I use a Chemex in the roastery. It's about as far from French Press as you can get.
The thick paper filter eliminates oil and sediment in the cup, making an exceptionally clean coffee.
Using fresh coffee, a Chemex can support very high ratios, brewing very strong coffee without a trace of bitterness.
If you're into the oils and sediment in French Press coffee, Chemex isn't your method-- although if you're really trying to get to know a coffee comparing pressed and Chemex preparations will give you a very good idea of the range of the bean.
I brew coffee in many many ways at my biz. Chemex is one method I consider a real treat.
edit: this post reads like ad copy. Sorry bout that. Part of my job is to write clearly and descriptively about coffee.
Last edited by manoeuver; August 2nd, 2020 at 05:00 AM.
Chrissy (August 2nd, 2020)
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manoeuver (August 2nd, 2020)
Fountain Pen Sith Lord | Daakusaido | Everything in one spot
KrazyIvan (August 2nd, 2020)
KrazyIvan (August 2nd, 2020)
Just noticed this thread. I have a Chemex, press, and one of those interesting stove top expresso pots. Day to day I use the press. I do have a special pot with one of those skinny spouts for the Chemex.
https://i.imgur.com/4iMX2fs.jpg
Espresso from a 1980s la Pavoni + obligatory pen content.
manoeuver (August 7th, 2020)
Fair warning, this post is likely to ramble a bit.
We have just gotten electricity back after a week, following tropical storm Isaias. Since my stove and other appliances are electric, my morning coffee had to come from elsewhere. A local bagel shop, a bakery, and the Keurig maker at work all provided adequate coffee, although the bakery was just barely adequate. Their croissants are excellent, though.
I've gone through different phases in learning about coffee. Started with instant many years ago, and everyone ought to try that just so that they can appreciate the difference. Finally got a drip coffee maker, and tried a stovetop percolator at one point. The percolator coffee wasn't to my taste, but it got me to grinding my own beans in order to get a coarse enough grind. My electric burr grinder is a pain to clean thoroughly, and it seemed that coffee was getting wasted, so I went to hand grinders. Currently I make coffee mostly with a Hario pour over maker, a French press, or occasionally with an Aero Press. Every now and then I make Turkish coffee. I found that using a cezve properly on an electric stove is tricky, so I cheat and use a Beko electric Turkish coffee machine, which works great.
I keep three hand grinders ready. One is set for medium fine to use with the pour over maker or Aero Press, one is set for coarse to use for the French press, and a special one is set for ultra fine to make Turkish Coffee.
During our power outage, I happened upon the following passage in Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy, first published in 1621, and revised several times before Burton's death in 1640. In a chapter on "alteratives and cordials", he approves of moderate wine drinking, and then writes the following:
The Turks have a drink called coffa (for they use no wine) so named of a berry as black as soot, and as bitter (like that black drink which was in use amongst the Lacedæmonians and perhaps the same), which they sip still of, and sup as warm as they can suffer; they spend much time in those coffa-houses, which are somewhat like our alehouses or taverns, and there they sit chatting and drinking to drive away the time, and be merry together, because they find by experience that kind of drink, so used, helpeth digestion and procureth alacrity.
Burton was a scholar at Oxford, but he died too soon to see the first "coffa" house in England, which opened in Oxford in 1652.
https://www.historic-uk.com/CultureU...-Universities/
"If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly."
G.K. Chesterton
manoeuver (August 13th, 2020)
Anyone try microwaving your beans before grinding?
My wife found an old moka pot while thrifting and it looked unused. It is not your traditional moka pot shape with all the bevels. It has more of a rounded egg shape to it. The rubber gasket looks brand new. It has a larger "basket" than normal so coffee comes out strong, even light roasts not normally known for bold flavor.
She also bought me a Clever Dripper. This is an interesting cross between a pour-over and french press. It looks like a typical pour over but it has a valve that wont open until you place it on a mug. So you set it up like a pour-over but place it on the counter while you pour the water in. Then after the brewing time (like a french press) you place it on your mug and the valve opens, dripping the coffee into your mug. You get the french press brewing without the hassle of the cleanup since it uses Melitta cone filters. You filter the oils and silt that would normally be present in a french press brew. I don't mind those things but in the morning rush, it is easy to clean.
Fountain Pen Sith Lord | Daakusaido | Everything in one spot
manoeuver (August 13th, 2020)
I also like hand grinders. Being a New Yorker who isn’t rich, my kitchen counter space is rather limited. I had an old german hand cranker that i used for everything from turkish to drip. It disappeared in a move, and now i use an expensive modern hand grinder. It’s functional, but lacks the charm of my old one.
Kaputnik (August 11th, 2020)
I’ve never tried a hand grinder. I read that grinding takes forever on the little devices, and when I start the coffee routine first thing in the morning for a 32oz press, I kinda want it DONE!
I’ve been hand-grinding for so long, i don’t mind the time or effort. The grinding is just part of the routine. At any rate, my current grinder is pretty quick. It grinds an espresso shot out in about 20 seconds. Big burrs do the trick. (but it does require some elbow grease)
Kaputnik (August 11th, 2020)
I make about 16 oz of coffee on a typical morning. For either a French press or pour over maker that means grinding about 30 grams of beans, a figure arrived at by trial and error and what works for me. The coarse grind for the press goes more quickly, of course, for the pour over I sometimes pause for ten seconds or so, but I'm still done in about two and a half minutes even for that.
Before getting the hand grinders, I tried using a Capresso electric burr grinder. As I mentioned, I didn't like the cleanup and the wasted coffee. When I first tried making Turkish coffee, I briefly went back to it, as it would supposedly grind it finely enough for that, not just according to the advertising but according to a couple of online articles on making this kind of coffee. Unfortunately, that turned out not to be the case, at least for the one that I have. I ordered a hand grinder from Turkey, and it does the job. Admittedly, adjusting it for that powdery Turkish grind makes it rather harder to turn, but then, I don't make that much Turkish coffee at one time, so I get by.
I suppose that as I get older, the hand grinders might become too much effort, in which case I suppose I'd get pre-ground Turkish coffee and use an electric for other types. But I'm not there yet.
Last edited by Kaputnik; August 11th, 2020 at 07:08 PM.
"If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly."
G.K. Chesterton
manoeuver (August 13th, 2020)
Hi everyone, I just wanted to ask for your recommendations. I think about buying a new grinder an I don't know which one to choose. In the office we have Mueller Ultra-Grinder. I like it, but for me it seems too expensive. Hand grinder might be not that pricey. Here I found a comparison, but if one of you have a grinder from that list, please share your opinion with me
if the hand grinding gets tedious it's easy to use a cordless drill in place of the hand crank (it works on my Hario hand grinder.) Just don't mash the trigger, you have to go slow.
I recommend it often, as I've used mine daily for over 12 years: the Capresso Infinity. I haven't used it to grind for Turkish coffee, I have a commercial Bunn at the shop for that.
Ivan, I really like the clever dripper. I have one at home I use when I want one quick(ish) cup of pourover coffee.
By the way, I just wrote and released a guide to cold brew coffee that turned out really well. I put a link to it in my signature for anybody who's interested.
Chrissy (August 13th, 2020), Wile E Coyote (August 13th, 2020)
This is exactly what I have been doing. The manual grinder seems to have a better grind consistency and is also capable of a finer grind than my electric grinder. I use a 9/32" nut driver on the Hario which makes the process much easier than putting the grinder shaft directly in the drill chuck.
manoeuver (August 13th, 2020)
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