Coffee Over Coffee: Episode 3 - Brewing A French Press

Today, I want to discuss the French presses. If you're unfamiliar with the French press, this is a very popular and effective way to brew coffee. I enjoy coffees that have been pressed. In fact, it might be just about the best way to brew a coffee.. 

We use the French press from time to time here at Mavericks Coffee, but we mostly use the pour-over. The French press is a unique way of brewing coffee. It doesn't require much effort, and you don't have to do a pour-over. You grind the coffee, pour it into the machine, and let it sit.

Preparing The Coffee for French Press

When you brew a French Press it is important that the coffee is allowed to sit long enough to give the coffee time to extract into the water. The time the coffee sits is called steeping. 

 A French press requires a special grind, which is very, very coarse. It is important to have the coffee ground coarse. The coarse ground is ideal for pressing, but for other brewing methods, the coarse will not work well based on the size of the coarse ground particle. Due to its size, in typically gravity systems or with systems that use bar pressure, the water can easily permeate the ned of coffee grounds and percolate to quickly limiting the extraction. That is why you wouldn't use it for any other brewing system except for a French press. The coffee would come out with a diluted flavor and look like tea.

“Brewing” the Coffee in a French Press

I like to brew my French Press a certain way.  First, I load the French press with my coffee grounds and then pour in the hot water. It’s important that the water is hot but not boiling, so I fill it almost to the brim. More about water temperature in a minute. Instead of pressing the plunger down right away, I set a timer for about 4 minutes to let the coffee steep after securing the lid. This steeping period is very important. While you certainly can have a longer steep, I would not recommend going less that 3:30 seconds

French Press Brewing Ratio

For this batch, I used 50 grams of coffee, following a coffee-to-water ratio of about 15:1. That means for every gram of coffee, I add around 15 grams of water. In this case, with my 50 grams of coffee, I used over 700 grams of water. 

Note the ratio is the same whether you use a gram or an ounce or a tablespoon. Whatever 1 unit of measure of coffee grounds you use, you would add 15 units of the same measure of water. If you prefer your coffee a little less strong you can do a 16 to 1 ratio.

After adding the water, and replacing the lid,  I just let it steep until the timer goes off.

Now, about the temperature of the water: if your water is too hot, it will scald the coffee as it brews. When I’m doing a pour-over, the water cools quickly. With the French press, it’s almost like an oven; you want to make sure that your water temperature is no more than 205 degrees Fahrenheit. After you pour yourself a cup you may want to let it sit for just a minute before you drink it. 

Let’s pretend that this has now steeped for 4 minutes. All I’m going to do is take this press and press it down. All the coffee grounds have floated up as they’ve interacted with the water, and now I'm just slowly pressing the coffee down. You can use other grinds on this, like a flat grind or a cone grind. You might get a decent taste, but you’ll have to floss afterward because while some presses are good, there are little holes and a filter that separates the coffee. 

You should notice on your press that it has a little filter. If I press it well enough, I won’t get too much coffee sludge in the bottom of my cup. In most cases, you might get a little bit of sludge at the bottom; it’s okay, it won’t kill you. Some say it adds a little to the flavor. But I wouldn’t drink it right away; I m also mindful to let it cool just a  bit. Even 30 seconds of waiting in your cup, can avoid a unpleasant burning on your tongue. 

So that’s the French Press system in a nutshell. These French Press are $20 items or less at a local big box store. You can get them online or at any big box store. They are a very effective way to brew your coffee. You don’t have to worry about buying a $100 coffee machine. Just like our pour-over, this unit is a great way to brew coffee. It’s very inexpensive, and it will make your coffee taste very good. 

I hope this answers your questions about French presses. If you have any other questions, do not hesitate to contact us, and you can chat with us online at maverscoffee.com. I hope this was helpful to you. Have a good day.

- Ryan