French Press Math

[PerpetualNoob]

Someone gave me a French press about two years ago, and I never even bothered to find out how to use it. I finally decided I never would, so in a fit of short-sightedness I donated it to Salvation Army. Not even TEN DAYS later, I was sitting in fish camp sucking down a cup of Taster's Choice instant, contemplating the beauty of Nature, and my own foolishness. A total "DUH!" moment.

[Andyman]

Oh no! I was once blind but now I see!

Originally Posted by PerpetualNoob

Someone gave me a French press about two years ago, and I never even bothered to find out how to use it. I finally decided I never would, so in a fit of short-sightedness I donated it to Salvation Army. Not even TEN DAYS later, I was sitting in fish camp sucking down a cup of Taster's Choice instant, contemplating the beauty of Nature, and my own foolishness. A total "DUH!" moment.

[novasurf]

And grind your coffee coarse, of course.

[PerpetualNoob]

So, since I'm going to buy another one, but I still don't really know what I'm doing, are there any that brands or models should definitely be avoided? Camping will probably be just about the only time I use one, so I don't need the fanciest one on the market. I would just like to have one that works correctly. I don't need to have my own incompetence compounded by a defective product. Water, fire, and coffee are all plentiful, it's just the 120v that's in short supply, or I would bring a regular drip coffee pot.

P.S. - First stop will be the Salvation Army store to see if I can buy mine back for, like, $2, or something.

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by PerpetualNoob

So, since I'm going to buy another one, but I still don't really know what I'm doing, are there any that brands or models should definitely be avoided? Camping will probably be just about the only time I use one, so I don't need the fanciest one on the market. I would just like to have one that works correctly. I don't need to have my own incompetence compounded by a defective product. Water, fire, and coffee are all plentiful, it's just the 120v that's in short supply, or I would bring a regular drip coffee pot.

P.S. - First stop will be the Salvation Army store to see if I can buy mine back for, like, $2, or something.

Right now a Nalgene press is looking very good for Alaskan wilderness trompers. Water boiling is up to you. http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showthr...hlight=nalgene

(I Jeep and tent tromp with a stainless Bodum Columbia press and a Coleman 425 (not to scale). Wilderness-wise I tromp with an MSR single burner and a 1-cup mokapot. )

[PerpetualNoob]

Excellent information, guys. Thanks!

[Syekick]

Originally Posted by Mister Moo

" use per pot)

In fact, I always use a visual cue to fill my press where I already know the coffee tastes right; I may adjust a bit more or less with a new roast or bean, but nothing too precise. I just add grounds to the mark on the pot and fill with water. Ba da bing - ba da boom.

So Mister have luggage will Travel Moo, how do you do this with your Bodum Columbia?

[PerpetualNoob]

Update/Bump:

I guess I was smarter than I thought! I didn't actually give my press to Salvation Army, after all. I just buried it in the cupboards. I stumbled on it, while searching for something else.

I've used it a couple of times, just to make sure I knew how, and to see how the coffee came out, and it was pretty darned good, if I may say. I counted out how many scoops of coffee it should theoretically need for a 32-oz pot, then measured the pile, and it came out to exactly 3/4 cup of grounds. I don't have any fancy digital scales.

I put the grounds in, filled it about 2/3 the way with nearly-boiling water, waited a few seconds for the 'bloom' to rise and fall, then filled the rest of the way. Then I waited about five minutes for it to steep, and pressed. To me, the resulting coffee seemed a little stronger than the drip I drink every day, but not at all bitter or harsh in any way. All in all, I consider it a very tasty and successful experiment, and I know it will be a HUGE hit when I go on my first camping trip of the season, which is only two weeks away.

Some of you may think me a heretic, and want to burn me at the stake, but wouldn't it be awesome if you could get good coffee, pre-measured in a filter pouch? In a camp situation, it would really make it easy and quick to clean the pot for the next one. When the Taster's Choice folks find out how good this is, I may need to make a lot of coffee in a fairly short amount of time. I may pick up 1-2 more, just for production reasons.

I may be making a big deal out of nothing, trying to solve a problem that doesn't even exist. I do that, sometimes.

[plexiprs]

Originally Posted by germantown rob

Now go out and buy 3 types of flower and measure out 3 cups of each, now weight. They don't weight the same, real cooks do weight when it matters!

You are now speaking of baking not cooking. Cooking uses recipes and bakers use formulas. Weight is critical in baking.....

As to the coffee issue I use a measure and then adjust for the beans, roast and blend if using one. With some I amp up the amount of grounds, other I lower them. Depends on what flavor I'm after. I play with this with every coffee and espresso maker I have or ever had. Sometimes you stumble on to a gold medal and then, I write that down!

[Jack Straw]

When I use my standard sized short french press (1 big cup, more or less), I do three small handfulls of beans. It's not exactly scientific, but it gets it right every time.

[germantown rob]

Originally Posted by plexiprs

You are now speaking of baking not cooking. Cooking uses recipes and bakers use formulas. Weight is critical in baking.....

As to the coffee issue I use a measure and then adjust for the beans, roast and blend if using one. With some I amp up the amount of grounds, other I lower them. Depends on what flavor I'm after. I play with this with every coffee and espresso maker I have or ever had. Sometimes you stumble on to a gold medal and then, I write that down!

Sorry for the infraction. I am not a pro so I am not a chef or a baker, I am just a cook. I am not a scientist but weight is more precise than volume when talking about anything other than liquid. I eyeball most everything I do when it comes to brewing now but I started with weight until I found my formula for each brew method. I still weight every batch of green beans, volume changes for example from a peaberry to a wet process Sumatra or Java.

I may not cook or bake, roast or brew better than many but I do it better than most.

[plexiprs]

No infraction, but as a baker, there is a distinction between cooking and baking. Much like the difference in roasting beans and brewing coffee. In that vein, I do everything in coffee roasting by weight in two-decimal grams. For brewing I find that volumetric measures that have been confirmed by weight to be accurate enough and convenient.

I brew daily or more but only roast a couple times a month. Sort of like cooking every day but baking only a few times a month!

[PerpetualNoob]

As I predicted, the French-pressed Guatemala was a monster hit at fish camp this weekend. In fact, they pretty much insisted that I leave the coffee and equipment there so they could have it all week. Last week, I also picked up a second press, a large kettle, and a carafe. It was perfect. I was able to make two pots at a time, dump them in the carafe, and start the kettle boiling again to make the next two pots. It was enough to keep the whole camp supplied in almost as much coffee as they wanted.

And there was much rejoicing. I'm pretty sure they are hopelessly spoiled, now, and the days of Taster's Choice have ended for good.