http://www.coffeefaq.com/coffaq.htm Just how much ground coffee do I need for x amount of coffee? a. Whatever seems right to you. b. It may change slightly from coffee to coffee and according to freshness. c. What the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) has to say: A cup is defined as 6 ounces of water before brewing. This will produce 5.33 ounces of brewed coffee. Or 125 ml & 110 ml for Euro style coffee makers The SCAA defines 10 grams or .36 oz per cup as the proper measure for brewed coffee if using the American standards. If using Euro standards the measure is 7 grams per 125 ml. To further confuse things I will add a few more measures: 3.75 oz per 1/2 gallon 55 grams per liter 2.25 gallons per 1 lb. If you want to know more check the SCAA's web page at www.scaa.com. d. According to "The Coffee Lover's Companion" by Diana Rosen, the standard is 2 tbs. per 6 oz of water. The quality of a brew depends on the following factors (in no particular order): 1.Time since grinding the beans. 2.Time since roasting. 3.Cleanliness with brewing equipment. 4.Bean quality (what crop, etc.). 5.Water quality. According to the SCAA, the optimal water temperature for coffee is 92 - 96C (197.6 - 204.8F) for 90% of the contact time. It is quite simple: Coffee is at least 98% water. The higher the quality of water, the higher the quality of the cup. Many people use filtered or bottled water for their coffee. There is a difference. Fortunately, some of the newer, more expensive coffee pots come with small, replaceable charcoal filters built into the machine. If at all possible don't use distilled water. It is missing minerals that makes water pleasing to drink. A French Press is a glass container with a wire mesh attached to a plunger. Some French Presses will also have an optional nylon fine filter that will help to catch dust that some grinders produce. To make coffee, you first allow water to come very close to a boil but just short of this point. If you are heating water in an open pan, when you see the very beginning of a boil, pull your water. The overall temperature of the water from top to bottom should even out to be in the ideal range for coffee. If you are using a closed tea pot, this is the point where the water just begins to sound different in the pot. For more information on temperature see the section on water temperature. The press should be pre-warmed before putting the coffee in. This will help keep the glass from absorbing as much heat when the hot water is put in the press thus making for warmer coffee when you pour. The press should contain approximately the same amount of very coarsely ground coffee as you would use for drip coffee. Let it brew for 2-3 minutes or until it is easy to press the plunger down and then plunge the wire mesh. This filters the coffee. Course ground coffee is a must here or there will be a great deal of sediment in the cup. You will have a small amount of sediment no mater what. Due to the fact that there is no paper filter, all oils make it into the cup. This is a great cup of coffee. My advice to you would be try to buy the freshest beans you can find (preferably roasted within a day or two of your purchase date) in smaller quantities that can be used in a week or less. If you must store coffee, break your purchase into the amount you will use in one week or less. keep one of the containers out for immediate use and store the rest in individual one week allotments in sealed canning jars in the freezer. Remove beans from the freezer the day that your old stash runs out so that they will be completely thawed when you need them the next day. This will help to keep moisture problems caused by moving the beans in and out of the freezer to a minimum. A step up, and the primary focus of this article, is the burr style, or milling style coffee grinder. Like the wheat or corn grinder, and essentially identical to commercial, industrial-sized grinders, the burr grinder for today's consumer is available in a myriad of colors, features, materials, and prices. Why a burr grinder? As mentioned above, the blade variant of coffee grinders allows a varying particle size from the resultant grind. The leading reason for the use of a burr grinder is the ability to produce a uniform grind of the beans. A uniform grind is important for a few different reasons. First, it provides an even surface area for extraction during whatever brew process you may wish to use. Second, for espresso, the uniform grind allows for even wetting and even packing of the grounds. http://www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/brewing.htm Brewing coffee is as much of an art as it is a science. The history of brewing devices is rich, and methods of brewing are culturally dependent. Of the thousands of machines and brewing devices invented since the advent of coffee consumption only a few have gained worldwide popularity. The methods discussed below are recommended since they have been found to maximize the extraction of the beneficial flavors of coffee, while minimizing the extraction of bitter