French Press

Variations of French Press have been around for over 100 years, but design concepts as we know were patented by Attili Calimani from Italy in 1929, not France. Mama mia! The French Press has a straightforward design and is made from the carafe (also known as braker) and a plunger assembly.

If you don’t like the sandy feeling of coffee, French Press is probably not for you. 

When compared to other brewing methods, the French press can also be a lot more forgiving if you aren’t precise. With some pouring methods, you have to be much more careful about how you pour water and not to do it too fast. With the French press there’s no such risk. It’s almost infallible. 

Below, we show how you can brew French Press either with utensils found in every kitchen, or top notch tools for home barista pros.


What you need:

  1. French press

  2. Coarse ground coffee (granulated)

  3. Hot water

  4. Cup / mug

  5. Stopwatch

What you can add:

  1. Grinder

  2. Scale

  3. Thermometer

– Ratio 1/16 of coffee / water: 19 grams of coffee and 300 ml of water (at 90 C).

– Coarse ground coffee (granulated).

– Brewing time: 4 minutes.

Recipe

Step 1

Boil the water and let it sit for 60 seconds.

If you have a thermometer, measure until the water reaches 96 degrees.

Step 2

Preheat the jug with hot water and discard the water.

Step 3

Add 3-4 tablespoons of ground coffee to the preheated carafe.

If you have a scale, weigh 19 grams of coffee and grind coarsely.

Tip: Get whole bean coffee for the freshest cup possible.

Step 4

Time: 00:00 – 00:30

Start the timer and slowly add the water – be sure to wet all the coffee. Add twice as much water as coffee for blooming *.

With the scale you can measure to pour 38 ml of water precisely.

Mix gently and let sit until the timer reads 30 seconds.

* Blooming: It is the process in coffee brewing in which the gasses from the coffee are released as the water hits the grinds. It causes the grinds to grow & rise. The CO2 that is inside the bean is purged out and replaced with the water and begins the brewing / extraction process.

Step 5

Time: 00:30 – 04:00

Add the rest of the water and locate the plunger in the pitcher. Leave it for 4 minutes and then slowly lower the plunger all the way, then pour the coffee into the cup.

HOT TIP

Time: 00:30 – 04:00

Add the rest of the water and locate the plunger in the pitcher. Leave it for 4 minutes and then slowly lower the plunger all the way, then pour the coffee into the cup.

Most important of all – after pressing, decant all the coffee immediately to avoid the bitterness compound to be extracted.