Despite being a little bit heavy and dense, French Press coffee is decadent and elegant in terms of the taste.
Whether you are a coffee addict or just want to start a refreshing day with a morning cup of joe, when you get to make your own coffee, there is something different.
French Press coffee is easy to brew and almost everyone can do it with a little bit of practice and proper guidance.
If you are new at it, do not get stressed out. You can well learn it.
All you need to do is follow the step-by-step guide that we will be discussing in this very article.
So let’s get started with brewing!
But before we get you there, let us help you have an insight into what a French press coffee maker is and how to make french press coffee.
We guess, you do. So, let’s get started.
What A French Press Coffee is and How It Works
A French Press’s shape is more of a cylindrical beaker which is typically made of stainless steel or glass along with a plunger (piston) that goes all the way down the bottom of the beaker.
Many assume that the plunger is meant to take the flavor out of the coffee grounds by having them compressed, but it does not work like that.
Instead, it accumulates them at the bottom to let the hot water do the rest. As its name suggests, the ‘French’ press is not really French.
The Italian Attilio Calimani has invented this. Back in 1929, this model has been patented and did not undergo any major change.
Now that you have a fair idea about it, it is probably the right time, to begin with, the steps of brewing your coffee beans with the French press coffee maker.
How to Make French Press Coffee
French Press Instructions that You Need to Follow
First step: Wash the French press coffee brewer using hot water
As you get started, first you need to either rinse the beaker with hot water or fill the beaker with water and let it boil.
That’s how you clean it and prepare it for further brewing. To get the best quality, make sure the boiling temperature remains stable.
Right after you finish washing the beaker, start the grinding process. You can pick any sort of coffee as you prefer.
Second step: Grind coffee beans to grounds
Grind your coffee like breadcrumbs to get the best results. Suppose there is one liter of hot water, use around 70 grams of coffee grounds.
As it is all about the taste of the coffee which matters most, using the standard amount of ingredients is a must.
After finishing brewing your coffee beans more than one time, you will get to know the exact amount of coffee grounds to be added according to your taste.
Then empty your beaker.
Third step: Put your coffee grounds into the French press coffee maker
It is the time when you are about to brew your coffee.
Once you are done with throwing out the hot water, start by adding coffee grounds.
In two (2) different ways you can add coffee grounds to it:
- Gradually add hot water or
- Fill your beaker with it from the beginning
Maybe it has a little or no impact on its taste, still adding hot water gradually enables the coffee grounds to release its flavor more quickly and to soak well.
In light of this, you will have to add water at least twice the number of coffee grounds.
For instance, you need to add around 140 grams of water for 70 grams of coffee grounds.
This method is commonly recognized as “bloom”- a process of degassing of coffee, in which the coffee grounds are hit using hot water.
Take a note:
Do not take it as an obligation! It depends on whether or not you prefer blooming or just to add water all at once. It is totally up to you.
Well, you can go for both the ways or maybe one of these two ways.
Either way, you are the one who is going to taste it.
So make a choice depending on how you like it most.
Fourth step: Start stirring the coffee bloom
When you are working with a glass made French press coffee, stir the bloom using a spoon made of wood to avoid cracking the glass.
It will take just 35-40 seconds to get your coffee bloomed. This is when you need to stir it to sink it down the bottom of the beaker.
It does not need to float. You will sense an amazing smell coming out of it, turning it to another advantage that you get by brewing the coffee as a whole.
Expert tip: Coffee grounds are if not wet well; they are more likely to float on the water surface.
This makes your coffee tasteless and dull.
Fifth step: Further add water
Now you need to pour into the hot water until the beaker is completely filled with it.
Step back and give it at least 4 minutes. Well, not more than that.
You can rely on a timer to maintain accuracy.
When you work with a French press coffee maker, this is the standard time for brewing.
Expert tip: Using a French press coffee maker has its own set of advantages you can count on.
One of the most significant ones is you can experiment with your choices and tastes.
This is the best thing about it as you can play around with the ways of coffee brewing and see what suits you best.
Sixth step: Press the piston
When it comes to brewing coffee using a French press, most people keep repeating a very common mistake by pressing the plunger as quickly as they can.
However, it does not work like that. Brewing itself is a gentle process and takes a great deal of care. The quicker you press the plunger, the bitterer your coffee grounds will be.
Instead, press the piston gently. At times the coffee grounds tend to be thicker, making it harder to press. Do not hurry.
Pull up the plunger slowly and press again. Your coffee will be ready once the plunger gets to the bottom.
