French Press Help: Excessive Sediment

[DennyCrane]

Is this normal? This is what I usually get from making a cup of coffee at work with my Bodum Columbia french press. I know I should expect some sediment, but this seems excessive doesn't it? I am using course ground Starbucks French Roast which is an extra-bold roast if that makes a difference.

 

[topher]

I would buy some freshly roasted beans...grind it coarse. I know they said it was coarsely ground but they were wrong. To me it looks like it is too finely ground...

 

[DennyCrane]

Thanks. I will try to take a picture of the grounds to show you. They look pretty course to me, but I'll let you be the judge of that. I've made french press coffee at home with regular ground coffee, and it didn't give me that much sediment. I also have the same Bodum press at home, so maybe I'll try the beans I use at work, in my press at home. Maybe it's the filter on the press that's faulty. Time will tell I guess. All I know is that I got a brand new bag of beans from Starbucks this morning, and they did the same thing.

And on a side note, I'm having a really difficult time trying to perfect the french press brewing method. I used brand new beans this morning, and they tasted very bitter/sour. It was not an enjoyable experience, and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I've done tons of reading, and I think I'm following the procedures properly (200-205 degrees, 3-4 minute brew time). I don't get why sometimes it's good, and other times it's crap.

 

[shadow745]

What grinder are you using?

 

[DirtyDave]

French Press coffee makers need a SUPER Coarse grind.
Blade grinders are useless for this.
You'd be better off putting beans in a sock and hitting them with a hammer.
One bean should equal about 20 particles, yeah, THAT coarse!

 

[CCafe]

Haven't you people of ever heard of breakfast in your cup. Its coffee and breakfast combined. So now you have to chew a little! :decaf:

 

[DennyCrane]

LOL!

So I forgot to take a picture of the beans before leaving work, but the last 2 bags have been ground exactly the same. For fun I decided to take my french press from home, to work. It's the exact same Bodum Columbia, but the one from home didn't have as much sediment. It still had the sludge in the bottom of the mug, but I hardly had anything on the sides of the mug. I really think this might have something to do with a faulty press. And for $80, I hope Bodum is willing to give me a new filter.

 

[Wildeflower]

It has to be your grind, and the first suspect would be your grinder. Are you using a good quality one? My guess is you're getting an uneven grind from a low quality grinder or whoever is grinding your coffee at the store has a faulty one. It's definitely not the filter. That's a lot of sediment.

 

[DennyCrane]

Starbucks ground the last two bags for me. I specifically requested coarse grind for french press. I don't think that's it, as I'm sure they know how to grind properly (and they have the proper equipment to do it). I just used the last of my coffee at work today, so I won't buy any until after the holidays. I'm hoping I get my Breville BCG800XL grinder that I put on my Christmas list! If I get that I won't be getting Starbucks to pre-grind my beans anymore. I'll either grind from home in the morning, or better yet, I might try and find a manual crank burr grinder for the office.

 

[Wildeflower]

Every single person that has responded to your question has told you it's the grind. Why do you continue to argue that it's not?Let's look at this with some logic, shall we? If it was ground coarsely and evenly, there would ~be~ no sediment like that, whether your bodum filter was defective or not. If it was defective, you would see whole grounds in the cup, not just this sediment. You have a lot more faith in the guy making minimum wage at Starbucks than you should. They most likely would not know if their grinder was of good quality or defective, as everything is now automated there. Your bag may look coarsely ground, but it is being ground unevenly, producing this sediment. Whether that is a product of a poor quality grinder or a defective one, I (and others) can't tell you, but we can tell you it's the grind.I hope you get your grinder for Christmas, too. If you don't, find yourself a local roaster, where you'll get fresher beans and they will know when their grinders are acting up. Shoot, find yourself a local roaster even if you do get the grinder.

 

[DennyCrane]

I didn't get the new grinder I asked for, so I went and bought it myself. I'm not sure if you can see as much detail as you might need to in these pictures, but hopefully it can give you an idea:

Coarse: This is the coarsest setting that my new grinder can do. Is this going to be course enough for French Press? I will say that what Starbucks ground for me seemed courser and more consistent than the grind I'm getting.

Medium-Coarse: There are actually about 20 or so different settings, but this is the coarsest of the medium levels. I won't be using this setting as I believe it would be intended for flat-bottom filters (?).

Medium-Fine: This is what I'll be using for my new drip coffee maker.

Espresso: Although I don't have an espresso machine, I wanted a grinder that could grind fine enough for espresso in case I decide to purchase a machine down the road.