Ideal coffee grind for a French Press?

Question

I recently picked up this Bodum "French Press" style coffee maker and so far, I'm really enjoying it for its simplicity. But I'm curious how I should be grinding my coffee.

When I bought it, I grabbed a bag of pre-ground coffee at the grocery store and this worked well. But recently, I bought a can of beans and put it thru the coffee grinder at the store and I may have chose too coarse a grind as I seem to be getting very weak cups of coffee now.

The manual said pick a "coarse" grind, so it turned the dial all the way to the left labeled "coarse". I'm thinking it should have been somewhere in the middle, like "Percolate".

Any advice on the optimal grind?

EDIT: Also, What ratio of Tbsp to oz of water? (or grams to ml, if you prefer metric.)

Answer

You do want a coarse grind for french press coffee. The key is letting the coffee steep for long enough to make a strong brew. I have good results with a 5 minute steep time. Be sure to use a timer, and compare different times to find the optimal brew. As a general rule, if you are at altitude, then you need to add time because boiling water is cooler. (Note that I am at 5000ft, so 5 minutes may be too long for you.)

Below is a picture of the coffee chunks in a coarse grind on top of a US 10 cent coin (17.9 mm in diameter).

EDIT: The reason to use a coarse grind for a french press is that finer grinds will get stuck in the filter and/or push their way through. This has three potential problems: 1) it will be harder to press down the filter, possibly leading to spillage or breakage; 2) your coffee will have grinds in it; 3) the coffee may become bitter, as the finer grinds that passed through the filter remain in contact with the coffee for too long.

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Is a stainless steel french press good to make coffee?

Question

My less than 1 year old glass French Press broke down today. There's a small circular piece of the glass which came off at the bottom. After doing some research, it looks like glass French Press breaks regularly. I've seen some stainless steel version, are those more solid and make good coffee? If not, should I keep buying glass versions every year?

Answer

Thierry,

Stainless steel French presses work fine. In fact, you can construct a French press out of any chemically inert material: stainless steel, class, ceramic, high-temperature plastic, enameled copper, even marble, and it will make perfectly good coffee. I myself have a collection of porcelain and stoneware presses. What material you choose is really a matter of aesthetics and how you use the press.

All of that being said, my experience is that high-quality glass carafes do not break regularly unless you drop them (which is, admittedly, an issue). I'm wondering if you bought a cheaper carafe with inferior glass, like one from Ikea. I have a Bodum which is at least 8 years old.

Also, for brand name presses, you can usually buy replacement carafes, since breakage (due to dropping) is a frequent issue. Sometimes the replacements cost as much as a whole new press, but you should at least check it out.

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