How to Make French Press Coffee
French press pots are among the most popular type of coffee makers in the world. They’re one of the first ‘gourmet’ type pots that most people find. You’ll find them for sale at Starbucks and many specialty coffee shops, as well as online and in department stores.
A French press is a simple enough device. It consists of a narrow glass carafe with a metal plunger. Making coffee in a French press is simply a matter of pouring nearly boiling water into the carafe along with ground coffee. After it has brewed in the pot for three to four minutes to extract the flavor of the beans, you push the plunger down to the bottom of the pot, and pour off the brew. The coffee made with a French press is rich and flavorful, many experts say, because none of the essential oils are trapped in the filter.
As simple as the process sounds, there are a few tricks and a few caveats to keep in mind when making coffee in a French press. Like any other method, there are ways to mess up and make horribly undrinkable coffee. Once you get the hang of this little ritual, though, you’ll be drinking the kind of coffee that has made the French press the choice of coffee lovers all over the world.
1. Start with a clean press.
Seriously. The oils that make coffee so wonderfully tasteful also cling to everything that it touches. Just rinsing your French press out with water after you use it isn’t enough. You really do have to wash it with soap and water to get make sure that today’s coffee remnants won’t spoil tomorrow’s coffee.
2. Put water in the kettle to heat.
Just as the bubbles start coming to the top, turn off the heat beneath it. If you’re really finicky or just want to learn to get the timing right, you can use a thermometer to find when the water is between 195 and 205 degrees. That’s the optimal temperature for extracting the most flavor from your coffee beans, no matter what method of coffee brewing you use.
3. Grind your coffee beans and dump them into the bottom of the French press.
Use a burr grinder and set it to deliver a coarse grind. The coffee should actually be a little more coarse than you’d use for a drip coffee pot. Anything finer than that will poke through your filter and end up in your coffee cup. Use enough coffee!! To get the best flavor, you should start with a full, rounded tablespoon of ground coffee for each 4 ounces of water. Adjust up or down for stronger or weaker coffee. Better yet weigh your beans. Somewhere between 40 to 50 grams is what most people like. Experiment until you find the right taste for you.
4. Pour the water
… into the French press and Stir with a plastic spoon to make sure all the grounds are mixed well with the water. Put the cover on.
Don’t press the plunger yet. Let the coffee steep in the hot water for three to four minutes (us a timer). Again, experiment to find the steep time that best suits your taste.
5. Take a deep breath and get ready to press the plunger.
You really do need to take the deep breath. It will remind you to take your time with this part of the process. It’s tempting to force the plunger down, but that way lies lousy coffee. Instead, press the plunger down slo-o-o-w-ly, with even, steady pressure until you’ve pushed all the grounds to the bottom of the pot.
6. Pour and drink the coffee immediately.
Do not let the coffee sit in the French press for a second cup. Do not wait a few minutes before pouring your coffee. As long as the beans and water are in contact, the coffee will keep brewing and you’ll end up with bitter coffee. If you’re not going to drink all the coffee at once, pour the remainder into a vacuum pot to stay hot till you’re ready for it.
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