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Tried cold brewing with a french press and got a disaster
I was in a hurry last Tuesday and thought hey, I can just cold brew my coffee in the french press overnight instead of using that big mason jar setup. Big mistake. The mesh filter on my press is way too fine for coarse grounds, and after 12 hours the whole thing was clogged so bad I couldn't push the plunger down without risking a glass explosion. When I finally forced it, I ended up with this muddy, bitter sludge that had tiny particles floating everywhere. Took me 20 minutes to clean the press, and the coffee was undrinkable even after filtering it through a paper towel. Learned that plastic mesh filters are not the same as stainless steel for cold brewing. Has anyone else tried a shortcut like this and regretted it?
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nina_sullivan611mo ago
The "mesh filter is too fine for coarse grounds" part really got me cause its the same thing with people using mesh strainers for homemade almond milk. You get this idea in your head that a shortcut will save time but it actually just trades one problem for a bigger one. I did something similar trying to steep loose leaf tea in a regular coffee pot filter and ended up with floating tea leaves and a burned taste. Its like when you try to microwave a frozen burrito on high for 5 minutes instead of following the directions - you think you're being clever but the insides are still cold and the outside is rock hard. Sometimes the right tools are the right tools for a reason, even if they take a little longer.
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michael5191mo ago
My buddy Jake tried to cold brew in a regular drip coffee maker. He just dumped a bunch of grounds in the carafe, filled it with cold water, and left it in the fridge overnight. Next morning he thought he could just pour it through the machine's filter basket like a normal brew. The slurry was so thick it just sat there and barely dripped through. He ended up with maybe half a cup of the bleakest, most acidic coffee I've ever tasted and a sticky mess that took him three cycles to rinse out.
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