I thought with a grinder and a press I would make the best coffee in the world - but it tastes like poop. What am I doing wrong? It’s good coffee - it tastet good in my coffee maker. I use fresh water 195 degrees (95 celsius).
What am I doing wrong?
You didn’t describe your procedure, so it’s hard to tell what you might be doing wrong.
I use one (with mediocre coffee - pre-ground), and it works well enough. Here’s what I do:
- put water on to boil
- put coffee into press. How much depends on how many cups you’re going to make, how strong you like it, etc… So this may take a bit of experimenting.
- Add boiling water to press. Again, how much depends on how many cups, how strong, etc.
- Stir (key)
- Let sit for 4 minutes (also key). I like to put the press/top part on, but not press yet. This helps to keep the contents hot while it sits
- Press to separate grounds, and pour.
Use enough coffee. And as cormac262 said, steep for 4 minutes.
Missed the edit window…
I use 4 heaping tablespoons of coffee beans for a large mug of pretty strong coffee for my drip machine or press.
The coffee should also be coarse grind.
This is precisely what I do. What temprature is the water? For some reason I suspect the temprature (cause it sort of reminds me of that one time a fuse broke and I used hot water from a tap to make coffee) - but if I increase the boil it will surely burn the coffee…
Next time I can try and use exact measures of coffee - I have a scale. But I use the same coffee to water ratio as with my coffee maker, more or less. I once used more coffee and it tasted even worse.
You want the temperature to be just under boiling. I generally get the water boiling, remove from heat and wait about two minutes before I pour it into the press. Then steep for 3-4 minutes. I use approximately 6 tbsp. coarse ground coffee, dark roast.
Does your coffee maker have a water filter in it? If so, are you filtering water for the press?
How much sediment is in your cup? If your grind is too fine, you will have a lot of sediment, which impacts the flavor in the cup.
Ok. I’ll try that. Makes sense to let it boil and then cool down (though my water boiler is “thermal” or whatever, but if I open the lid).
I have no idea what tempratuer the coffee maker does, but I’m sure it’s not boiling…
No. No water filter that I know of. Just the cheapest coffee maker on the market. Excellent coffee though. I just want to make it that one step better.
And in terms of grinding: How do I know when its done? One time I overdid it, I think, it was so fine it went through the filter in the press… Is there a rule? I’m assuming no lumps, right?
Go to a grocery where they have bulk beans. Set their grinder for French press, which is the coarsest grind setting, and let 'er rip. Take it home, and see if you can match the grind in your own grinder.
This.
It’s definitely an acquired skill. Finding the right grind is more a matter of art than science, at least with a typical home grinder. Here’s some reviews.
Try going three minutes instead of four, and see if that’s better.
Do you have any good coffee sellers in your area? If so, get a pound of their coffee ground for french press and ask them how to prepare it. I have this grinder and I set it for the coarsest setting and use 2tbs of beans per 8oz of water. The grounds are the size of sugar or so. What type of grinder do you have? The one in my link grinds the coffee and it comes out in a drawer at the bottom so it’s uniform. The grinders where you put the coffee into a bowl with a blade like a blender will grind unevenly and you’ll end up with everything from fine powder to large chunks.
When you make your coffee, how much sludge is in the bottom of the cup when you finish? There should be hardly any. If you have a lot, your grind is too fine.
What kind of grinder do you have? A cheap blade type grinder pulverizes the beans and you get too many fine pieces. A burr grinder set to coarse is the way to go.
My procedure: (I coffee in metric)
50g beans ground coarse just prior to heading.
1liter water @190F (no, Farenheight is not metric neither is Celsius)
Stir briefly, steep 4 minutes, press.
Precision in measurement makes more difference than quality of beans. I use Poor Mans Blend from Coffee Beans direct,. Of course locally roasted beans are better, but they break the budget.
Like just about everyone else here, I suspect your culprit is too fine a grind, or too cheap a grinder. Runner up issues are water temperature, water/coffee ratio, steeping time, and manufacturing defect in the plunger screen/filter thingy (in that order). Also, you want to clean your grinder out regularly. It’s easy to forget!
Finally, consider that the French press method just flat out tastes different from an automatic drip. Your taste sensibilities might just be rejecting a significantly different taste than what you’re used to.
Any luck getting better tasting coffee from your press?
So, you have a blade grinder. That makes it tougher as mentioned below it tends to make lots of small pieces regardless of how coarsely you grind. You want a very coarse grind. I agree with the suggestions of grinding in-store on the coarsest setting.
You also may just not like the way french press tastes. Many people think it’s better, but it isn’t universal. Me, I don’t prefer it to drip.
I use 4 heaping tablespoons of some of the best coffee the Bay Area can provide (which, relatively speaking, is pretty good stuff), along with this hand grinder:
I grind the beans on the coarsest setting, put them directly into the bottom of the french press, and add a pinch of cinnamon. I heat up the water in a kettle and pour it into the press when it starts to whistle (apparently this is a bit too hot, but I don’t really detect any burnt flavor and it keeps the coffee hot a bit longer). I pour in a manner that mixes the beans and water quite well, then put the top of the press on and push the filter down just over the top of the water.
Let stand for 5 minutes, depress the press fully and enjoy delicious coffee. It works for me, at least.
Are you sure that your water is fresh? Maybe try using some bottled water to understand the difference in taste. Learning each component that goes into the coffee making process will help you better the final product.
Hope this helps!