1Zpresso J-Max and French Press

[Grant]

I purchased a J-MAX for my son who is experimenting with different coffee brew methods and has started playing with French Press. Used the recommended 360 clicks but mentioned it was too acidic.

I do not have a lot of French Press experience and suggested (based on various threads etc) that he attempt to grind a little finer (perhaps 20 clicks?) to try get more extraction?

Any other ideas/thoughts as a good next step on the path?

[Pressino]

360 is at the lower end of the 1Zpresso suggested range for french Press, so yes, try grinding coarser (i.e. to higher numbered clicks).

[Surrata]

How long did the beans steep for? You could try extending their steep time and possibly grind finer/use hotter water. I find it near impossible to over extract with a French press.

[DamianWarS]

I purchased a J-MAX for my son who is experimenting with different coffee brew methods and has started playing with French Press. Used the recommended 360 clicks but mentioned it was too acidic.

I do not have a lot of French Press experience and suggested (based on various threads etc) that he attempt to grind a little finer (perhaps 20 clicks?) to try get more extraction?

Any other ideas/thoughts as a good next step on the path?

1Zpresso lists 360 clicks for A̶e̶r̶o̶p̶r̶e̶s̶s̶ French Press but it's more of a referance point than a hard line so be free to go elsewhere. According to their online manual for the J-MAX "There are four and a half rotations in total. 90 clicks in a single rotation and each click moves the burr by 0.0088mm/8.8 microns." so if you do the math 360 is 4 turns which is close to the coarsest gind it can produce.

I have the J-MAX, and I don't think I've ever gone that course with it. French Press is a simple immesion method of brewing that's very similar to cupping except it adds a filter mechanism but the grind should be the same as it is for cupping. if the coffee is too acidic it is a sign that it is underextracted. coffee is not one dimentional and there are many aspects that can contribute to underextracted coffee but typically the go to solution is grind finer. Since we know you're already on the coarser end of the grinder it might be a good idea to grind finer.

I don't go by clicks, I use the numbers and the dot pyramid on the side to determine where the grind is at. Currently I've been using it for espresso, 1Zpresso says 120 is for espresso and I've just looked at it and I'm at 130 clicks right now which I'm surprised it's so close (this is the first time I've actually read the "recommended grind setting"). 130 is what I dialed it into and I know 120 was too fine but not all coffee is the same. for a french press I would probably be somewhere in mid 200 range (being able to see the bottom two rows of dots) but use your taste to determine the right grind not a manual. if it's acidic it's underextracted, if the coffee is astringent and bitter it's overextracted. one method to "dial in" the coffee especailly when you already know it's acidic (underextracted) is keep going finer until it hits the unpleaseant bitter and astringency or generally no longer desired tastes. if you can find that spot right before that happens you're in the optimal zone for the extraction. You might want to look at your brewing method too, I won't go into detail but James Hoffmann has a good french press video if you're looking for tips

[Pressino]

1Zpresso lists 360 clicks for areopress but it's more of a referance point than a hard line so be free to go elsewhere. According to their online manual for the J-MAX "There are four and a half rotations in total. 90 clicks in a single rotation and each click moves the burr by 0.0088mm/8.8 microns." so if you do the math 360 is 4 turns which is close to the coarsest gind it can produce.

My J-Max allows 4 rotations (starting from zero=fully closed to the 4th zero mark) plus midway between the next "3" and "4" narks. This means that the coarsest grind on my J-Max occurs at about 400 "clicks" from the zero point. So the OP should have about 40 clicks more of coarse grind latitude.

I'm not sure that he needs to grind coarser than 360 clicks...as others mentioned there are other variables, mainly brew temperature and infusion time. He should also consider grinding finer. It's really hard to say because I'm not sure what he's tasting.

[Grant (original poster)]

Thank you all for your time and insights. We have a few experiments in progress and I'll post back in a while how it all goes.

[_Ryan_]

These links are handy
- How to calibrate the zero point https://1zpresso.coffee/calibration/#ex ... justment-2
- Reference grind range (note the rotation and then number rather than counting clicks) https://1zpresso.coffee/grindsetting/#e ... ent-design

As other's have said, go finer until it becomes astringent, then back it off.

[teyyaredenkahve]

What is the coffee you used to brew? Alkalinity of the water could be another parameter to highlight the acidity.