Hot take: rinsing my French press with hot tap water before brewing killed the burnt taste I blamed on my beans
For 2 years I thought my beans were getting stale too fast, so I kept buying smaller bags from a shop on 5th Street and nothing changed. Then a guy at the counter asked what temperature my press was before I poured, and I admitted it sat cold on the counter. He said to fill it with hot tap water, let it sit 30 seconds, dump it, then brew. Same beans, same grind, and the sour edge was gone the very next morning. I use 200 degree water and a 4 minute steep now and it tastes like a different roast. Has anyone else noticed the cold carafe thing, or am I just late to this?
Had the same thing happen with my coffee mug, not even the press. I was microwaving yesterday's cold mug of coffee and wondering why the fresh pour tasted weird, and my wife pointed out the mug itself was still cold from the fridge somehow. Started dumping hot water in the mug first, swirl it, dump it, and yeah, totally different cup. Same thing with tea too, my grandma always warmed the pot before steeping and I thought it was just an old lady thing. Turns out cold glass or ceramic just sucks the heat right out of whatever you pour in, so your brew drops below where it should be sitting. Wild that it took a stranger at a counter to point it out for you though, lol. Two years of blaming the beans is rough.