Fr.Press - What do you think of this method?

Please excuse me for repeating myself, I posted this same story in
another thread just a few days ago, but it goes better here.

My dad fought in the South Pacific in WWII. He told me that every
American pilot carried a survival kit in case he was shot down. In
this kit were two little bottles, one of gin and one of vermouth.

The idea was that when you got shot down and landed on a remote desert
island, not another human being for hundreds of miles, all you had to
do was to take out your little bottles and start making a martini.
And then immediately someone would step out from behind a tree to say
"Hey, wait, don't do it that way, do it this way!"

I love my French press. I don't think it's quite so critical to
preheat, wait exactly a minute before stirring, use a thermometer,
etc. etc. I am a coffee-lover, not a laboratory technician.

I try to keep the thing as clean as possible. I grind the coffee
while the water is heating, I think that's important. I take the
water off the burner just for the few seconds it takes to pour the
ground coffee into the French press. I pour the water in, stir
immediately to de-foam and mix well, then I top up. Then I put the
cover on, set the timer on the microwave for 4 minutes, then plunge.

You can go to a lot more trouble, but I doubt anyone could really tell
the difference!

"...water off boil for 1 min."

"water off boil to cool to optimum temp"

The second one is the correct way. The water should be 195??F to 200??F or
90.5 to 93 Celsia.

Our daughter lives in Los Alamos, we live about 1100 feet above the sea
level, and we sometimes make coffee at the beach -- almost at the sea level.
The time varies a lot at those places.

The water boils at different temperatures, and it cools much much faster in
high altitudes as Los Alamos. There simply cannot be a simple rule for the
time. Asking for the best time is like asking "what is the safe driving
speed" without saying on what road.

We get the best tasting FP coffee when following the instructions at:
#

Regards, Lubos

195-205F, your preference.

If the carafe or press pot is preheated, there should be little heat
loss. The foam layer provides more insulation. The cold screen and top
would cause more heat loss unless they too were preheated. Leave the
spoon in the brew between stirrings.

French press methods have been discussed ad nauseum. Everybody has a
favorite method which they insist is the best, and any other way is
forbidden. So here are a few tips which must be obeyed. 8^)

Preheat the carafe. Use a thermometer to measure the hot brew water
until you can just time it to be sure of the correct temp. Leave the
strainer out until you are ready to plunge. You must stir frequently
for best flavor and to disperse the grounds from the foam. Determine
your own best steep time by taste. Sometimes allowing the grounds to
settle for 30 seconds before plunging will make it easier. Grinding
finer than recommended may give a stronger brew, but may make plunging
more difficult. You must find the right grind size.

I think water off boil for 1 minute may be too long - personally I pour it
into a prewarmed french press as soon as it has stopped boiling when taking
it off the heat.

I then put the lid on, wait 1 minute and 30 secs, give it a stir, put the
lid on again, at 3 mins I then give it another stir and press down.

Cheers,
Thomas.

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