[stewartmk]

The French Press Reconsidered.pdf

I am submitting here the attached paper entitled "The French Press Reconsidered" as the possible start of a new thread. I am unfamiliar with your procedure, and hope that this arrives in an appropriate form. If the form or content requires any modification, please let me know.

Stewart Krakauer
stewartmk

[RNDDUDE]

Stuart, you may have already gone thru the adjacent post, "the handiest tip i've ever seen for a French Press". It is interesting that your paper proposes an immediate plunge after adding boiling water, that seems to run counter to almost everyone else, who favor a 3-4 minute soak before plunging. Also, a 30-40 second plunge may be optimum, but that takes more patience than most of us have when we desperately need a cup!

[stewartmk]

RNDDUDE,

I discovered the "Handiest Tip" thread recently only after having found Coffee Forum as a place to publish my "Reconsidered" paper. The coincidence of both these threads advocating a 30 second press is very strange. However, the press is only part of a process.

I believe that the conventional previous soak is actually degrading. Apart from eliminating this soak, the procedure I describe includes some additional simple refinements which are aimed at maximizing the delivery of desirable elements and minimizing the undesirable.

The proof is in the pudding. Unconventional as this process may seem, why not try it?

[RNDDUDE]

OK, I re-read your PDF, and now I understand that you are proposing an alternative method. I initially got the impression that you were documenting the standard/common method most use, which is with soak. It seems you are advocating what amounts to a "Cafe Americano" version of a French Press brew. I WILL give it a try, and let you know what I think.

[stewartmk]

RNDDUDE,

You are exactly right. This process bridges the espresso world with the plain old coffee world.

I am very pleased that you will give this a try. You may be surprised at how sensitive and efficient this extraction process is. In step 2 of the given procedure, I would now start trial brews with 1 full tablespoon of water rather than 1/2 tablespoon.

I am leaving later today for a 3 week vacation, and so will be out of touch for that period. I am eager to learn of your experience. Happy trials.

[CoffeeJive]

This is quite intriguing, though I wonder if it's obtaining the better results than what has been commonplace in the press method. While I agre with RNDDUDE, it seems to be more americano than press, it could yield a deeper flavor result thanks to the concentrated pressing and brewing. What would you say the benefits of a press are over simply extracting it espresso style?

[RNDDUDE]

OK. I gave it a try just now, following the directions exactly, with my one exception being I used my usual French press grind size of coffee, instead of the fine-medium grind Stewart suggested (more on this later). Here are my findings as I sit here typing and drinking the resulting cup:

Pros:
1. less time to get a cup to drink (no waiting for the soak)
2. Virtually no grit at all.
3. No temperature loss (important to many who like very hot coffee)
4, Very smooth, no bitterness.

Cons:
1. Not nearly enough extraction, WAY too weak for my taste. I grant you that my use of a coarse, French press bean grind versus his recommended fine-medium grind may be the reason I didn't get the extraction I prefer. I will try it again soon with some finer grind which should extract more flavor in the very short coffee/water contact time of this method.

Conclusion: I need to try a finer grind before passing judgement, but for now I will stick with my tried and true 3-4 minute soak. I would love to see other forumites give it a try and weigh in....

[CoffeeJive]

Yeah, I agree with your analysis, it's almost something i'd expect.

I guess if you're looking for a finer, quick cup of coffee, than this method seems pertinent, but they way you described the strength of the brew (it was weak) seems like it would not jive with my desires.

Here's my take on a french pressed coffee,

‪Green Mountain Mocha Java Blend and New York Style Eclair - Coffee Jive Episode 2‬‏ - YouTube

‪Green Mountain Mocha Java Blend and New York Style Eclair - Coffee Jive Episode 2‬‏ - YouTube

what do you guys think about this proposed method? Think RNDDUDE's results are worth the trade off?