What Makes a Splendid Cup Of Coffee

Isn't it enjoyable to wake up in the morning and  have a splendid cup of coffee.   Making coffee with a french coffee press pot is a easy way to produce robust and high quality splendid cup of coffee.

When using a french press coffee pot, particle size of the coffee ground is very  important.  You want the coffee grind a little larger than you would for brewed coffee. Too fine of a grind will produce a bitter tasting cup of coffee. If your grind is too coarse, the coffee will taste weak.  Cheap grinders can't give you either - they will give you a mixed bag of big and small chunks. A good grinder will give you an even grind.  

Also, the type of filter you use plays a huge role in what level of grinding you should have. Nylon filters tend to have a more fine grind (still coarser than brewed coffee), whereas metal filters need a true coarse grind, where the particles of coffee are the same size as you would get from a pepper mill set to its coarsest setting.

The fineness of the grind also determines how easy or hard the plunger is to press - the finer the grind, the harder to press. The difficulty in pressing evenly is increased with the size of the pot as well. I once scalded myself pretty badly with a 12 cup press, even though the grind was very coarse. Be careful.

I'll repeat it once more. Don't skimp on your grinder if you want a spendid cup of coffee. A quality conical burr grinder, from the Bodum Antigua, up to the Solis Maestro Plus and beyond will suit. You'll get the best possible extraction from your coffee, and a splendid cup of coffee.

Other important factors are the beans used (you should only use fresh beans, roasted within 10 days or less), the quality of water used, and the cleanliness of your equipment when you start.

Another thing you may not want to do with a french coffee press pot, especially a larger model, is use beans that have just been roasted in the last couple of days. There's a problem with ultra fresh beans and it is called "bloom". When beans are only a day or two off the roast, they contain heaps of Co2.  That Co2 will translate into a massive bloom of brown suds on top of your press pot, possibly overflowing, but also making it easier for big particle matter (your ground coffee) to hop and skip over the top of the filter portion when you first apply it. Bloom looks cool, but can make using a press pot more difficult.

So if you follow the above steps you will surely produce a splendid cup of coffee.