Cafe Sessions with Steve: April 2021

Blocking out the dumpster fire that was my March Madness bracket, we move into April. It’s been one year since our very first post about the COVID-19 shutdowns, and I just have to paint a little picture about how far we’ve come. Rewind the clocks a year and we enter a time of fear and uncertainty. No one knew what was going on! The world and everyone in it seemed to have lost its mind. “Unprecedented” was the word of choice. We were scared and at the mercy of this virus and had no choice but to listen to our country leaders and hunker down inside. I was out of work, along with a huge portion of the country. We were living in worldwide mayhem.

Contrast that with today. We have a couple of vaccines and getting the country vaccinated FAST. We’re making the slow move back to the office. Sports are back and fans are returning to stadiums at low capacities. Even Red Rocks announced live concerts are back baby!

Most importantly, we now have a much better understanding of this virus and of how to handle a pandemic. We sacrificed a year of our lives to this thing. But it’s all positive thoughts from here on out, because we’re nearing the finish line!

This month, I’m going to share some tasty secrets on how to make the perfect French press coffee at home. And because I can’t get this beautiful weather out of my head, I’ll do a little shoutout for our rooftop event space and show you how you can throw the perfect summer party at Enterprise Coworking.

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How To: The Perfect French Press

Ahhh, the robust flavor of the classic French press. It’s one of my favorite ways to consume morning’s sacred nectar. French press coffee is unique in that it doesn’t contain any filter, meaning you get a bold, robust taste from the grinds soaking in water and not losing any taste from filtering. Many of you have either tried or made coffee from a French press but I bet you didn’t know there are some serious do’s and do not’s when it comes to the coffee plunger. Here I’ll lay out the proper way to make the perfect French press coffee.

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To begin, you will need to determine what size French press you have. They are categorized based on cup size. A "traditional coffee pour" is 4oz, so make sure you note that. Do not be alarmed if you have an 8-cup French press since it really isn't that big, it just pours 8-4oz cups when the coffee is done, and we usually drink out of coffee mugs much bigger than that. For reference, I bought my parents a 16-cup behemoth of a French press because they guzzle coffee like it's going out of style. Having a scale at home is great since you can get all scientific with the process, but the lines wrapping around the French press beaker will tell you everything you need. Use the golden ratio of 1:12 coffee grounds to water. For an 8-cup French press, you will want about 54 grams of coffee and 860ml water.

The next step is to start heating your water to just about boiling. Once you remove it from the burner the water will settle to an ideal temperature. Then select the coffee beans you want to drink and grind those on a coarse setting, not fully coarse, but just about as coarse as your grinder can go (this will vary upon the grinder so consult the owner's manual for their recommendation). Swish some of the hot water inside the French press beaker so that it heats up. Rinse thoroughly and dump the water when it feels hot. 

Take the coarsely ground coffee and sprinkle it into the bottom of the press up until the bottom rim of the holder and begin to shower the initial grounds with a little bit of hot water being sure to coat all the grounds at the bottom but do not fill the water past the second line of your holder to let the beans bloom. Give the grounds and hot water mixture 3 twirls with a bamboo or wooden flat stirrer. Try not to use metal as it affects the taste of the coffee. This initial process from the first pour of water over the beans to the 3 stirs should take about 30 seconds. Then you will want to pour the water directly over the beans to the topmost line on your holder, essentially filling the beaker. Give the coffee another 3 swirls with your wooden stirrer.

Most important step here: DO NOT PLUNGE THE COFFEE!!! Get the top filter screen of your French press and lightly set it on top of the water and push the grounds to the second highest rim of your holder. Continue to let it sit for 3.5 to 4 minutes. Then fully plunge the screen to press all the grounds to the bottom. The entire process takes around 5 minutes so be patient, the coffee is worth it! You get a more full-bodied flavor of the beans, and it may be a little gritty, but that is just from the old school process without using a paper filter. Cheers!

Rooftop Party Season

A few days into April and we’re already experiencing some fine sunny, warm weather. I don’t know about you, but summer 2021 for me will be a party-hardy summer! As we finally exit this pandemic, I’m looking to mingle, meet people, and have some real fun.

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The perfect launching off point: a summer party on the Enterprise Coworking rooftop! Members know all about the large rooftop space with beautiful views of downtown Denver and the Front Range mountains. Pre-pandemic we would throw member events up there all the time. This past Thursday, we finally threw our first, small event of the year celebrating opening day with hot dogs and beer and it brought me back to the good times!

With the workspace placed conveniently in the heart of RiNo, a summer party or happy hour on the rooftop can feed into a great evening on the streets of RiNo, downtown, or at the ballpark! Equipped with comfy seating, a speaker system, lights, and a grill, you have all the makings of a great summer bash.

It’s important to note that we still aren’t out of this COVID mess yet, so occupancy and other rules will be set along state and city guidelines, though it looks like these will be lifting very soon!

Enterprise Coworking members get awesome discounts on event space rentals. So hurry and get your party date booked! Dates are filling up fast in anticipation for the best summer ever! Reserve your spot here!

 

If you have a topic or question you’d like Steve to tackle for next month, don’t hesitate to ask! Submit an anonymous question or problem here. No name or email is required.

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