I am well versed in the Press. I am going to switch from drip, espresso and Clover to press, esp, and Clover (on the side). I know to keep up I will need a 220 tower and some air pots, but are there little tricks or gadgets that I maybe did not think of? What are some tips that full time Pressers have come to know? DO you care to share?

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I was recently at Verve in Santa Cruz, and instead of airpots to store their pressed coffee they were using a Fetco Luxus dispenser. It looked like a good system.
I suggest a research trip to Portland and a visit to Stumptown is in order.

When I developed the pressed coffee program for The Spro, I used Stumptown's approach as a model. Overall, it's relatively simple: the 12 cup (48z) Bodum Chambord press pots, 3z of coffee ground fresh, half fill with hot water from the water tower, saturate the grinds, wait a minute, stir and fill the top. Cover with the press lid, wait an additional three minutes then press.

Pour the pressed coffee into an airpot and hold for twenty minutes (forty max).
At The Stick we use the 1.5l (54oz) Bodum Columbia press pots (3 or 4 at a time) and decant into a Zoji airpot.

75 grams is my benchmark and we vary dosage for each bean. Total brew time is 4 minutes in general but with the COE beans I have been running 3.5 minutes total as a trial and going from there.

You might need a second water tower unless you go with a 5 gallon (we set our heat at 205F). If you draw 3 pots (4.5l) then you're taking over half of the storage of your 2 gallon tank and although regeneration time is quick with a 220V system I still think you'll be brewing too close to a drip's temperature if you need another pot.

I recommend airpots with a base that takes up a teeny weeny bit of space because you'll need that for your timers, press pots and stuff (get lots of timers). You'll also probably want a dedicated compost bucket for your press dump as your shop's too busy to be running back and forth between the espresso dump and the back counter.
You know better than most what your particular beans can stand in the way of storage in pots but I have had some Africans and Asians taste good up to 40 minutes whereas ojly American has lasted much past 20 minutes. The exception is your beautiful new Brasil which still tasted great 60 minutes after we closed shop - which means it was about 80 minutes old! I wouldn't have sold it but it was okay for my drive home.).
I notice a considerable amount of sediment that drops out in the first minute after you plunge or pour over into a second vessel. I usually just pour carefully to sort of decant the brew and not the sediment layer. Never tried pouring over into an airpot and wonder if the act of drawing off coffee disturbs that sediment layer. Or is this just not a problem for your customer?
Brady said:
I notice a considerable amount of sediment that drops out in the first minute after you plunge or pour over into a second vessel. I usually just pour carefully to sort of decant the brew and not the sediment layer. Never tried pouring over into an airpot and wonder if the act of drawing off coffee disturbs that sediment layer. Or is this just not a problem for your customer?

I usually strain it through a very fine sifter/mesh and it seems pretty good. The airpots need regular changing throughout the day, though as sediment builds up over several pots. I think the least disturbance to the pots it best so I decant only once into a stationary airpot and I don't recommend serving from it for a couple of minutes...You'll need multi pots on the go!
Thanks, Stickman
Also... For clean up, we always keep a larger mesh strainer in the sink. I can tell you right now I'm just not careful enough to not break or drop the press over the trash/compost... I find that adding a little water to the empty ground filled press and stirring before you dump over the strainer will do the trick. Nice and easy and keeps the drains free of grounds.
the strainer in the sink is a great idea. I do the bit of water in the press and it does work well. Thanx for all the tips.
Which Seattle Stumptown is the busiest?
Monica Rae Hill said:
Also... For clean up, we always keep a larger mesh strainer in the sink. I can tell you right now I'm just not careful enough to not break or drop the press over the trash/compost... I find that adding a little water to the empty ground filled press and stirring before you dump over the strainer will do the trick. Nice and easy and keeps the drains free of grounds.

Monica, great idea with the sink strainer. Have you tried the Bodum Columbia series press pots? They're stainless and they sell a 1.5 litre pot (54 oz). We were breaking about one a week of our chambord pots...Stainless is the way to go, imho.
Actually I have the planetary design stainless with logo at our shop... I've been thinking about switching though because of the plastic plungers... They're just not really meant for commercial use... at least not like we use them. It's true though, the stainless steel press pots did change my life in a very positive way..
I just ordered my 220 power tower yesterday. Next I need to place my bodum order . I am making the switch after I get back from Coffee Fest. Fun Fun Fun
I've found that filtering from the french press to the airpot is important. We have been toying with different filter options for the shop we are opening (only serving french press and chemex brewed coffee). What have most of you found to be the best option as a filter when pouring into the airpot?

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