Seventh step: Pour out your coffee
As soon as you reach the bottom you need to pour your coffee unless it will be brewed unnecessarily.
To get the best results, let the coffee grounds settle at the bottom for less than a minute or so.
Pour your coffee into cups followed by washing the beaker with hot water. That is all.
Some Benefits of French Press Coffee
There are a couple of advantages of using a French press to make your morning delight.
- The French Press coffee maker comes with no filters. Filters usually prevent the coffee grounds to be infiltrated in the drink, often in the presence of these filters, some essential oils present in coffee beans get filtered. Those essential oils are rich in antioxidants. Not to mention, these antioxidants also get filtered.
- The brewing temperature remains steady in the French Press coffee maker that helps your coffee grounds release the best flavors adding in your cup of joe. This is the very reason why the taste of your coffee is pleasant when you make it using a French Press.
- Another useful benefit of a French Press is it requires very little maintenance. This does not even cost you a fortune while repairing it. It is as simple as anyone could ever ask for. This is why; the French Press is cheaper than that of the high performing espresso makers. If you do not want to spend dollars in an espresso maker just to make your coffee, by all means, go for it.
- There is another thing you will love about a French press is the taste and amount of caffeine released into the coffee. This is simply because of the hot water, in which coffee grounds are dipped in – this helps release more caffeine. Yet excessive caffeine consumption leads to cardiovascular diseases.
However, caffeine has multiple benefits, if only it is consumed in a moderate quantity.
In fact, caffeine has the potential to even prevent Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s as well according to some studies.
Nonetheless, these research studies are inconclusive.
Cleaning Techniques of French Press Coffee Maker
First thing first, never wash out rest of the coffee grounds using your hands.
Another thing you need to take care of is – do not drain the coffee grounds into your kitchen sink.
So where are they safe to be disposed at?
You can harness the coffee grinds (wasted) by making them fertilizer for your plants.
Simply put them on your flower pots. This saves your money quite a lot.
Now let us begin with the process of how to clean a French Coffee. First, fill the beaker with moderately hot water and then add a little soap.
Do not use your hands to clean it. Instead, let the piston look after this. Gently press and release the plunger, repeat this for more than one time.
In this way, you can finish cleaning the entire French Press.
Avoiding Bitterness
Does bitter coffee make you feel disgusted?
Do you prefer sweet coffee?
There are many who do not use sugar in their coffee.
However, this is simply not for people like that.
If bitter coffee does not suit your taste buds, here is what you need to do to make sweet coffee:
Buy quality coffee:
To get the ball the rolling, you need to invest in good quality coffee.
Avoid coffee brands that are of bitter taste. Buying whole coffee beans is, indeed, a must.
Make sure the package of the coffee is sealed tightly. If not, your coffee would taste bitter.
The best thing what you can do to avoid this is grinding the coffee yourself.
Extract your coffee as soon as the brewing gets done:
As soon as your coffee gets brewed, make sure you pour out your coffee into cups.
If you let those coffee grounds soak more hot water, they will become bitterer.
Avoid using scorching water:
Using scorching water makes your coffee grounds bitter as they get excessively burnt.
Instead, use moderately warm water and how do you make sure that the water you are adding is at its optimal level?
Just boil the water and rest let it rest for at least a minute.
And there you go! Your water is ready to be added.
Wash the French Press every time you use it:
Cleaning the French Press after every use is mandatory.
The residual coffee grounds and the caffeine oil are responsible for making your coffee bitter.
Use a quality grinder:
Bigger chunks of coffee get brewed slower as compared to finer grounds.
Big chunks of coffee taste very bitter.
And the worst part is when you end up chewing them; it feels nothing less than hell.
Final Remarks
In America, 400 million coffee cups are consumed daily.
The number is huge, right? What about all over the world?
Well, around 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed every day.
So isn’t it quite obvious that almost every people yearn for coffee?
There are multiple ways in which you can brew your coffee.
A French Press Coffee Maker is one of them and no doubt, a good idea.
It is one of the cheapest options that one can reap the benefits of.
It is worth every penny for coffee lovers worldwide.
The step-by-step guide mentioned before would surely help you to make coffee for the first time using a French Press coffee maker.
And once you become a pro, believe it or not, you would not regret it.
So what are you still thinking?
Start brewing your coffee using a French Press coffee maker and see the magic after a couple of tries.
Are you thinking of exchanging your drip machine to get a French Press coffee maker? What works better for you?
Let us know what you think about both of the products.
