Break and clean method for French press

#1: Post by **King Seven** » April 26th, 2009, 1:31 pm

another_jim wrote:If you all stopped pressing down on those presses, you could get a cheaper grinder and better coffee. I always wondered why the coffee I cupped invariably tasted better than when I did the same one FP. Turns out that pressing down adds a lot of overextracted instant coffee bitterness to the cup. If you use an Eve Solo or decant the brew through a sieve, the fines don't matter and the cup tastes better. In fact, I believe most of the apparent grinder differences for brewed coffee go away if the grinds aren't overly disturbed

I think this could be why I like the break & clean method so much - when you press there is no resistance and relatively there is very little overextraction resulting from the pressing action.

...split from A hunt for a drip/French press grinder by moderator...

#2: Post by **another_jim** » April 26th, 2009, 1:46 pm

Talk about blind spot.

I've never broken the crust and cleaned before pressing down with an FP. That'll obviously do the trick too.

April 26th, 2009, 5:44 pm

It works very well, I find it very consistent and with a combination of tongue and TDS I've pretty much dialled the grind in to get exactly what I want from a coffee. My favourite brewing method by a mile.

#4: Post by **shadowfax** » April 26th, 2009, 7:06 pm

It's not my favorite brewing method, but I was intrigued by James' technique video when I saw it, and I've been using his cupping-style breaking of the crust and cleanup prior to pressing since I saw it. I don't make FP enough to really talk up the method as the best, but it works for me and the video is worth checking out.

#5: Post by **JohnB.** » April 26th, 2009, 7:35 pm

another_jim wrote:If you all stopped pressing down on those presses, you could get a cheaper grinder and better coffee. I always wondered why the coffee I cupped invariably tasted better than when I did the same one FP. Turns out that pressing down adds a lot of overextracted instant coffee bitterness to the cup. If you use an Eve Solo or decant the brew through a sieve, the fines don't matter and the cup tastes better. In fact, I believe most of the apparent grinder differences for brewed coffee go away if the grinds aren't overly disturbed

That would explain why I always get a better(sweeter) tasting cup when I brew in the cup using a Finum filter instead of using my fp.

#6: Post by **dsc** » April 27th, 2009, 4:14 am

Hi guys,

I do the break and clean but still I get a lot of fines in the cup and on the bottom of the PF. It just goes to show how much fines my Macap produces I guess. Of course I get similar problems with drip as well as the fines clog up the paper filter and screw up the extraction.

Regards,
dsc.

#7: Post by **noah** » April 27th, 2009, 4:34 am

HB wrote:I follow Sweet Maria's French Press Brewing Instructions, which calls for shorter steeping time and finer grind setting.

I use this method also. Is there any way, though, to use the break and clean method with a finer grind/shorter steep time? Usually, by the time my steeping is done, a "crust" is not there as it is with a coarser grind/longer steep time. Any thoughts on combining the two?

http://users.rcn.com/erics/ · #8: Post by **erics** » April 27th, 2009, 6:24 am

And, for the "best of both worlds", you could always try this product:

http://www.teavana.com/Loose-Leaf-Teas/ ... r-16oz.axd invented by these guys: http://www.abid.com.tw/index.html and further described here: http://www.google.com/patents?id=t4UYAAAAEBAJ

#9: Post by **SlowRain** » April 27th, 2009, 8:48 am

erics wrote:invented by these guys: http://www.abid.com.tw/index.html

I have to check this out. My local coffee shop/roaster has some Abid things for sale. I'll have to see what he says about it.

#10: Post by **tsenfw** » April 27th, 2009, 7:05 pm

Since I haven't been able to find my french press ... I've been using a stainless frothing pitcher and letting things steep in there. Then using a melitta brown flavor pore filter with a pour over maker from sweet marias to filter. Gives a pretty clean cup!