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8/14/2019 1 Comment

2 Ways to Brew French Press Coffee

The origin of the French Press can be traced back to 1850’s France. However, the design was improved by the Italians in 1929, and then perfected by the Swiss in 1958. There is no doubt that the design and taste of the French Press is iconic, however the way it is brewed is contested. There are two main techniques of brewing; The Classic and The Hoffman. 

What you will need:
  • French Press
  • Digital Scale
  • Timer
  • Spoon(s)
  • Water Kettle (Gooseneck preferred)
  • Coffee grinder
  • Clean, filtered water
The Steps of The Classic method:
  1. Heat your water. Start off by heating up your water. Coffee likes to be brewed between 195-205°F. If you don't have a variable temperature electric kettle, you can heat up your water to boiling, then let it sit for 45s-1 minute to allow it to get down to temperature. If you brew it at boiling  (212°F) you will scorch your coffee.
  2. Grind your coffee. While you wait for your water to heat up, you can grind your coffee. Coffee is always best freshly ground, and can actually stale just 15 min after grinding. We highly recommend you invest in a good burr grinder. For the French Press, use a coarse grind setting, similar to cracked pepper.
  3. Coffee-to-water ratio. It is time for some math! To ensure you get some good coffee, you need to have a good coffee-to-water ratio. For this method, we use a 1/14 ratio, meaning that for every 1 gram of coffee, we will be adding 14 grams of water (This is where the scale comes in). So, let’s start with 28-29g /400g.
  4. Zero out your scale. Now, put your french press with your coffee on your scale, and zero it out. Grab your hot water and your timer, and get ready to pour. Remember, start your timer right when you start pouring.
  5. Pour! Do a heavy pour of 400g of water, fairly quickly. The goal is to saturate all the grounds at the same time. You can achieve this by either pouring in a sporadic manner, or by aiming at the wall right above the coffee, which can help the water fold over the coffee, and start extracting everything right away. Either way, the goal is to make sure there are no dry grounds floating on top when you are done pouring
  6. Agitate. Use your spoon, and stir in the grounds, and then put the lid on top.
  7. Plunge & Enjoy. After 4 minutes, push the plunger down, pour, and drink!
The Steps of the Hoffman method:
  1. Heat your water. Start off by heating up your water. Coffee likes to be brewed between 195-205°F. If you don't have a variable temperature electric kettle, you can heat up your water to boiling, then let it sit for 45s-1 minute to allow it to get down to temperature. If you brew it at boiling  (212°F) you will scorch your coffee.
  2. Grind your coffee. While you wait for your water to heat up, you can grind your coffee. Coffee is always best freshly ground, and can actually stale just 15 min after grinding. We highly recommend you invest in a good burr grinder. For this method, use a medium grind setting, similar to sugar.
  3. Coffee-to-water ratio. It is time for some math! To ensure you get some good coffee, you need to have a good coffee-to-water ratio. For this method, we use a 1/13 ratio, meaning that for every 1 gram of coffee, we will be adding 13 grams of water (This is where the scale comes in). So, let’s start with 30g /400g.
  4. Zero out your scale. Now, put your french press with your coffee on your scale, and zero it out. Grab your hot water and your timer, and get ready to pour. Remember, start your timer right when you start pouring.
  5. Pour! Do a heavy pour of 400g of water, fairly quickly. The goal is to saturate all the grounds at the same time. You can achieve this by either pouring in a sporadic manner, or by aiming at the wall right above the coffee, which can help the water fold over the coffee, and start extracting everything right away. Either way, the goal is to make sure there are no dry grounds floating on top when you are done pouring
  6. Agitate. Wait 4 minutes, then break the crust that has formed with a spoon. This will allow some grounds to settle to the bottom. You can then use a spoon or two to scoop off any foam or floating grounds that remain.
      7.  Cap & Serve. Wait another 5 minutes for the coffee to cool and for any silt to sink to the bottom, put the lid on top,                  but do not plunge, and pour the coffee through the mesh. Enjoy!

The Hoffman method is named after James Hoffman; 2007 World Barista Champion and founder of Square Mile Coffee in London. He popularized this method, which is meant to resemble the professional coffee cupping method.
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6/8/2019 1 Comment

How To: Japanese-Style Iced Coffee

As we have just introduced Iced Coffee, we thought we would put our recipe on how to make it online so you can try it out at home. Wondering about how Iced Coffee compares to Cold Brew? Read all about The Cold Brew Controversy in our last blog post.
What you will need:
  • V60 Dripper (we recommend plastic, as it is a better insulator of heat, however ceramic/glass is just fine)
  • V60 #02 paper filters
    • Do NOT use 'Natural' brown filters, it will taste like you are brewing through wet cardboard.
  • Carafe or mug
  • Digital Scale
  • Timer
  • Gooseneck Kettle
  • Coffee grinder
  • Clean, filtered water
  • Iced (made with clean, unfiltered water)
The steps:
  1. Heat your water. Start off by heating up your water. Coffee likes to be brewed between 195-205°F. If you don't have a variable temperature electric kettle, you can heat up your water to boiling, then let it sit for 45s-1 minute to allow it to get down to temperature. If you brew it at boiling  (212°F) you will scorch your coffee.
  2. Grind your coffee. While you wait for your water to heat up, you can grind your coffee. Coffee is always best freshly ground, and can actually stale just 15min after grinding. We highly recommend you invest in a good grinder, and you can read all about why here. For the V60, use a medium-coarse grind setting, similar to kosher salt.
  3. Pre-wet your filter. This will get rid of any papery taste you might get from the filter, however, make sure not to pre-heat your carafe with this water. We want to keep that cold!
  4. Coffee-to-water ratio. It is time for some math! To ensure you get some good coffee, you need to have a good coffee-to-water ratio. For a pour over method, we use a 1/16 ratio, meaning that for every 1 gram of coffee, we will be adding 16 grams of water (This is where the scale comes in). When making iced coffee, use 60% water and 40% ice. So, that will be 25g coffee/240g water/160 ice!
  5. Zero out your scale. Now, put your V60 with your coffee and your carafe on your scale, and zero it out. Grab your hot water and your timer, and get ready to pour. Remember, start your timer right when you start pouring.
  6. Bloom. Slowly pour in 50g of water to saturate all your coffee and wait for 45s. This is called the bloom. During the roasting process, gasses are built up in the bean, and once you saturate them with water, they start to release. This blooming period gets rid of a lot of gas, and it makes your coffee taste less...gassy (sour). This also can indicate the freshness of the coffee; more bloom = fresh coffee.
  7. Slow-Pour. This is your last step, but it is the hardest. The goal is to pour your water in slow, concentric circles without hitting the sides of the dripper (just like the game Operation). If you hit the sides, the water can slide down and miss the coffee entirely. We recommend pouring in a series of pulses. Here is a guide based off of the recipe we gave you;
              Time                         Action                         Total
              0:00s                           50g                                50g
              0:45s                           50g                             100g
              1:00s                           50g                             150g
              1:15s                           25g                             175g
              1:30s                           25g                             200g
              1:45s                           40g                             240g

     
        8.   Drain & Enjoy. Stop your pour at 1:50s, and if it drains out between 2:30-2:45s, you should have some great coffee.              If  it takes longer, or shorter, adjust your grind setting accordingly. (Coarser makes it drain quicker, finer makes it                         drain slower).
​
DISCLAIMER: There are countless ways to brew iced coffee. This is not the only way, however we get great results using this process. Taste is subjective, so play with it until you find what you like! 
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