Freshly ground coffee question

Sarahsaver

Hello.
If you know anything about me you will know that I cannot stand instant 'coffee' and only drink ground.

My dear daughter bought me a coffee grinder for my birthday yesterday and this is the first time I have actually ground my own.

THe coffee does not seem to be strong enough I am using the correct quantity as well.
Do I have to leave freshly ground coffee to brew for longer in the cafetière?
Would it be better in an espresso maker ( I have one of those too)
...OR in a percolator (have one of those too)
...OR a coffee pot as I had when I was in Poland, just a load of coffee in the bottom


What am I doing wrong? I need a decent coffee in the morning!

Quasar

It could be that the coffee is being ground a little too coarse. Can you set it so that it grinds finer?

Red_Cat

Hi Sarahsaver,

I am the same as you when it comes to coffee and use both ground and beans depending on whther I have time to grind my own or not. I have a stove top Italian espresso percolator for after dinner and a cafetiere, which is for general use.

When I started grinding my own, both by hand and machine (I have both machines), I found that I had to experiement in terms of:

1. grind
2. brewing time and
3. type of roasted beans e.g Kenya AA, Jamaican Blue Mountain etc.

For espresso I use finely ground, darker roasted coffee.
For the cafetiere, I use coarser ground coffee and medium roasted coffee which is to my taste. It might be a matter of you having to try a few different beans to find one you love and the brewing to get the taste you want.

Whittards was a good place to start as they have a variety of beans. Some supermarkets also carry good beans such as Lavazza which I adore.

Let me know if you want specific bean advice and I'll let you know what I found out a few years ago.

Enjoy!

ariba10

What you need is a BURR grinder if you are going to make espresso and set it to the finest grind.

espresso

Try making an espresso. You should find some useful info on this site here.

Sarahsaver

It is one of those hand grinders. I tried again this morning and I changed the setting and also put in more coffee. It said a tablespoon of beans per cup but that is not enough is it!? I am sure I will get the hang of it;)

MrsB_2

The easiest way to check if your cafetiere coffee is 'brewed' is to lightly press the plunger down. When your coffee is 'done' the plunger slides down with very little resistance.

Hope this helps