French Press masterclass. All you need to know about this brewing method
French press is one of the most popular, convenient and inexpensive brewing methods to prepare coffee.
I am a big fan of French press because you don't need much tools or knowledge to brew an excellent cup of coffee. Also, you can use it for other purposes, like texturizing milk, that other machines can not do.
In this article we will give you information about how a French press works, the good and bad aspects, the coffee characteristics and a detailed step by step of how to use it.
Index:
French press 101
How does a French press work?
How much money do I need to buy one?
Which coffee grind should I use?
Pros and cons
Coffee characteristics
Essential care
French press brewing step by step
Conclusions
French press 101
How does a French press work?
The French press works by brewing coffee by immersion. This means that the coffee bean grounds are in contact with the water during the whole brewing process. This is an excellent method to start brewing coffee if you are an amateur because it is very forgiving. Other methods, such as espresso, if you make little mistakes you can ruin your coffee cup.
A French press is made from a glass jar, where coffee and water meet, and a mesh metal filter which allows you to push the beans to the bottom when extraction ends.
How much money do I need to buy one?
As with almost any product you have from cheap options up to expensive ones.
The cheaper ones will give you a worse final result and they are also very propense to break in the short time. Expensive French presses tend to be more durable and with better results.
My recommendation is to buy the best french press that your budget can afford. There are some brands that have several years in the industry, make a high quality product, but that you can find cheaper and also good options.
Another thing you have to have in mind is the use you will give to the French press. Is it going to be your everyday coffee or just a once in a while brew? That will also indicate if you should buy an expensive one or just an average one.
Which coffee grind should I use?
In Coffee Devotion we have a complete article explaining the different sizes of coffee grinds and which one you should use in your machine.
For brewing in French press you should grind your coffee bean coarse, with an approximate measure of 1 mm each particle. Although French press is a forgiving brewing system, if you use a coarser or finer grind you have some risks of under and over extracting your coffee. If you don't know those terms, you can also find a detailed explanation in the article we mentioned before.
Pros and cons
Like any brewing system, French press have some pros and some cons. I believe that the pros are much stronger, but let's analyze them.
Pros
- forgiving brewing system
- Easy cleaning
- Easy to master
- Inexpensive
- Transportable
- You can texturize milk for latte art
Cons
- Can be fragile (glass jar)
- Coffee sludge
- Not so constant results
Although there are some cons, you can easily avoid them. Glass jar won't break if you treat it carefully and coffee sludge always decant, so try not serving the last drops of coffee. Achieving constant results has a solution: always measure your ingredients in every possible way (temperature, grams, time of extraction, grind size, etc.) When you find a formula you like, just repeat it each time.
Coffee characteristics
Coffee brewed in a French press machine has an interesting characteristic: high aroma and body. This happens because the mesh metal filter allows coffee beans oils pass and incorporate to the beverage. This does not happen in common paper filters, where those oils are retained in the strain process.
As we are talking about a method of extraction by immersion, the French press will give us a strong coffee with a pretty high content of caffeine. This is the result of having the coffee beans in contact with the water for several minutes. If you are interested in how much caffeine the coffee has, we recommend this article.
Essential care
Something I love about the French press is that it doesn't need much care. You just need to clean it properly after each use, specially the mesh metal filter, where small particles can get stuck and provide rotten taste to the next brew.
If you decide to use your French press for other liquids (like texturing milk or preparing tea) you have to be super sure you clean it well and the sooner you can. You don't want your next coffee to have strange tastes.
Most French press are 100% dishwasher safe.
French press brewing step by step
Here we share with you step by step how to brew coffee in the French press like a master. The amounts are for a 3 cup machine, but you can increase or decrease your amounts without changing the proportions.
- Preheat the French press: fill the glass jar with hot water and let it sit for a few minutes.
- Measure your coffee beans: for a 3 cup French press you will need between 17 and 19 grams of coffee beans.
- Grind your beans: a coarse grind will be perfect for brewing in the French press. Add them to the glass jar.
- Immersion: pour 290 grams of boiling water over the coffee beans and make sure all of them soak.
- Extraction: put the lead on and let the extraction happen for 4 minutes. In the next brew you can adjust this time if you want stronger or lighter coffee.
- Press plunger: when the extraction time finishes, press slowly the plunger down to the bottom. The mesh metal filter should not press the coffee grounds but just take them to the bottom.
- Serve and enjoy: coffee brewing is done. Now you can enjoy a French press coffee.
Conclusions
All in all, I believe that French press is an amazing brewing system, especially if you are a beginner in homebrewing.
For a relatively low price you can get a tool that will let you brew an excellent coffee and also texturize milk or prepare other infusions. Although there are some disadvantages that we mentioned before, they are easy to deal with and should not represent a problem to you.
Do you already have a French press? Would you buy one?