The Perfect French Press

Good morning coffee lovers! Today, we are going to dive into the world of the French Press, also known as a fuente Poiss, coffee plunger, or cafeteria. We’ll be sharing tips on how to make the best version of this full-bodied coffee at home in your kitchen.

What you’ll need

• French press
• Grinder (freshly ground coffee is always best)
• Scales to track the brew
• A couple of cups
• Kettle (filtered water only)
• Set of spoons (cupping spoons or a large tablespoon will do)

All of the items can be found on our website, linked below.

The Brew

1. Boil filtered water
2. Grind coffee beans (coarse)
3. Preheat the french press
4. Add the ground coffee to the french press
5. Pour hot water over the coffee
6. Steep for several minutes
7. Avoid over-extraction to avoid a muddy and bitter flavor

Away now, you want to divide this up if you’re doing a larger brew with friends. If you’re alone, pour it all into one cup straight away. This is to avoid coming back to the coffee and having it become sludgy and bitter in flavor due to the sediment that comes through. If you had a thermal server, you could pour it straight into there to keep it warm.

Sip, have a scoop, and notice the color, which is a little bit darker because of the immersion brew. Do a nice little stir to make sure the flavors are incorporated. The immersion brew will result in a darker coffee but still very tasty. The cleaner brew is achieved by not re-plunging and re-agitating the coffee.

Coffee Brewing Process

Step 1: Warm Water and Consistent Temperature

• Fill a pot with water and get it warm
• Keep the temperature as consistent as possible

Step 2: Add Coffee

• Tare your scales
• Add coffee to the pot in a 60 gram to one liter of water ratio
• In this case, 16 grams of coffee is being used to brew 250 mils of water

Step 3: Brewing

• Quickly pour the water over the coffee grounds to make sure all of the grounds are coated
• Agitate the mixture slightly, but not too much, as it will steep for four minutes
• During this time, the coffee will form a crust on the top, and the extraction process will continue

Step 4: Steeping

• After four minutes, break the crust and stir the coffee slightly
• Keep the plunger on top without pushing it as pushing it will re-stir the grounds and cause the extraction process to start again
• Let the coffee steep for a few more minutes to let the particles settle

Step 5: Serving

• Using a cupping spoon, remove the top layer of coffee grounds
• Most of the coffee particles should have sunk to the bottom by now
• Pour the coffee out straight into a cup, making sure to keep the lid of the plunger on top to filter any remaining particles.
• The coffee can be left to steep for a couple of more minutes if desired.

Note: The process may differ slightly due to the use of a hand grinder with conical burs, which may result in a difference in ground distribution.

When brewing coffee using the immersion method, it’s important to consider the following steps for a delicious and clean cup of coffee:

• Divide the coffee if brewing for multiple people or pour into one cup for single serving.
• Avoid coming back to the coffee as it sits, as this can cause the coffee to become sludgy and bitter due to sediment buildup.
• If using a thermal server, pour the coffee straight into it to keep it warm.
• Observe the color of the coffee, it will be slightly darker due to the immersion brewing process.
• Give the coffee a nice stir to make sure the flavors are incorporated.

The immersion brew method results in a full-bodied, tasty coffee with a cleaner brew, as long as you don’t re-plunge or re-agitate the coffee.

Tips for a Better Brew

• If possible, use a thermal server to keep the coffee warm.
• Observe the color of the coffee and stir to incorporate flavors.
• Don’t re-plunge or re-agitate the coffee for a cleaner brew.

Try this technique at home and let us know in the comments below. If you liked it, please consider subscribing by clicking the bell. Thank you and see you soon!