Pro tip: I was grinding my beans way too fine for my French press for years
A barista at that little shop on 5th Street in my town finally asked me about my method after I complained about bitter coffee. She watched me make a cup and pointed out the silt at the bottom, saying I should aim for a coarse grind, like breadcrumbs. I switched to a coarse setting on my grinder and the next pot was smoother with way less grit. Anyone else make this mistake with their press?
Press it slower" is a wild thing to say, @gonzalez.phoenix. I tried that once with a fine grind and just got a cup of bitter mud. The water sits there too long and pulls out all the bad stuff. It's like over-steeping tea until it's gross. My last attempt tasted like I was chewing on the coffee filter. A slower press just seems to make the problem worse, not better.
Is this the coffee version of that thing where everyone insists their way of doing something tedious is actually better, like hand-wringing dishes or driving stick shift? Seems like people just really like to feel like they're in control of the process, even when it makes the result worse.