Coffee for French press

[Susan]

I've used a French Press for years and it's the best way to drink good coffee. I've attended a few coffee farms and also liaised quite a bit with different coffee growers/roasters and they all swear by the French Press (some people here call them Plungers). Apparently its the best method to preserve all the flavour and goodness from the coffee beans. I just love that crema that forms on the top! If any of you haven't tried French Press coffee yet, do yourself a favour and try it. If you are a true coffee lover you will be hooked after just one cup!

I have my own favourite coffee grower here in Australia that I order from regularly but in Finland there's a few that aren't too bad. I used to use Kulta Katriina but then I found that some of Paulig's are quite good http://www.paulig.fi/our_brands_paulig_parisien I like the Espressos and also the Parisien. Many Finnish coffees use Robusta beans though so that makes them a somewhat bitter compared to Australian coffee (Robusta beans are quite bitter therefore if you're looking for a lovely smooth coffee you need 100% Arabica bean coffee).

Susan, if you'd like me to send you a 250g bag of 100% Arabica bean Plunger/French Press coffee from the Australian tropics I'd be glad to. Just PM me with your address. You'll fall in love with this stuff I promise! It's chemical/pesticide free - not 'certified' organic but organic nonetheless.

Oh, and although they recommend you use a coarser grind for French Press/Plunger I have successfully used espresso or fine grind in my French Press. But then again, I don't mind some coffee grinds at the end of the cup - they're nice to chew on to keep that coffee flavour going and going

Thanks, Lisa!

You should send also instructions for beginners on how to make good French Press coffee, lol

-Susan

[Cloudberry]

How much coffee do you put in your French Press? Let's say for one cup?

I use two heaped tablespoons per person in my french press but I do like it strong. With the Finnish coffee I tend to just pour about quarter of a packet in Add the required amount of "just off the boil" hot (not boiling as it apparently can "burn" the coffee) water (about 250mls per 2tbs is the ratio I use) then give the coffee grounds a little stir until the crema forms to the top of the liquid. Place the plunger bit on top and gently push it down to the bottom. It's ready to pour and drink immediately. Some people say that you should let the coffee sit and "brew" but I have heard from others that this only makes the coffee bitter. I suppose it's really a matter of taste and preference. I'm not saying that my method is "right". It's just what I do.

I just opened a pack of Kulta Katriina on Friday and found it very very weak - not very appealing at all. I also found the grind was very coarse, it needed to be finer. The resulting coffee was a medium to light colour instead of the rich black it should be. Now, I should say that since the coffee is so old I can't be giving it a bad rap. I'll have to give it a go again when we get back to Finland using a nice fresh batch

After doing a barista training course over the weekend I learned that within weeks of grinding, coffee is stale no matter how you've stored it. Now that's pretty scary since I brought back a few kilos of vacuum sealed coffee from Finland as souveniers and that was almost a year ago now! OMG, no wonder it tastes crappy!

I think the real key to making good coffee is freshness. Buy whole beans and grind them yourself. We've always tried to do this wherever possible. We just bought a little grinder from the same place we got our french press from. That way you can grind fresh and make it the coarseness you like.

[blaugrau]

The French Press I got (Bodum) also has a measuring spoon with it, and the leaflet recommends one spoon (7g) coffee per cup, but I guess in the end it's always down to personal taste.

[Susan]

Lisa, if there's one thing I want to do after reading your experiences with coffee is trying the coffee you make.
You make it sound delicious.
Thanks for your insight.

-Susan

PS. I'll be writing soon.

[Cloudberry]

The French Press I got (Bodum) also has a measuring spoon with it, and the leaflet recommends one spoon (7g) coffee per cup, but I guess in the end it's always down to personal taste.

Haha yeah, I just use that "measuring" spoon for stirring

[Cloudberry]

Lisa, if there's one thing I want to do after reading your experiences with coffee is trying the coffee you make.
You make it sound delicious.
Thanks for your insight.

-Susan

PS. I'll be writing soon.

No problem! I'll be bringing some Aussie coffee with me to Finland - I'll whip you up a batch! Of course in the meantime, I will also be sending you a small bag by post shortly! I really don't think you can go wrong with that stuff but you never know...

[Susan]

Lisa, if there's one thing I want to do after reading your experiences with coffee is trying the coffee you make.
You make it sound delicious.
Thanks for your insight.

-Susan

PS. I'll be writing soon.

No problem! I'll be bringing some Aussie coffee with me to Finland - I'll whip you up a batch! Of course in the meantime, I will also be sending you a small bag by post shortly! I really don't think you can go wrong with that stuff but you never know...

OKay! I'm here already waiting for you to have some real good coffee.
I can make some good tea for you.

-Susan

[Cloudberry]

I can make some good tea for you.

-Susan

Cool, I love tea too!

[Susan]

Hi Guys,

I'm having the first cup of a new coffee I'm trying for the French press and I thought of sharing it with you.
The coffee is Robert Paulig's Watsa Kahwi Maga Kaffe
I think I like better than the Paulig's Parissien I had before.

End of report. -
-Susan

[Cloudberry]

thanks for the report! Now I'll have to try that one too!

[Susan]

I can make some good tea for you.

-Susan

Cool, I love tea too!

Black, green, red, white, what kind of tea do you prefer?

[Desundial]

I just opened a pack of Kulta Katriina on Friday and found it very very weak - not very appealing at all. I also found the grind was very coarse, it needed to be finer. The resulting coffee was a medium to light colour instead of the rich black it should be. Now, I should say that since the coffee is so old I can't be giving it a bad rap. I'll have to give it a go again when we get back to Finland using a nice fresh batch

Isn't the color lighter because it's light roast - versus dark roast? Finnish coffee is generally light roast, whereas in other parts of the world -italian coffee,etc. - they like the dark roasts that produce that nice, yummy black brew.

[Cloudberry]

Black, green, red, white, what kind of tea do you prefer?

Hmmm.. I'm really a traditional black tea girl. I love English Breakfast, Orange Pekoe and I don't mind an Earl Grey. In London last year we stopped in at Harrods and I grabbed a beautiful wooden Harrod's tea box with assorted teas

Oh, and I like Japanese tea too - particularly with a Japanese meal. But I'm open to try anything, once.

[Cloudberry]

I just opened a pack of Kulta Katriina on Friday and found it very very weak - not very appealing at all. I also found the grind was very coarse, it needed to be finer. The resulting coffee was a medium to light colour instead of the rich black it should be. Now, I should say that since the coffee is so old I can't be giving it a bad rap. I'll have to give it a go again when we get back to Finland using a nice fresh batch

Isn't the color lighter because it's light roast - versus dark roast? Finnish coffee is generally light roast, whereas in other parts of the world -italian coffee,etc. - they like the dark roasts that produce that nice, yummy black brew.

Possibly, although I was sure I had used the Kulta Katriina coffee before and it was darker. But I could be wrong. Maybe there are different roasts and I didn't realise when I picked up this bag. I bought like ten bags at the little supermarket on the corner down from Hotel Linna. Maybe I grabbed a few different types without realising

[hanj]

i use slightly more than 1 spoonful of those bodum measuring spoon per cup of coffee...and yes i like them dark and bitter.

no one tried those lavazza/segafredo/illy stuffs? i think these are pretty OK too

i wanted to try 'cut chon' coffee when i was in vietnam but it isnt as common as i thought. then again...most of the coffee i had there were very good...simply because its strong enough. there's an equivalent from indonesia called kopi luwak.