French Press — Probably the best way to begin Specialty Coffee Journey; Tips and Tricks
French Press is the simplest and cheapest method to brew delicious specialty coffee at home. I would recommend this as a first equipment to anyone starting their brewing journey.
I got one in 2017 to try out another brewing method besides the Moka pot. I have been using it for the last 5 years, brewing many types of coffee satisfactorily. Broke it twice, bought it thrice! You could almost always find it on our dining table during breakfast and afternoon snack time. Recently, when I broke it the second time the AeroPress had taken over. But now it has come back for its fair share in our lives.
The Equipment
What is a French Press?
- The Genesis. There is a legend from the 1850s about how it accidentally came to being which involved a Frenchman and an Italian (read here), thus debated if it is French or Italian. In 1929, it was patented by an Italian Attilio Calimani. Interestingly, it is known as the French Press in the US and some parts of the world including India. It has many other aliases including cafetière, coffee press and coffee plunger and so on.
- The Equipment. French Press usually has a glass carafe and a metal mesh attached to a metal piston which slides along a lid. Steel variants are also available, for those who are concerned with the durability of glass carafe.
- The Brew Method. Immersion Brewing.
- The Output. Full bodied cup of coffee, with cloudiness (can vary from slight to significant) due to coffee particles not filtered.
Brewing Guides
There is a generic French Press brewing method out there. However, I live by and strongly recommend (urge and plead) the non-traditional tweaks by James Hoffman in his Ultimate Technique.
- The Roast. Medium to Medium-Dark Blends in this brew method. My favorites are Attikan Estate and Kalledevarapura Estate from Blue Tokai; Satva and Parama from Flying Squirrels / Maverick & Farmer.
- The Dose. 9 grams of coffee.
- The Grind. Medium size. Slightly coarser than espresso. Size 13 on Baratza Encore coffee grinder. Typical suggestion is to grind coarse so that the plunger mesh can filter the coffee grinds better during the press, to a bit cleaner cup. But behold. Psst… there is no pressing!! Due to the smaller size there is a better extraction of flavors from the coffee.
- The Ratio. 150 grams of water for 9 grams of coffee.
- The Water. 90–95 degrees celsius. Boil water in an electric kettle and leave the lid open for 30–60 sec. This is for medium roast, increase temperature for light roasts and reduce for dark roasts.
- The Process. Pour hot water into the carafe to rinse it to pre-heat (optional). Add 9 grams of grinds to the french press carafe. Add 150 grams of water at 90–95 degree celsius. Close the lid to stop heat loss. Let it stay for 4 mins for immersion brewing. Use a spoon to give it a swirl while breaking the crust on top of the liquid. Scoop and discard any floating foam and particles.
- The Wait. Let it stay for 6–8 mins. During this time much of the finer coffee particles start to fall down and settle to the bottom. This allows you to get a cleaner cup of coffee, without getting over-extracted / bitter. I have done it over a hundred times, I swear by it. It also allows the coffee to cool down to a comfortable drinking temperature.
- No Press! Whaaat???!!!
- The Pour. After the wait, push the plunger mesh close to the liquid surface, without pressing into it. Pour the coffee out into a cup. The idea is to not disturb the coffee grinds that have already settled to the bottom. Pressing can agitate the particles.
This recipe has made me fall in love with french press even more. It has given me a very clean cup as compared to my previous ‘pressed’ and muddy cup. The technique also allows the use of medium grind size (vs the traditionally recommended coarse grind) enabling better extraction (hence flavors) without worrying about the filtering with mesh.
At breakfast, we typically serve our food and get the french press at the table for the wait time along with our cups. Once the timer is up, we just pour it right in time for coffee and at the right moderate temperature that doesn’t burn the tongue while unlocking the complex flavors of a specialty coffee.
Warning! This technique will spoil your experience of french press coffee at cafes forever. I stoped asking for it, or may be I can ask to hand me over the press at 4 min.
The Cleaning Hack. Cleaning might not be as easy as an AeroPress, but not at all daunting. My hack is to use a tea strainer that is easily available in an Indian kitchen. Take the plunger out, which has minimal coffee sticking to it (due to no pressing) and rinse it under running tap water. Then, fill the carafe containing the spent coffee with running tap water, swirl it and send it through the strainer. Repeat to get all the coffee grounds on the strainer. Bang the strainer into the bin to get rid of the coffee. Done. I soap it after 6–8 uses.
The Bonus Superpowers. The French Press has bonus super powers!
- The Milk Frother. If I am making a cappuccino or latte, I get the strong coffee shot out of a moka pot and use the french press to froth milk. Just add hot milk in french press, pump the piston repeatedly to create frothy milk with microfoam. Pour it on top of the coffee shot to get a smooth and creamy cappuccino. Watch this for reference. If you are trying to create latte art to impress, you need a real milk jug and some real pouring skills. 🙂
- The Tea Brewer. Just like coffee, you can brew from black tea to green tea, from flower tea to fruit tea, in the same way. But don’t dare to do the Desi Chai! That will be a stretch.
If you liked what I write you might want to follow my journey on Instagram @journal_of_a_coffee_enthusiast.
Where to buy from (includes affiliate links):
I own
- Ikea French Press 400 ml — https://amzn.to/3FEOMf8 or Ikea. I have used this model for about 5 years; broke twice, bought thrice. Wont blame the product. Everytime I buy this same model, even after exploring and considering others. Probably the cheapest one around, right size for me, and does it’s job pretty well. There is a 1000 ml version as well — https://amzn.to/42rEqc1 or Ikea.
Popular ones on Amazon:
- InstaCuppa French Press 600 ml — https://amzn.to/42t6MTc
- Cafe JEI French Press 600ml — https://amzn.to/3JuivZ5
- In case the worry is about breaking the glass ones
- InstaCuppa French Press 600 ml (stainless steel) — https://amzn.to/3Ty2lTo
