Notes before starting:
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The quality of water you are using is very important to the taste of your coffee. If the water you are using doesn’t taste good on it’s own, the resulting coffee isn’t going to taste very good. Use filtered water if you really want to step-up your coffee making skills. Try not to use distilled water or reverse osmosis water.
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Grind your beans right before you are ready to brew for optimal results. Ground coffee loses its fresh flavor very quickly.
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If you can, set your grinder to a course grind. Grounds should be somewhat similar in size to course sea salt. Grinding the beans too fine will result in over extraction and an undesirable taste.
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How much coffee should you use? In our experience, a water to coffee weight ratio of approximately 18.5 : 1 offers the best results. For example, if you grind 10g of coffee I would add 186g of water. This ratio is not set in stone, so if you find the coffee to strong or not strong enough, adjust the amount of coffee you use next time.
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Dont’t have a scale? Don’t worry, we’ve created a table to help you out:
Things you’re going to need:
Fresh coffee beans (we recommend Alternate Route Coffee Co. for guaranteed quality and freshness)
Coffee grinder (preferably a burr grinder, more on this to come!)
Small spoon for stiring
Timer (your cellphone works great)
Scale (not necessary, but will produce the most consistent results)
Now lets get started:
Heat some water! While your water is heating up, grind the desired amount of coffee and transfer to your coffee press
After your water has come to a boil, remove heat and wait for 30-60 seconds before pouring into the coffee press. Optimal brewing temperature is 200 F (water boils at 212 F at sea level)
Pour the associated amount of water (using the table or your own calculations) into the coffee press and start the timer; do not stir the coffee yet. If the beans you are using are fresh you will notice that the grounds will start to expand at this point. This is known as “blooming”.
At 0:45 stir the coffee with a spoon for a couple of seconds
At 4:00 min. the extraction process is complete. Put the lid on the coffee press and slowly push down the screen.
Pour the coffee into cup, to-go mug or thermos as soon as possible after you have completed the brewing process. Coffee that sits in the coffee press will continue the extraction process and will result in a very bitter coffee.
Enjoy! Remember this process is just a guideline, do not be afraid to experiment a little to figure out what works best for your tastes. Remember, those who take the Alternate Route are always rewarded 🙂