straight and not at an angle because grounds will pop up above it if it is at an angle. Then push the plunger the rest of the way down after the 4 minutes, again making sure it goes straight, pour, and enjoy. You will have a little sludge in the bottom of your cup--basically particles that were small enough to go through the strainer, and maybe even a small number of grounds that snuck by the strainer, but no turd sized clumps.

If the coffee is too week, you may not be adding hot enough water. If you keep having problems with chunks getting through and you know you are pushing down straight, make sure there is not a hole in the strainer and make sure the strainer is not too small. With my lexan one the strainer is tight enough that is it hard to push all the way down.

Good luck!

 

[Ventanarama]

Big Boulder is always bringing along a coffee press on our mtb weekends (there's yer content, right there), and his coffee is always pretty damn good, so I ran out & bought one. A smaller, bachelor-sized one, tho.

The instructions say to use coarse-ground coffee. I did that, and I had to use 2x as much coffee, it was still too weak, and it had dog turd-sized chunks of grounds floating in it. I'm boiling the water, adding it to the coffee, stirring, then letting it steep 4 minutes afore drinking.

What am I doing wrong? Help me, Mr. Whizzer!!!

I still can't cook hash browns, btw.

fp

You may be going a little too coarse on the grind, not using enough coffee, or not letting it steep long enough. While the instructions say 4 minutes, I usually go longer because I like it strong. You want it more coarse than normal, but not in big chunks.
Larry Mettler
Mountain High Cyclery

 

[kristian]

How are you grinding it?

I have never been able to get really good results using a blade style grinder. You can get a burr grinder or grind at the coffee shop. Personally, since I drink most of my coffee at the office and since I buy often, I always grind it in the store so I get uniform results. If I store it in a tupperware, I don't notice any degredation in quality so long as I use it in about a week.

In terms of water, you want the water to be just off a boil (98 degrees centegrade) so listen for the bubbling sound to stop and then pour it in. If I pour in too much water, I get grinds in the spout which end up in the cup. I always let it sit 10+ minutes because I usually get busy in the mornings but the flavor never suffers. Coffee is one of the few things I actually measure when cooking--use at least one "coffee scoop" for every 6oz of water.

K (sips a little Guatamalan Antigua as he clicks the submit button)

 

[Debaser]

http://beancentral.com/beanfront/node/view/21

"A Canadian scientist claims to have proven that the world's most expensive coffee really does taste better because the beans it is produced from have been eaten and defecated by a wild cat."

 

[berrywise]

I have luck pushing the plunger down extremely slow. This seems to give me a stronger taste that I like. I only use it for camping but nothing beats getting out of the tent and having some good coffee to get ya going.

 

[Stick]

http://beancentral.com/beanfront/node/view/21

"A Canadian scientist claims to have proven that the world's most expensive coffee really does taste better because the beans it is produced from have been eaten and defecated by a wild cat."

I don't doubt that it's as good as many claim but, what I want to know is, who's the rocket scientist who first stumbled upon a pile of cat sh!t and said, "MMMMMMMM...cat sh!t covered coffee beans! I'll bet this would taste awesome if I brewed it!"?

 

[tjp]

Plastic cone filter

We use a cone filter (just put it on the cup, a filter and a bunch of coffee in it and pour water through it). Travels well, Never breaks, makes better, stronger coffee than a press in my opinion, doesn't take much space, and costs, oh, about 5 bucks. Since we've tried this, both our drip system and French presses have been gathering dust.
Just make sure to get the bigger one - you have to fill the little ones up two or three times to get a big mug full.

 

[mgelber]

Grind too coarse

Sounds like too coarse a grind... you want it just coarse enough so it doesn't go through the holes in the press, or you'll get muddy coffee. If you don't have grinds in your coffee, its not too fine.

If you are at altitude you'll have a hard time making it work... above 4000 feet you need a darker roast since the optimum brew temp drops as the roast gets darker. At sea level boiling is too hot, you want water between 185-195 depending on the roast.

i like melita filter coffee better than press, though I live at altitude so neither works for me up here so I drink espresso.

Matthew

 

[radair]

Big Boulder is always bringing along a coffee press on our mtb weekends (there's yer content, right there), and his coffee is always pretty damn good......

There's no such thing as good coffee.

