Rancilio Rocky settings for french press
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- Posts: 156
- Joined: 15 years ago
Can someone give me a starting point for grinding for french press on my Rocky? Just a ballpark, by the way. Like 30 or 40?
Thanks!
Thanks!
- jamhat
- Posts: 165
- Joined: 17 years ago
I like Sweet Maria's guide to French Press: http://sweetmarias.com/brewinstr/brewin ... press.html
They say to use "the finest even grind coffee you can, but coarse enough to avoid having the grind pass through the filter... a grind just a few notches coarser than filter drip". That works well for me. I don't dring a lot of French Press, but when I do, I usually grind somewhere between 20 and 30 (start with 20 and see how that works).
Good luck!
They say to use "the finest even grind coffee you can, but coarse enough to avoid having the grind pass through the filter... a grind just a few notches coarser than filter drip". That works well for me. I don't dring a lot of French Press, but when I do, I usually grind somewhere between 20 and 30 (start with 20 and see how that works).
Good luck!
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- Posts: 387
- Joined: 15 years ago
The Sweet Marias instructions are fine, and a 20ish setting is a good place to start. Note though, that that advice goes along with a 2 -2 1/2 minute steep.
The more traditional story is to use a regular grind (that's where the 30 to 40 setting comes in), and a five minute steep.
The Sweet Marias procedure will give you a slightly hotter coffee with more sediment, the traditional procedure yields a slightly cooler brew with less sediment.
Sweet Marias says the finer grind yields a better extraction. I don't find this to be true or are least meaningful to me. Finer grinds extract faster but better? Not to my taste.
YMMV as to what grind/time/sediment/temperature outcome you like the best. Experiment away!
The more traditional story is to use a regular grind (that's where the 30 to 40 setting comes in), and a five minute steep.
The Sweet Marias procedure will give you a slightly hotter coffee with more sediment, the traditional procedure yields a slightly cooler brew with less sediment.
Sweet Marias says the finer grind yields a better extraction. I don't find this to be true or are least meaningful to me. Finer grinds extract faster but better? Not to my taste.
YMMV as to what grind/time/sediment/temperature outcome you like the best. Experiment away!
Trust your taste. Don't trust your perception.
- fredfal
- Posts: 95
- Joined: 17 years ago
I agree with the SM directions, but it all depends on your taste. Finer grinding equals less steep time, which reduces your chance of over-extraction of the unavoidable fines you'll get (esp with Rocky). This, in theory, will produce a smoother cup (over-extraction causes bitterness).
If you enjoy a little bit more bitterness, grind a little coarser. The longer steep time required will inevitability over-extract some of the fines (to give it some bite) plus you'll have fewer fines in your cup.
I like about 25 on Rocky, but it depends on the coffee.
If you enjoy a little bit more bitterness, grind a little coarser. The longer steep time required will inevitability over-extract some of the fines (to give it some bite) plus you'll have fewer fines in your cup.
I like about 25 on Rocky, but it depends on the coffee.
-Fred
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- Posts: 2
- Joined: 12 years ago
Figured I would put my two cents in. I have a French Press recipe that works fine, but requires a coarse grind. I am doing a ratio of 70 grams of coffee per liter of water and skimming off the bloom after 3.5-4 minutes. However a setting of 25 on a Rocky grinder is way too fine for this recipe. There is a lot of sediment and hardly any bloom. Though I haven't tried it, I think the same can probably be said with a setting of 30. I am going to go from the max setting on the Rocky and work my way down. Though, qualitatively, the max setting still looks finer than what I can produce with a hand burr grinder, it is much more consistent. This consistency may be why it looks finer. It lacks the big chunks. That's all I know for now. I'll post as things develop.
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- Posts: 518
- Joined: 13 years ago
To calibrate, my Rocky currently touches burrs around -2, and I use it at around 33-35 for French Press.