and undesirable components. General rules: The following general rules apply to each brewing method discussed. Coffee should be brewed for 4.5-5 minutes, using a ratio of 55 grams of ground coffee per liter of filtered water (95C or 205F). It is acceptable to use 2 tablespoons of coffee per 6 ounces of filtered water. Filtered water or spring water are recommended, whereas tap water and distilled water are advised against since they impart off flavors or prevent from a full extraction. French Press: The best way to control the time and temperature is to use a French press. The French press offers unparalleled flavor due to perfect extraction time and delivery of the volatile oils that are often trapped in filters. A French press is also the least expensive brewer available. To brew in a French press: boil the correct amount of water, freshly grind the beans using the largest grinder setting, take out the plunger, place the grounds at bottom of the glass, add the hot water, stir, and after 4-5 minutes press down plunger to separate the grounds from the extracted coffee. Unfortunately, the French press is not as convenient as a drip maker due to preparation time and cleaning time. The French press also loses heat faster than some other methods, but extraction at slightly varying temperatures will promote a more dynamic and complex cup of coffee. http://www.caffelaffare.co.nz/brew/main_brew.htm How to make a great plunger coffee Bring fresh cold water to the boil. Before adding coffee, pour a little boiling water into the plunger to pre-heat it. Wait 10 seconds, then pour out the water. Use two level tablespoons of plunger-ground coffee per cup. Some plungers come with a measuring spoon. Allow 7 to 10 grams per cup, depending on cup size and your personal taste. Pour a small amount of hot water (just off the boil) into the plunger, and leave to stand for a few seconds to allow the grains to swell. Pour in the remaining water, according to the number of cups required. Stir the coffee to break up the surface crust of grounds. Place the plunger on the pot to keep the heat in, but do not plunge yet. Allow to brew for 4 minutes to allow full flavour extraction. Before plunging, remove the plunger and give the coffee another stir. Replace the plunger. http://www.islandnet.com/coffee/info.htm good page: Do not freeze - oils congeal and do not reconstitute well The French press is a glass cylindrical pot that has a plunger affixed to the lid so that when you push down on the top of the plunger, it forces a fine wire mesh through the pot to the bottom. You put the ground coffee into the pot and pour hot water over it. After the coffee steeps for several minutes, you put the lid in place and push the plunger down, forcing the spent grounds to the bottom of the pot while the brewed coffee remains above. This is my personal choice for home coffee prep. I like it. It is fast ( 3 - 4 minutes ). It is neat, and in conclusion, you can experiment on the fly and there is little waste or throw-out. Done properly, this method produces a very full bodied brew. Done carelessly, it produces passable coffee but retains a certain rustic charm nonetheless. Since you will be able to control both the temperature of the water and the length of the brewing cycle, you should use coffee grounds that are significantly coarser than what you use for drip coffee. Put two to three tablespoons of ground coffee into the press pot for every six to eight ounces of fresh water you intend to use. I am a bit rough and tumble with the remainder of the procedure, read, nothing fancy! Boil the water in the kettle. Take the water off boil when it is ready. Toss in your coarse ground coffee. Take a deep breath. Toss the water onto the grounds when the water has dropped in temperature by about 10-20 degrees F. Optional: Soak the grounds with off-boil water to: Pre-infuse the water & prevent scalding the grounds and damaging the delicate oils and acids. Wait 2 minutes. Push the plunger down. Wait one-two minutes. Pour! Now enjoy what I consider to be the superior method of coffee prep! I use a Braun KMM-30 burr grinder for the task of preparing the coffee. I do not use the $20 Rotary Grinder that is common in many a household. The trade off is this: A Rotary grinder produces an imprecise finished product and is bit more wasteful. It is important to get a fairly coarse grind when using the Press and a Rotary is rarely up to the job. Do yourself a favor. Spend $50 or $60 dollars or so and get a good Burr Grinder. It will pay for itself in the long run. Heat Boiling water should never come in contact with fresh ground coffee. The ideal brewing temperature, regardless of method, is about 185 degrees F. This is one of those classic reasons why percolating the coffee in an, ahem, percolator or boiling it over the campfire, cowboy style, is always a bad idea. The boiling produces unpleasant tasting substances and destroys whatever good flavors there are in the http://www.heritage-coffee.com/ContinuumToContentment.htm good site http://www.brewedawakening.com/athome.asp good site