How To Use A French Press

French Press brewing is an art and is one of the most appreciated methods as many of the parameters required for brewing perfectly are under manual control. Though the method looks simple, we have to take care of a few tidbits for optimal results. So here in this article, we are going to teach you the whole process of brewing a perfect cup of coffee with a French Press, step by step.

First, let us have a little introduction to our subject. French Press in its history had several names over the years – Chambord, Plunger, Press Pot, and Cafetiére. But the most common name that bonded was French Press. You might be wondering what the term ‘French‘ had to do with this – the answer is actually quite simple. It was a French duo, Mayer and Delforge that patented the first French Press in 1852. It was quite different from the one we know today as there was no seal inside it. 

Now, after a little history, let’s get back to brewing. Below you will find the guide to brew French Press coffee. Follow the steps and you might end up with an amazing cup depending upon how you copied the instructions.

How to Use A French Press

You’ve bought a French Press and are now wondering how to make perfect brewed coffee. We suggest accompanying your new gear with a kettle with a specially designed spout to spread the water evenly over the coffee grounds. And for that, we have a guide about the best Gooseneck coffee kettles. Go through it and you will see how wonderful they are.

Now, on the recipe. The following recipe will yield two large mugs or four small cups of coffee. 

You will need

1. A French Press
2. Scale
3. 27 g of whole coffee beans 
4. A timer
5. A Gooseneck coffee kettle preferably or any other if not available
6. A coffee grinder
7. 430 ml of filtered water plus additional for preheating your cups
8. A spoon or stirrer

Step By Step – Brewing With A French Press

1. Heat the water – Heat the water at 94°-97°, be careful not to boil it.
2. Preheat the Coffee Press – Preheat the French Press and your cups with the hot water.
3. Grind the Beans – Measure 27 g of coffee using a scale and grind it at a coarse setting.
4. Place the Coffee Grounds – After you have preheated your French Press, pour the hot water out and add your coffee grounds. Shake the French Press gently to even the coffee grounds.
5. Add water for Bloom – Start your timer and add half of the water. Make sure to evenly cover all the coffee grounds. You will notice a thick crust of coffee grounds forming at the top. This step is called the bloom, make sure to enjoy the aroma.
6. Stir – When your time reads 30-50 seconds grab your spoon or stirrer and break up the crust by mixing the grounds with the water.
7. Pour more water – Pour the rest of the water into the French Press and place the lid on top without plunging down.
8. Wait – Let it brew until your timer reaches 4 minutes.
9. Plunge – Slowly plunge all the way and pour the coffee into your cups immediately.

How to make Cold Brew with French Press

Making a cold brew with French Press is very much similar as brewing normally with it. Below are the short steps:

• Add 1 tbsp of coarse ground coffee per serving into the French Press or use a precision scale to measure exactly, 17g for 3 cups.
• Now pour room temperature water (as per servings) into the carafe.
• Place the cap with the plunger up and put the press into the refrigerator for a night.
• Drink your cold brew coffee in the morning.

Although the most popular use for the French Press is to brew hot coffee, there are other ways you can use it such as making a cold brew, frothing milk, rinsing grains, brew loose leaf tea and even mix cocktails. 

Make sure to experiment with the brew ratio until you reach the desired result according to your taste and don’t forget to have fun!

Troubleshooting

• If you notice that it’s hard to plunge down, this means that your grind setting is too fine. If there is very little resistance then your grind setting is too coarse. (If you are not equipped with a grinder, consider visiting our page to find the best coffee grinder for French Press, so that you don’t ruin your coffee the next time)
• Make sure to serve the brew immediately. If you let it sit it will result in an over-extracted coffee that tastes bitter and flat. If you don’t want to drink it immediately then preheat another pot and pour it in. The water will stop being in contact with the coffee grounds while still remaining hot.

Things To Take Care while Brewing With French Press

As the years passed, the French Press evolved to become one of the most known methods to brew coffee because it’s cheap and easy to use. However, there are certain aspects of the brewing process that you need to be aware of before you brew with a French Press so you can be sure to enjoy the result.

