My French press exploded grounds all over the kitchen counter this morning at 5am

I forgot to push the plunger down slow and the pressure just blasted coffee grinds everywhere, has anyone found a foolproof way to avoid that without buying one of those fancy metal screen models?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_thomas1mo ago

Not pushing down the plunger is like step one of the problem but something that gets overlooked is the grind size. Most people just grab any bag of pre-ground and that stuff is way too fine for a french press so it clogs the mesh and then boom, explosion. Try getting a coarser grind from a local shop or just pulse your own beans in a blender for a few seconds until they look like breadcrumbs not powder. Another hack nobody talks about is using water just off the boil instead of full rolling boil - let it sit 30 seconds after the kettle clicks off. That little temp drop takes the pressure off the plunger.

nathana481mo ago

Adding to that, the water temp tip really helps because it stops the fines from forming that sludge at the bottom.

william_carter1mo agoTop Commenter

Yeah, the grind size thing is spot on. I switched to a coarser grind from my local shop and the difference was night and day no more clogged mesh or random explosions. And the water temp tip really helps too I started letting it sit for a minute after boiling and the pressure feels way more manageable now.