Gig103 Senior Member Joined: 12 Feb 2012 Posts: 204 Location: Arizona Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Crossland CC1 Grinder: Baratza Vario Drip: French press!
Posted Mon Jun 4, 2012, 2:01pm Subject: Longer brew time or higher dose?
I bought a sampler pack of coffee and find that it's sort of a light roast so it isn't to my taste in my french press. But I let it steep longer than the normal 4 minutes and it was better.
But I was wondering if people prefer to do that, or just increase the dose of coffee?
Posted Mon Jun 4, 2012, 2:31pm Subject: Re: Longer brew time or higher dose?
If you have the right grind, many of the aficionados might recommend a 6:00 steep in an insulated press pot.
How's the strength?
The quick way to think about this is grind and contact time govern "extraction" (primarily the general taste character between underdeveloped or overly bitter), and for something like a press pot, the time and temperature of the water are also interdependent (essentially the coffee will reach full strength quicker if you use hotter water).
Brew ratio (ratio of water to coffee) governs overall strength for a given extraction.
If it tastes ok but weak, increase the coffee:water ratio. If it tastes ok but just strong, there's absolutely nothing wrong with diluting strong coffee that's properly extracted with clean hot water.
If, like your post implies, there's something wrong with the taste, leave the brew ratio alone and change the contact time (and/or grind but you're locked into grind for French Press, so all you can do is change the contact time). Make sure your water is proper temperature, too.
A light roasted coffee that's underextracted can seem somewhat sour, even bitter at times, with elements of earwax (really), and especially so if pre-ground and partially staled.
How much water do you use with how much coffee (in grams if possible)? Try using 15.8g of water per g of coffee.
If you're thinking in tablespoons and fluid volume, then it's a bit less precise, but try ~2 Tablespoons (around 10g) per 5.5 fl.oz, or about 3 Tablespoons per cup of HOT water.
Good Luck!
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
Eiron Senior Member Joined: 12 Nov 2007 Posts: 332 Location: Loveland, Colorado Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Quick Mill 0930 Grinder: Quick Mill 031, Solis 166 Drip: TechniVorm KBTS Roaster: frying pan & wooden spatula
Posted Tue Jun 5, 2012, 9:01am Subject: Re: Longer brew time or higher dose?
Gig103 Said:
I bought a sampler pack of coffee and find that it's sort of a light roast so it isn't to my taste in my french press. But I let it steep longer than the normal 4 minutes and it was better.
But I was wondering if people prefer to do that, or just increase the dose of coffee?
Not that there's a right or wrong, but with true French Press (Press Pot) grind, I have never gotten bitterness up to 8:00 (so long as it's promptly decanted and allowed to cool, and not poured into a pre-heated cup). If it's kept hot past that time (about 8-10 minutes) I start getting the characteristic flavor of degrading coffee as CGA decomposes with heat into more bitter/sour components.
Interesting thing to try is brew a pot of press-pot coffee with true press pot grind (average 950microns or larger). Steep for 8 minutes, cover and place in refrigerator for 12 hours. Or 24 hours.
Then, install the screen plunger and press it, decant and re-heat. I think you'd be surprised at the results.
Mixing/blending is always an option if you don't like the flavor of lightly roasted beans - and a great suggestion.
Coarsely ground coffee isn't necessarily "extracting" more with long steep times. One thing that starts to happen is within about 7-12 minutes of exposure to heat, Chlorogenic Acids begin to break down into nastier tasting components. People mistake this change in taste as an "extraction" byproduct, when it's actually a natural reaction to prolonged exposure to heat (if interested, look up thermal decomposition of esterified quinic acids). Similar to the flavor changes that happen when a pot of coffee is left on a 185°F burner for 30 minutes, or flavor changes that happen in a very efficient thermos. Bitter, astringent, even burnt rubber essence will increase.
------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Le café doit être noir comme le diable, chaud comme l'enfer, pur comme un ange, et doux comme l'amour.
"There is no right answer with coffee. There is only the elixir in your cup at the moment you partake."
"...I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind;..." - Lord Kelvin RECIPES thread => http://www.coffeegeek.com/forums/coffee/machines/585708
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