I have brewed mostly single cups of coffee in the French press, which, while it works, is better suited for something like the AeroPress. Today, I brewed a larger batch, which turned out pretty good:
- Beans: “Harvest Moon” medium roast (Indonesia/South Asia)
- Roaster: Zeke’s Coffee (Baltimore, MD)
- Roast date: 10/30/2023
- 40 grams coffee, 520 grams water (1:13 ratio)
- French press
- Gooseneck kettle
- Preheat French press
- Heat brew water to 95°C
- Coarse grind (JX setting 30, or 3 rotations)
- Start timer and pour at the same time
- Pour 100 grams or so of water and return kettle to base
- Swirl to get all the grounds wet, and bloom until 1:00
- Top up to 520 grams of water and stir slowly a few times
- Steep for 6 more minutes, plunge, and pour
This recipe is kind of a testament to the fact that it’s hard to screw things up with a French press. I bet it would taste good with or without a separate bloom, with or without stirring/swirling, and regardless of total steep time (within reason). 6 minutes seems to be long enough to get good extraction without letting the coffee cool down too much.
11/21: This recipe tasted a little bitter this morning. Maybe try dropping the water temperature to 90°.