Vasileia Fanarioti

I am from Athens, but fell in love with coffee whilst living in Dublin and have spent two years there working as a barista. I now have my own coffee blog, thewanderingbean.net, and I freelance as a writer in the coffee niche. Yeah, I love coffee basically! Outside of the coffee realm, I really like stickers, poetry, philosophy, anime, sports, dogs, cooking, and travel.

SKU: BGC_7767972821749 Category:

Description

What does coffee mean to me?

Coffee to me means a lifetime companionship, either by sharing it or by taking a moment to drink it alone and think of all the people behind my cup, from the farmer to the roaster and barista.

Vasileia Fanarioti

What motivates her daily:

My friends, my family, music, books, my small goals, my big goals, and of course coffee

Vasileia says:

"If someone ever feels like getting in touch feel free to do so, I'm always up for connecting with people from the coffee loving community!"

Tips for this recipe:

Don't plunge up and down like a maniac! Take it easy and the milk will still froth. Also if you're using non-dairy milk it will get hot faster so watch out for that. What else? I usually use a spoon to remove the top layer of foam (too foamy for me), knock the French Press on the counter to remove air bubbles, and swirl it a couple of times to make the milk smoother. Try pouring from a high angle and bring the French Press close to the cup towards the end for a latte art effect.

Brewing tool

Frenchpress, FP pot

Milk

240 ml

milk frothing with french press A
Add in the milk
plunge up and down 20 times with moderate speed
Pour the milk on top of your espresso and enjoy

Detailed Guidance

For extra smoothness pour it in another preheated jug first before pouring it on top of your coffee.

1

1.

Add 240ml of milk (or 160ml for a flat white) to a small pot
2

2.

Heat it until it reaches 55–65°C
3

3.

Preheat the French Press and discard the water
4

4.

Add in the milk and plunge up and down 20 times with moderate speed
5

5.

Knock and swirl the French Press on the counter to remove large air bubbles on top
6

6.

Pour the milk on top of your espresso and enjoy

Enjoy

Enjoy your freshly brewed coffee and have a nice day.

What makes this recipe so special?

I use this method to make my mom’s cappuccinos, so it’s got mom’s approval!

How to grind coffee?

Grind setting 1 to 10

1. Extreme fine grinding

<200-200 µ – Extra Fine (I) (confectioners sugar)

it is so fine that is almost impossible to filter/separate, like a powder, usually the finest grading in your grinder. Used for Ibrik/Turkish method because it “dissolves”; in pour-over can clog the filters. The substances extraction is extreme and can lead to a more bitter taste.

2. Finest grinding

300 µ – Fine II (flour)

almost a powder, a little more boulder. Can be used in Ibrik/Turkish coffee, and for some coffee beans in Moka Pot and espresso. The substances extraction is very high but has less surface contact area than the previous one.

3. Fine grinding

400 µ – Fine III Dry (no lumps)
it is fine, but not a powder, you can see little boulder parts. Used mainly for espresso and Moka Pot, but some Aeropress recipes use this grinding in a short time extraction. The substances extraction is high, it has high surface area contact, and it is used in methods with pressure, less time, high temperature.

4. Medium-fine grinding

500-600 µ – Medium – Fine (beach sand)
it is finer than sand, but not as fine than the previous. It is perfect for tuned recipes with pour-over methods, V60, Kalita, et cetera and also for some Aeropress recipes. It can be tricky if you do not master the brewing techniques leading to clogging. The substances extraction is high; it has a high surface contact area, but less than the previous one.

5-6.Medium grinding

700-800 µ – Medium I (Table Salt)
it is the start point for a test with a new coffee, it is a little bit coarse than the medium-fine. Very similar, in consistence and size, to sand. Can be used in various methods like pour-over, siphon, Aeropress, infusion, et cetera. The water-substances interaction is medium here, as the surface contact area is starting to decrease. In this grind size, and beyond, other variables like temperature and time become to influence more and more. It is the grind size that doesn’t extract too much but don’t extract too little.

7. Medium-coarse grinding

900-1000 µ – Medium II Commercial
it has the aspect of sand with boulder particles. Methods like Chemex, Clever and Aeropress benefit a lot from this grinding size, also some pour-overs with a little adjust in the variables. The surface contact area is smaller, so the solubility of the substance in water become to decrease. In this case, extraction is medium and extraction time starting to get more attention.

8. Coarse grinding:

1100-1200 µ – Medium III (Silica Sand)
it is more rough than sand, almost a sea salt, you can see boulder particles. Methods like French Press and some percolators are the best ones applied here. It is also very used to coffee cupping/tasting. In this case, extraction becomes small to medium, there is even less surface contact area with water and extraction time become fundamental.

9. Coarsted grinding

1300-1400 µ – Coarse I (clay particle)
similar to peppercorns. Used mainly for cold brew due to small substances extraction rate because the surface contact area is little, the pores are not available for extraction.

10. Extreme coarse grinding

1500-1600 µ – Coarse II (coarse kosher salt)

also similar to peppercorns, also used for cold brew. The substances are even less extracted than the previous. The surface contact area is small.
1600µ – Extra Coarse (III) – (broken peppercorns)
——-
The grind setting below is from our volunteer Carlos @chaosinrye and @fatima_quest. This is only a draft version.