SimonPatrice wrote:EricBNC, your experiment sounds interesting. I'm curious though, is the high coffee/water ratio because of the short steep time or this is what you normally use?

It was completely experimental - time, agitation, and dose. I normally use 30 - 35g per 500mL, stir once only at the beginning, and then let it steep for 3 - 4 minutes depending on my attention span...

This thread sure is quiet. So I'll share a new experiment. Tonight, I thought "Since I normally use a 4 min. steep time with a 2 turns CCW Lido grind, maybe I could use a 6 min. steep time if I use a 3 turns grind."

Meh, it wasn't bad, there were almost no fines but it was pretty weak. Maybe I'll try again with 2 1/2 turns or just steep longer. Not that my usual routine doesn't turn out a fine cup but it's still fun to play around a bit.

SimonPatrice wrote:This thread sure is quiet...

True. I got a Trifecta MB on 5/24, so that's had my attention. Oddly enough, though, I pulled out the Eva Solo this afternoon. The batch I brewed "by hand" was the first in a while that I thought could compete with what I've been drinking from the Trifecta--a cleaner cup but still very good.

Re: your experiment, right, maybe steep longer. Jesse Raub (of Intelligentsia) once told me via Twitter that I should try a 15-min. steep. I'm assuming he wouldn't have suggested it unless there were something to it, though you know what they say about the word "ass-u-me"...

Added a "brew guide" section to the first post with the ones I've seen from Intelligentsia (no need to decant after brewing?!), Stumptown, Has Bean (crazy brew ratio!), and now Verve. The last one came to me in the form of an attractive little pamphlet tucked into the box protecting my beans--classy! Please don't hesitate to share links to others and/or thoughts.

Oh, and here's a gratuitous image of the relevant bit from Verve's guide. 3 min.? I do 4.

Interesting, thanks! It's funny how one roaster will say 3 min. and the other 6! I've always used 4 min. and had very good results. I might try to vary a little just for the sake of experimenting. By the way, for the ones that unzip the neoprene cover, why do you do it? It's always intrigued me.

jbviau wrote:Bitter Press comparison with a plungeless French press technique (cached; no images): http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s ... clnk&gl=us

Just updated the link above (now the cached version) because Jesse Raub decided to nuke his archives.