I grind my whole beans and brew my java in a French press ..

[DemoTex]

I brew enough for two cups of coffee. I stir the French press once with the handle of a wooden spoon right after I pour the hot water in, then I let the coffee steep for four minutes. I brew my java on the strong side.

I pour the first cup and enjoy it. By the time I pour my second cup, the coffee has cooled so I put the cup in the microwave and zap it for 30 seconds. That zapped coffee never seems to taste as good as the first cup (although, it is still damned good!).

Should I decant the second cup (at the time I pour the first) to get the coffee away from the grinds? Or is it that my taste buds are just not the same after that first cup?


How sweet it is!

[bicentennial_baby]

1. It's the microwave

Heat it up gently on the stove instead. :hi:

[av8rdave]

2. No, you should just pour that second cup for me! Wow, that sounds good!

[southpaw]

3. I'd try that...

My guess is the grounds have over-steeped and the second cup is somewhat on the bitter side... am I right?

I really need to get another French Press. I had one several years ago. No other way to get coffee that good.

[Gormy Cuss]

4. Zap your microwave. Problem solved.

A tea cozy would keep the coffee warm for a bit longer.


Alternatively, dump the second cup's worth into an insulated, lidded travel mug.

[DemoTex]

5. Oh hell, I just remembered ..

I have a nice dewars flask (thermos carafe) for this very thing! Thanks! I knew that microwave was screwing up the taste.

:donut:

[RadiationTherapy]

6. Let it oversteep; heat water on the stove; add the hot water to the cup after decanting. nt

[Tuesday Afternoon]

7. Jackie? Are you drinking out of my china?

I swear that looks like my pattern :D :shrug:

Can I get a cup of joe? :yoiks:

[DemoTex]

13. Is that not the coolest picture ever?

I'm looking for a jacket like that. I already have the shirt. What's the china pattern, so that I can wait for a blue sky and replicate this photo?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

15. I thought it was Wedgwood...maybe not.

My China is packed away and has been for years. I have forgotten the name of the pattern. I searched Wedgwood and think maybe, this is my pattern, which is not the pattern in the picture. If this is still bugging me tomorrow, I may go dig through storage and find my china :D

http://www.wedgwoodusa.com/shop/collection.asp?id=496&cat=&terms=

[JBoy]

8. Try a bigger coffee mug

I use a french press on occasion, and pour the whole thing into a jumbo-sized mug.

[Sheets of Easter]

9. I use a thermal carafe along with my French press.

Actually, the carafe is left over from my old coffee maker, which broke some time ago. I brew the coffee with the French press, then it's stays warm in the carafe for a good few hours.

[Chan790]

10. Problems:

You've got several:

1.) Microwaving. It doesn't work, it just breaks down present volatile organic compounds imparting a bitter taste.

2.) Cooling. The flavor of a coffee changes as it cools. This again is the result of VOCs combined with issue #3.

3.) Aeration/Oxidization. Think wine...as time passes present sugars and tannins oxidize, changing the flavor. (We think Tannins more in tea; however they are present in coffee as well as red wines and all ports but especially tawny.) This is hardly surprising though...its the same reason fresh-ground tastes better than old-ground.

4.) Oversteeping. The longer the coffee sits in the same vessel with the grounds the stronger it'll be. It steeps constantly. oNce your coffee has reached it's preferred strength, separate grounds from brew.

Thankfully the solution is simple. All of these can be fixed by decanting into a clean unreactive air-tight thermal vessel. Make sure it's one designed for this purpose though...coffee is a mild acid and will slowly dissolve metal from the walls of an inappropriate container, imparting a "tinny" taste to the java.

[applegrove]

11. It is the oils in the coffee beans that make the first cup taste so good. I take it the oil floats

on top or something. Same thing with a coffee maker (if you take the first cup out before the rest of the cups have brewed it tastes much better than all the rest). IMHO

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

12. A shot of good Irish Whisky

would make the second cup much more palatable.

Or Bailey's if you like cream in your coffee.

:hi:

[DemoTex]

14. Damn good idea.

I have a cousin-in-law who has taken brandy with his coffee for years and years, even when he was a professor then department head at Georgia Tech.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

18. So that's why they're called "Ramblin' Wrecks"

All that brandy with the coffee!

:rofl:

[Generic Brad]

16. When you grind your beans, do they scream?

Sort of like this?

http://www.simonpanrucker.com/beans.html

[Enthusiast]

17. Don't stir for thirty seconds,

then steep for an additional 2 & 1/2 minutes. That is all. Oh, roast your own green beans.

[Pierre.Suave]

19. Are you using a...

Blade grinder or a Burr grinder?

[SteppingRazor]

20. Latte liberal.

:eyes:

[montanto]

21. That's a FREEDOM press! Why do you hate Amurikur??