4 ms·

I'd love to hear the rationale behind what makes french press superior for properly extracted coffee. I've always thought of each method as driven by preferenc

by gffrd 9y ago

I'd love to hear the rationale behind what makes french press superior for properly extracted coffee. I've always thought of each method as driven by preference and context, but if there's an argument to be made for “technical” best, I'd love to hear it.

falcolas 9y ago
I don't know all the technical details, and I'm sure it boils down to "it's hard to get wrong" with a french press, but one scoop of beans ground down, half the press' volume in just-off-boil-water, and 5 minutes makes a perfect coffee. Perhaps it's in part due to stealing this "recipie" from Alton Brown, but it really does just work for me. The Aeropress does a decent job, but the volume of coffee created is so small and very highly concentrated. As a result, the outcome is really easy to get wrong. The paper filters also tends to capture a lot of the essential oils, making for a different tasting coffee when compared to a metal filter. As for pour-over, it feels like the extraction of the grounds is very un-even, with those near the bottom of the filter being over-extracted, while those nearer to the top are under-extracted. Since over-extraction tends to create more bitter compounds, pour-over is never that good to my tastes. As for Moka pots - it's hard to catch them right when they're done, and so it's easy to get burnt coffee (small all-metal pots with small amounts of water and coffee). The extraction seems good, but as with the Aeropress it's a very small amount, so it's so easy to get wrong.
- gffrd 9y ago
  Thanks for the answer. Strong point on the directness of the french press: fewer points of failure, and more uniform process. French press was the first technique I used, long before I gave my coffee technique proper attention, so you've inspired me to dust mine off and give it the same level of attention I give to a pour-over. Time for a side-by-side test this weekend …

by gffrd 9y ago

falcolas 9y ago

I don't know all the technical details, and I'm sure it boils down to "it's hard to get wrong" with a french press, but one scoop of beans ground down, half the press' volume in just-off-boil-water, and 5 minutes makes a perfect coffee. Perhaps it's in part due to stealing this "recipie" from Alton Brown, but it really does just work for me. The Aeropress does a decent job, but the volume of coffee created is so small and very highly concentrated. As a result, the outcome is really easy to get wrong. The paper filters also tends to capture a lot of the essential oils, making for a different tasting coffee when compared to a metal filter. As for pour-over, it feels like the extraction of the grounds is very un-even, with those near the bottom of the filter being over-extracted, while those nearer to the top are under-extracted. Since over-extraction tends to create more bitter compounds, pour-over is never that good to my tastes. As for Moka pots - it's hard to catch them right when they're done, and so it's easy to get burnt coffee (small all-metal pots with small amounts of water and coffee). The extraction seems good, but as with the Aeropress it's a very small amount, so it's so easy to get wrong.

gffrd 9y ago
Thanks for the answer. Strong point on the directness of the french press: fewer points of failure, and more uniform process. French press was the first technique I used, long before I gave my coffee technique proper attention, so you've inspired me to dust mine off and give it the same level of attention I give to a pour-over. Time for a side-by-side test this weekend …