Get Proper Coffee Beans

Though you can get any beans, medium to dark roast coffee is generally preferred in press brewing as it’s a steeping process that reduces bitterness in dark roasts. We have a collection of the best coffee for french press brewing and you can pick one from that.

Grind Your Coffee Fresh

The second aspect that we need to be aware of is the freshness of our coffee grounds. It will make a very big difference in your brew if your coffee is freshly ground rather than pre-ground. The reason we grind the coffee at all is that we want to uncover the surface area of the coffee bean and allow the water to cover more particles during the extraction. If we just added water to whole beans our brew would be very weak. 

If you buy your coffee pre-ground there is a risk that it has been exposed to oxygen for too long. This is not good because the coffee will start losing all the gases it has built up during roasting. There is a risk of losing all the aromas and flavors of the coffee and the result will be a stale and dull cup of coffee. Here is why you should grind your coffee beans before you brew:

1. Your whole beans will remain fresh for longer because their particles are not in as much contact with the air as the ones of the pre-ground coffee.
2. Your cup of coffee will taste better because you will capture all the flavors and aromas of the coffee beans.
3. You can control the grind size according to your taste. This is important because the more you brew the better you will get at knowing how you prefer to drink your cup of coffee.

The Grind Size Matters

The next aspect you need to consider before brewing is the size of the grind you are going to use. This is important because every coffee tastes different and every brewing method needs a different grind setting in order to extract the best possible flavors from the coffee grounds. An example of this is the comparison of the French Press grind with the espresso grind. So you can see that when we are using the French Press it is best to grind our coffee beans coarse. 

The reason for this is quite simple. Like we mentioned above, a French Press is brewed through immersion of coffee grounds in water and it usually requires a longer brew time than an espresso. When we grind our coffee coarse, we are slowing down the extraction and allow for a balanced result. If our grind size was finer we would end up with an over-extracted cup of coffee that tastes flat and bitter. On the other hand, an espresso-only requires a short extraction time, usually between 20-30 seconds, and the water is forced through the coffee grounds, which is why they need to be ground finer.

Keep an Eye on Your Brew Ratio

The last aspect you need to consider before you brew your French Press is your brew ratio. Your brew ratio is basically another name for the recipe you are going to use. Like cooking a meal, brewing a cup of coffee needs a recipe. You might make two cups of coffee using the same coffee beans but the result will always be different if you change something in your brew ratio. This could mean anything from changing the amount of water you use to adding more coffee or using a different water temperature. It is also recommended to use filtered water instead of tap water as it is better quality and your coffee will taste better.

If you visit specialty coffee shops you might notice that the baristas use scales and timers when they brew the coffee and the reason for this is because they want to control the brew time to achieve the best result during extraction. By controlling the brew ratio baristas can make sure that every customer gets the same quality cup of coffee. In this case, we are using a French Press so the variables we need to keep an eye on are:

1. The grind size
2. The brew time
3. The water temperature 
4. The water quality

Keep Your Focus on the Brew Time

The first important aspect is the process of immersion. In contrast to pour-over methods, immersion brewing focuses on the brew time and not on the control of the pour. This is because we have to immerse the ground coffee in water and leave it aside to brew until the grounds are extracted to our desired level. People are often found hunting for difference – French press vs Aeropress. For beginners, these look the same but actual brewing principles are quite different.

Keep the French Press clean

Ensure that you clean your French Press after every use otherwise the coffee grounds will get stuck in the filter and your coffee might not end up tasting as fresh. You should be able to take the filter off and clean it separately.

Wrapping Up

For people that enjoy the visual experience, the French Press made from glass is the best option. As for the ceramic French Press, they are the most expensive ones but they also are very aesthetic and will add character to your kitchen.

There is a lot of choice for everyone so find out what’s the best one for you and start brewing some delicious coffee!