French Press, Press Pot, Coffee Press, Coffee Plunger, Cafetière, Bodum

How To Make French Press Coffee: Brewing

Once your water is hot, and coffee grounds are in the press pot, slowly pour the hot water into the press over the coffee grounds. How high you fill it depends on how much coffee you want to make, and how strong you like your coffee. Most of the grounds will rise to the top, and at this point, will be floating unevenly. If you are using very fresh coffee, carbon dioxide will cause foaming at the top (otherwise called a ‘bloom’). Give it 10-30 seconds to foam and then stir the grounds into the coffee. Put the plunger back on and push down till it is a few inches into the brewing coffee. Do NOT press into the coffee yet.

When I am in a hurry, I may forgo stirring the coffee and press the plunger down most of the way and back up, in order to get the grounds submerged into the coffee. What IS important is to make sure the grounds are equally submerged, so as to get a good extraction of the coffee grounds.

4 minutes is the standard recommended brewing time for a large French press. Some prefer 3 minutes. For smaller French presses, 2 or 3 minutes may be enough. Use a timer if you can.  Try out the different brewing times and let your taste buds decide.

At the end of the brewing time, grab the plunger and press down slowly and evenly. If the plunger gets crooked, grounds may escape into the top of the Press, which we don’t want. We want all the grounds to be pressed down, leaving only the brewed coffee on top. Many presses have an additional filter where the coffee is poured. Is you want to make absolutely sure grounds don’t make it into your coffee, pour your coffee through a small handheld strainer into your cup.

With a French press, you need to pour your coffee into another container as soon as possible. The coffee will continue to brew otherwise, thus very quickly becoming very strong and bitter. You do also have the option of pouring the French press coffee into an airpot, Thermos, coffee pot, or even an empty French press. Though the best recommendation would be to pour the coffee into one or more mugs and drink right away, so as to drink the coffee while at peak flavor.

Posted on April 1st, 2009 by Seth Daire
Filed under: Brewing, Coffee, French Press, Water | 5 Comments »

How to Make French Press Coffee: Water

There are those who have made water preparation into a science for coffee. That is, perhaps, not surprising, since water is one of the two primary ingredients. A restaurant or cafe will use a Countertop Hot Water Dispenser or the dispenser from an espresso machine. Most of us will begin with tap water.

Tap water should ideally be fresh from the faucet, cold, and filtered. Fill a stove top teakettle or even better, an electric teakettle. I use the latter, and am quite happy with the results. It is stainless steel, and turns off automatically once it reaches a boil. We don’t use eletric kettles as much in the United States, but if you like hot tea and French press coffee, they are quite convenient.

Some recommend boiling your water before grinding the beans, so as to give the water about 30 seconds to cool down to a more optimal temperature. If you want to be precise, use a thermometer and make sure your water is between 195 and 205 degress Fahrenheit (90 to 96 degrees Celsius).

While the water is boiling, remove the lid and plunger from the French press. Optionally, you can fill the pot with hot tap water, and then pour out once your kettle is boiling. Why? The glass is at room temperature, and will slightly cool your coffee once it is put into the pot. It is for the same reason that many espresso shops will keep their mugs on top of the espresso machine, so that they are warm when the coffee is poured into them. On that note, once your coffee is brewing, you can pour boiling water into your mug, swirl around, and pour out, thus keeping your coffee hot a bit longer. Many people, myself including, don’t take the time to warm the press pot or mug very often, but if you want your coffee to be perfect, it’s a step you can take.

Posted on March 28th, 2009 by Seth Daire
Filed under: Brewing, French Press, Water | No Comments »

How to Make French Press Coffee: Grounds

The recommended amount of coffee grounds that go in a French press vary slightly, depending on who you ask. Variations include:
1 tablespoon for every 4 ounces of water
1 heaping tablespoon for every 5 ounces of water
8.5 grams for every 4 ounces of water
2 level tablespoons for every 6 ounces of water

The strength of your coffee will depend on the amount of grounds and the brewing time. A French press uses a larger grind than a drip brewer or espresso machine. The consistency of the grind will not only allow for a more even extraction, but will also leave less sentiment in the bottom of the cup. The press uses a mesh plunger which will filter out the large grounds. Unlike a paper filter, the mesh will allow the oils from the coffee through, which creates a more flavorful cup of coffee.

If your coffee beans are fresh (less than a few weeks old) and freshly ground, they will have a lot of carbon dioxide in them, which will bubble up, similar to soda or beer, when the hot water is poured on them. It is wise to give the CO2 some time to foam before stirring.

Posted on March 21st, 2009 by Seth Daire
Filed under: French Press, Grinding | No Comments »

How to Make French Press Coffee: Grinder

Why grind your own coffee? Once coffee is ground, it loses its flavor and freshness much more quickly than whole bean coffee. If you grind right before you brew your coffee, you’ll make a better cup of coffee. Plus, it adds another dimension to the coffee-making routine. Pull out the grinder. Grab the bag of coffee beans. Pour the beans into the grinder. Grind. Smell the aroma. Then pour the grounds into a French Press (or other coffee maker).

There are two primary types of coffee grinders, blade and burr.

Blade grinders are the cheapest. The blade spins in a circle, cutting the coffee beans. The longer the grinder is run, the finer the coffee grounds will be. However, the blades tend to heat up after spinning for awhile, which may start to burn the coffee grounds. Grinding also tends to be uneven with blade grinders, thus producing a more inconsistent brew. They are not great for coffee brewing methods that require a fine grind, such as espresso, but are adequate for the coarse grounds required by the French Press and drip methods. Many blade grinders are in the $10 to $30 range.

 

Burr grinders crush the beans between a moving grinding wheel (burr) and a stationary surface. There are two kinds of burr grinders, wheel (or flat) burr and conical burr. The beans drop between the burrs and are then ground. These grinders allow you to set the fineness or coarseness of your grind. Burr grinders are much more consistent than blade grinders.

Wheel burr grinders spin faster, and thus are typically noisier and produce more static electricity and heat than a conical burr grinder. They are also the less expensive of the two. Conical burr grinders spin slower, and are thus quieter. Because of this, they also deal better with oily or flavored coffees. They are the most expensive, and the one you’re most likely to see used in a coffee shop. Burr grinders can be had for as little as $50, though high quality models for home use are typically $150 and up.

For additional information, see the Grinding section of this Wikipedia coffee preparation article.

Posted on March 15th, 2009 by Seth Daire
Filed under: French Press, Grinding | 5 Comments »

How to Make French Press Coffee: Beans

800px-roasted_coffee_beans.jpg Coffee begins with the coffee plant, grown in parts of the world we have come to know by their names, such as Sumatra. The quality of the coffee also begins here, not just with the type region, but with the type of bean, the plantation, and how they harvest their beans.

The beans are then sent to a roaster, roasted, packaged, and sent out. The quality of the roaster will make a big difference in the coffee. Roasters like Stumptown and Intelligentsia put a lot of time and energy into their award-winning coffees.

Then next factor is when the coffee gets to its destination, whether a coffee shop or a person’s home. A good coffee house will acquire as soon as possible after roast, sometimes immediately (if they roast themselves) or 2-3 days after roast. At 10 days or so, the coffee is considered too stale for a good coffee house. At home, in a French Press, the roast date is significant. The oils and gases will be at their peak early on, as will the flavor. If it’s a good roast, it’ll still be acceptably good for awhile though, and still better than many beans out there. The fact is, many of us are used to less than fresh coffee.

It’s also best to not grind the coffee until just before use.

Posted on April 6th, 2008 by Seth Daire
Filed under: Coffee | No Comments »

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