Take it to www.coffeereview.com, eh?

 

[~martini~]

Coffee? French press? mmm, goodness! 2 or 3 table spoons of coffee, grind ina grinder, pour in the press. Put water in teapot, heat to just below boiling, pour a tad into the coffee beans in the press(not the bag!) and let it steep for a second. Then pour the rest of the water in. Insert the screen/plunger. Wait a few minutes(longer for stronger, in my experience) and push straigt down. Pour and enjoy!

Hashbrowns? it's all about the butter man! That and an iron skillet. Mmmm, hashbrowns....

 

[smudge]

I like my coffee STRONG. I use a fine grind (turkish) and fill the press with about a quarter cup of fresh grinds. Pour the boiled water in such a way to wet and stir all of the grinds. Press slowly. For some reason I get about 1/4 inch of creama at the top too. It's a giant espresso.

 

[uofabill]

Wow, there's some serious coffee cooks on here!

I'm a lightweight compared to some of the others who have obviously refined coffee making to an art but I do have two presses.
I have a GSR lexan model and a better stainless steel one. Both are larger ones, they make about 3 large mugs of joe.
The stainless model is way better than the lexan but it is too heavy to haul around camping. It has a more substantial sophisticated screen on the plunger. The coffee stayes much hotter longer than with the lexan model. It has a spring around the outside rim that keeps the screen pressed up tight against the sides of the container. The screen in the lexan model doesn't fit as tight as that and lets some grounds escape in the finished coffee. I still use it from camping though.
For everyday use I am using plain ol Folgers Gourmet Roast. I use three or four heaping teaspoons. Four if I fill it to the top with water. I probably let it sit for 5 minute before pushing the plunger very slowly to the bottom. IMO it make really great coffee. A lot better than the swill that comes out of the coffee maker here at work that uses some prepackaged coffee from a service. I have used some Starbucks that I bought already ground at the groc. and it tasted mighty good. But for the price it should!
I haven't gotten into the finer points of the perfect water temp. and I guess I need to fine tune that. I usually pour it in just as it starts to boil or just before. But there's always room for improvement.

 

[2melow]

7 minutes

What am I doing wrong? Help me,
fp

Seven Minutes, medium grind.

It's all about the sediment! I like to grind a bit more than corse as recommended.

 

[Squizzle]

Moka - nuff said

Finch, if you want some good strong coffee try the old fashioned Italian method of stovetop Moka! You won't be dissapointed.

http://www.espressozone.com/bialetti-7857.html

You can pick one of these up at Ikea for about $9

They work great for camping too!

 

[redranger]

Sounds as some have said, too coarse of a grind. Boiling is too hot you need 192+/- 5 degrees. With the coarse grind you are not exposing enough bean to the water to extract the desired taste. Hate to say, but you need to play with the grind and the time till you get it how you like. If it sits too long with a cheap coffe you will extract too much of the bitters and the brew will taste too bitter. I like to add brown sugar in with the grouds and use a good espresso bean with an espresso grind. The nice thing about coffee is that it is very personal and one's gold is another garbage, just like something else we talk about. French press is the way to do coffee, have fun. Do a search for the speciality coffee association, that should help out.

 

[pting]

We use a cone filter (just put it on the cup, a filter and a bunch of coffee in it and pour water through it). Travels well, Never breaks, makes better, stronger coffee than a press in my opinion, doesn't take much space, and costs, oh, about 5 bucks. Since we've tried this, both our drip system and French presses have been gathering dust.
Just make sure to get the bigger one - you have to fill the little ones up two or three times to get a big mug full.

Not a coffee drinker myself, but this is what my hardcore friends do... They pour the water over the coffee/filter into the pot.

Then to go the extra mile, they take the pot and pour it through again.

 

[OGDHr]

Go for the tried and true

If you want some good strong coffee try the old fashioned method of stovetop ! You won't be dissapointed.

You can pick one of these up at Big 5 for about $20

They work great for camping too!

 

[Hollis]

Fried Taters right cheer

I still can't cook hash browns.
fp

The question isnt how to cook...but what to buy.
I highly recomend the Southwestern Style Hash.
(dab of butter...dont constantly flip or harrass the taters too much...
let each side cook...flip 'em only once)
Sealed tightly in a bag, so its easy to take on camping trips.