How to Make French Press Coffee

Aside from the drip coffee maker and the ever notorious Keurig, the third most popular means of brewing coffee is the french press.  It uses what is called ‘full immersion brewing’ to get the most thorough extraction and the greatest presentation of flavor available from any brewing method.  It’s much more popular in Europe and South America but in the last ten or twelve years has gained significant popularity in the United States.  When I’m teaching people how to make coffee in new brew methods, the french press is one of the first choices that I recommend.

How to Brew Coffee with a French Press

• First and foremost you need to heat water on the stove, using a kettle.  The french press doesn’t have any means of heating water itself so the boiling water needs to be done independently.  Any kettle will do – but I prefer kettles without flowers (flowers are boring).  Heat the water until it is approximately 200 degrees Fahrenheit or not quite boiling.  I usually just wait until steam is billowing out of the kettle but before there is any screeching sound from the kettle.
• Grind coffee for the french press.  For this you will want a grinder with ceramic conical burrs, I personally use a manual conical burr grinder called the Hario Skerton.  These are relatively inexpensive, very durable, and do a much more consistent job grinding coffee beans than a blade grinder will.  When you are grinding for french press you want to grind the coffee very course so that when the wire mesh is pressed down none of the coffee grounds float back up.  We don’t want any coffee grounds in our coffee.
• Once the coffee is ground, dump it into the bottom of the french press.  Pour the hot water over the coffee and allow it to sit for anywhere from three to six minutes (depending on how strong you want it).  Once the time is finished, plunge the wire mesh down, thus trapping all of the coffee grounds underneath.  Now you have a fresh pot of ‘full immersion’ french press coffee.
• You should be aware before hand that because the lid is covering the french press during the brew it does not cool down hardly at all – this has a habit of tricking people who are new.  After you have plunged the wire mesh and the coffee is ready it is important to remember that the coffee will still be extremely hot.  Don’t make the mistake of pouring a cup and drinking it right away.

You may be surprised the first time you drink french press coffee because of how different the flavor is from other methods of brewing coffee.  French press coffee has a certain earthy mouth feel, not unlike a deep red wine.  It rarely has any tendencies towards bitter flavor notes though because it isn’t slow dripped but rather ‘immersed’ and there isn’t any paper filter to secrete chemicals into the coffee.  It is one of the most profoundly drinkable types of coffee and offers a wide range of nuances for the palate.  Try it with different roasts and coffee bean origins and you’ll be able to discover all of the varying flavors coffee can offer.