# the crust



## adam_n_eve (Feb 11, 2015)

when i use my french press at work i bloom the coffee for a minute then top up the press and then skim off the crust / foam after another couple of minutes.

however i've noticed that when i use my own good quality coffee (pact / silver oak etc) the 'crust' is virtually non-existant and it's just froth / foam i skim off. when i occasionally use a cheaper supermarket bought coffee (when my stuff has run out and i borrow one of my colleagues stuff!) there is a noticeable crust that needs to be broken and i skim off a lot of coffee as well as foam / froth.

is it simply down to quality of coffee? ie better quality = less crustiness?


----------



## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Crusty coffee!!

MWJB is your man for this, me, i would just taste it, tastes ok, drink it...


----------



## The Systemic Kid (Nov 23, 2012)

By crust - do you mean fines mixed up with the crema? Supermarket coffee is going to be more stale and ground finer which will result in more floating to the surface. With freshly roasted coffee, you will still get the grinds migrating to the surface as the CO2 is released by the action of hot water on them which causes them to float upwards where they sit just under the crema.


----------



## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

Hmm, I made my first ever french press coffee this morning with some really fresh hasbean beans and got no crust at all... I was looking out for it to spoon off and bin, but didn't get any.


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

adam_n_eve said:


> when i use my french press at work i bloom the coffee for a minute then top up the press and then skim off the crust / foam after another couple of minutes.
> 
> however i've noticed that when i use my own good quality coffee (pact / silver oak etc) the 'crust' is virtually non-existant and it's just froth / foam i skim off. when i occasionally use a cheaper supermarket bought coffee (when my stuff has run out and i borrow one of my colleagues stuff!) there is a noticeable crust that needs to be broken and i skim off a lot of coffee as well as foam / froth.
> 
> is it simply down to quality of coffee? ie better quality = less crustiness?


Interesting, I don't bloom French press, but taking a stab at what might be going on...your blooming is wetting the coffee, after a minute or so of that, plus a pour, (~30sec?) you may have driven off enough CO2 for the coffee to have lost it's buoyancy. With agitation (like a drip brew pour), coffee will sink in a lot of brew methods by 1:30-2:00. Supermarket coffee may float longer if it's coarser, and/or dried out.

I usually wet the coffee as best I can with the pour, no further agitation, then steep so long I don't see any crust, just a bit of murky oil on top that I discard. Normally there is some silt/grinds trapped in this oily layer that never seems to sink.


----------



## adam_n_eve (Feb 11, 2015)

The Systemic Kid said:


> By crust - do you mean fines mixed up with the crema? Supermarket coffee is going to be more stale and ground finer which will result in more floating to the surface. With freshly roasted coffee, you will still get the grinds migrating to the surface as the CO2 is released by the action of hot water on them which causes them to float upwards where they sit just under the crema.


That's pretty much it. I've put it down to staler coffee from supermarkets.


----------



## adam_n_eve (Feb 11, 2015)

MWJB said:


> Interesting, I don't bloom French press, but taking a stab at what might be going on...your blooming is wetting the coffee, after a minute or so of that, plus a pour, (~30sec?) you may have driven off enough CO2 for the coffee to have lost it's buoyancy. With agitation (like a drip brew pour), coffee will sink in a lot of brew methods by 1:30-2:00. Supermarket coffee may float longer if it's coarser, and/or dried out.
> 
> I usually wet the coffee as best I can with the pour, no further agitation, *then steep so long I don't see any crust*, just a bit of murky oil on top that I discard. Normally there is some silt/grinds trapped in this oily layer that never seems to sink.


about how long do you steep? i do a 1 minute bloom, then 4 minute steep.


----------



## DeloresSteele (Jul 31, 2015)

Today a large number of people are highly interested in weight loss and an additional benefit of tea is that it effectively boosts the metabolism and helps you to burn off additional calories during the day. So if it is possible for you to take regular tea.


----------



## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

DeloresSteele said:


> Today a large number of people are highly interested in weight loss and an additional benefit of tea is that it effectively boosts the metabolism and helps you to burn off additional calories during the day. So if it is possible for you to take regular tea.


You really like tea .....

I sense the " sell " coming though ....


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

adam_n_eve said:


> about how long do you steep? i do a 1 minute bloom, then 4 minute steep.


Until the brew hits less than 60C (brew starts at 1min off boil at coolest), this varies with brew size, maybe 15-20mins minimum for a smaller brew (20-30mins min preferable), up to an hour plus for a large brew. For a single wall, glass press I go by the "too hot to hold, then it's too hot to drink" philosophy.


----------



## adam_n_eve (Feb 11, 2015)

wow i couldnt be waiting that long for my brew at work







i'd be gasping!! it's definitely to do with the 'freshness' of the beans. today's brew of a new batch from pact has left no crust or floating grinds and that's from a coffee roasted on the 10th and ground on the 11th.


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Well, it's had a couple of days to degass after being ground, also if it's a light/medium roast it won't have developed as much CO2 as a dark roast.

If I could find a way to make the coffee taste as good, but quicker, in a steep, I'd be doing it  I get in early, get it steeping, deal with the morning's messages/urgencies, coffee @ 10-ish.


----------

