Author's posts

Why Does My French Press Coffee Taste Sour?

If your French press coffee tastes sour, sharp, thin, or unpleasantly acidic, under-extraction is one of the first things to investigate. Your water may not be extracting enough flavor from the coffee before you finish brewing. Common causes include a grind that’s too coarse, a steep that’s too short, water that’s too cool, or a …

Continue reading

French Press vs. AeroPress: What’s the Difference?

French press and AeroPress are both manual coffee brewers that immerse ground coffee in water, but the coffee they produce can be surprisingly different. A French press typically uses a coarse or medium-coarse grind, several minutes of steeping, and a reusable metal mesh filter. The result is generally a rich, full-bodied cup with more coffee …

Continue reading

French Press vs. Pour-Over: What’s the Difference?

Pour-Over Coffee | Kurtis Ko

French press and pour-over coffee are both manual brewing methods that give you far more control than simply pressing a button on an automatic coffee maker. But despite using the same basic ingredients—coffee and hot water—they produce noticeably different cups. The biggest difference is how the water interacts with the coffee and how the finished …

Continue reading

How to Clean a French Press Properly

A French press may be one of the simplest coffee makers you can own, but it still needs regular cleaning. Coffee grounds can become trapped around the filter, oils can build up on the carafe and plunger, and residue left behind from yesterday’s coffee can eventually affect the flavor of today’s brew. Fortunately, cleaning a …

Continue reading

Best Coffee Grinder for Espresso

Espresso places greater demands on a coffee grinder than almost any other brewing method. A grinder can produce grounds that look fine enough for espresso and still lack the precision needed to dial in a good shot. The best coffee grinder for espresso needs to produce a consistent fine grind while allowing very small adjustments …

Continue reading

How Often Should You Clean a Coffee Grinder?

A coffee grinder does not need to be deep-cleaned every day, but it should not be ignored either. For most home coffee drinkers, a good rule is to brush out loose grounds every one to two weeks and give the grinder a more thorough cleaning about once a month. If you use the grinder heavily, …

Continue reading

How to Clean a Burr Coffee Grinder

A burr coffee grinder works best when old grounds, coffee dust, and oils are not allowed to build up inside it. Fortunately, cleaning a burr grinder is usually straightforward. For most home grinders, regular maintenance involves unplugging the grinder, removing loose grounds, brushing the burrs and chute, cleaning removable parts, and reassembling everything carefully. A …

Continue reading

Why Is My Coffee Grinder Producing Uneven Grounds?

Uneven coffee grounds are one of the most common grinder problems, and they can make brewing frustratingly inconsistent. If your grinder is producing a mixture of powdery fines, medium particles, and large chunks, the cause may be as simple as using the wrong grinder type—or it may point to buildup, worn burrs, poor burr alignment, …

Continue reading

Coffee Grinder Settings Explained

Coffee grinder settings can be confusing because the numbers are not standardized. Setting 10 on one grinder may be much finer or coarser than setting 10 on another, and even grinders from the same brand can use different adjustment systems. The important thing is not the number itself. What matters is the actual particle size …

Continue reading

National Coffee Day 2026: Date, Deals, History & How to Celebrate

Coffee lovers have an especially good reason to brew another cup this September. National Coffee Day 2026 falls on Tuesday, September 29. Across the United States, coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants, convenience stores, and coffee brands traditionally mark the occasion with free coffee, discounted drinks, loyalty-member promotions, and special offers. But National Coffee Day can be …

Continue reading