Cubicle Coffee Brewing and Timing Tips

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Cubicle Coffee Brewing and Timing

Making great tasting office coffee isn't hard, just follow these simple steps:

Step 1: Put in Coffee Grounds

Making Cubicle Coffee: Step 1 First, remove the plunger assembly and lid from your French Press carafe and set it aside. Then add your coarse ground coffee to the pot. For a standard 8 cup French Press (which holds 32 ounces of water), we recommend using between 8-10 tablespoons of coffee. If you put in generous, slightly heaping tablespoons, then eight should be fine. The general rule is about 2 tablespoons of ground coffee for every 6 ounces of water.

Step 2: Set Timer

Next, take your timer and set it to 4 minutes. Your ideal brew time may vary, but 4 minutes is a good starting point. If your coffee turns out bitter, try less time. If it ends up weak, increase the brew time by 30 seconds. The time will vary depending on how fine your coffee is ground. Remember, finer grinding will extract faster and require less brew time. We've gotten the best results from a 4 minute brew time from the first moment the water hits the grounds.

Step 3: Add Hot Water

Making Cubicle Coffee: Step 2 If you have on-demand hot water (that little red spigot on the water cooler) you are ready to go. If not, then boil up your water in your convenient electric kettle. When you're ready, press the start button on your timer to begin the countdown. Then immediately begin adding hot water. Remember, water should be just off the boil, around 195° - 205° F. Pour in water until it reaches about 1-2 inches below the rim. The first time you make cubicle coffee, you may want to take a measuring cup and check to see exactly where 32 ounces of water comes to on your press. We just eyeball it.

Step 4: Stir

Once all of the hot water is in, take a plastic spoon or wooden chopstick and stir the coffee until all of the grounds are mixed in. We recommend against using anything metal for stirring, since the glass carafe may chip or break and cause a real mess. Cheap plastic spoons work great and you can just toss them in the round file when you are done.

If your beans are fresh, you'll most likely notice a light brown colored foam on the top of your coffee. This is called crema and is a sign of good, fresh coffee beans.

Making Cubicle Coffee: Step 4 Discard the spoon, then carefully place the lid and plunger assembly back on top of the pot. NOTE: do not push the plunger down yet! The filter screen should rest just above the coffee.

Step 5: Think Strategically for 4 Minutes or so...

Now comes the hardest part. Waiting. Relax and let it brew. Take a moment to check your email and voicemail. Do some quick filing. Doodle something strategic on a nearby yellow pad.

Step 6: Push Down the Filter Screen

Making Cubicle Coffee: Step 5 After your timer goes off, slowly and carefully push down the plunger assembly until it reaches the bottom. You should notice some mild resistance when you push down. If it is extremely hard to push down, then your coffee is most likely ground too fine. If there's no resistance at all, odds are good that your coffee is ground too coarse. Just be careful not to push too hard if it gets stuck or the carafe may shatter and you'll make a major mess in your cubicle. Also, be sure to push straight down to prevent any grounds from slipping past the screen. When you're done, all of the grounds should be trapped in the bottom of the press pot and your pot of Cubicle Coffee is ready to serve.

If you're like us, you may need to clean your mug first to get rid of yesterday's dried-on sludge. It helps to keep an extra mug on hand just in case.

Step 7: Pour and Enjoy!

Carefully pour the coffee into your waiting mug. When pouring, it may help to hold the press pot lid with one hand while you pour to keep the lid from slipping out.

TIP: If you use a standard ceramic mug, fill it with hot water while your coffee is brewing, then empty it and dry it right before you pour your coffee. The hot water will preheat your mug and keep your coffee warmer, longer.

Making Cubicle Coffee: Step 6 We strongly recommend pouring and consuming your Cubicle Coffee immediately after brewing. It tastes better that way. Remember, even after the plunger is pushed down, the grounds are still in contact at the bottom and will continue to brew. Cubicle Coffee can turn bitter if you let it sit too long. French Press pots also tend to lose heat fairly fast. People always ask us, "what can we do to keep the coffee from getting cold?" Our usual answer: "Drink it faster." Another alternative is to use an insulated stainless steel press pot. Take a look at the Supplies and Equipment page for more details.

One last tip -- be careful not to pour the very last bit of coffee from the pot. The "bottom of the pot" aka "the dregs" usually contains a lot of sludge and sediment not found in regular automatic drip coffee.

So, the brew is complete. There are a couple of things you should keep in mind as you drink your steaming hot cup of Cubicle Coffee, which we'll talk about in the next section.

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