Tried grinding beans finer than usual and got a muddy mess in my French press

Last Sunday I decided to grind my Costa Rican beans at a setting 2 instead of my usual 4 on my Baratza Encore. The brew came out super thick and cloudy, and when I pressed the plunger down it got stuck halfway. I learned that finer grinds work better for espresso but not for a French press where you want coarse particles. Has anyone else had a similar surprise when testing different grind sizes?

2 comments

2 Comments

quinnmitchell4d ago

It's funny because this grind thing really is just life in a nutshell, right? You try to make one small tweak thinking it'll improve everything and suddenly you're elbow deep in sludge fighting a plunger like it's a personal battle. I notice this all the time with my students too, they think if a little studying is good then cramming for six hours straight must be better and then they bomb the test because their brain is just mush. Same with cooking, you add an extra pinch of salt thinking it'll heighten the flavor and next thing you know the whole dish is ruined. We're all just out here constantly overshooting the sweet spot, thinking more or finer or faster is always the answer when really the answer is usually just slow down and keep it simple. Your muddy mess is a perfect little reminder that sometimes the boring old way works best.

jennifer3584d ago

Oh man, "muddy mess" is exactly what I got too. I tried going finer with some Ethiopian beans and ended up with this sludge that looked more like dirty dishwater than coffee. The plunger fight is real, I almost bent mine trying to force it down. Now I stick to coarse grind, like sea salt size, and let it steep for exactly four minutes before pressing. It made me realize French press is really forgiving with the wrong grind but absolutely punishing if you go too fine.