The classic French Press is one of the easiest ways to make coffee at home or on the go and we've got a simple recipe to make your brew even easier, and more importantly, consistent.
French Press is a form of what is called a "full-immersion" brewing process, where coffee grounds are steeped in hot water for a given period of time. Full immersion brewing techniques require a coarser grind due to the extended contact time with water and generally tend to yield a fuller body. As French Press uses a metal strainer instead of a paper filter, oils from the coffee that would otherwise be filtered out, remain in the finished cup, resulting in an unmistakably creamy mouthfeel.
Who's it for?
French Press is great If you love a fuller bodied coffee and don't mind a little sediment in the bottom of your cup. These classic brewers are also very handy for traveling and for coffee drinkers that want to maintain a minimalist set up.
We recommend medium to dark roasts for French Press, as it accentuates the body and chocolatey notes of these roasts and can tend to mute some of the more delicate flavors of lighter roasts.
The Recipe
Gather the Goods:
- Freshly Roasted FreeForm Coffee
- French Press (We're partial to this one, but any will do)
- Burr Grinder
- Gram Scale (a tablespoon for measuring will work in a pinch)
- Timer
- Filtered Water
- Spoon or stirring tool
Brewing Instructions:
- Bring ~1L of filtered water to a boil. Set aside and let cool a few degrees to around 200°F.
- Grind 50g of coffee on a medium-coarse setting and place coffee in empty French Press. If you don't have a grinder, measure 10 level Tbsp of coffee grounds.
- Start timer.
- Place French Press with ground coffee in it on a zeroed out scale and evenly saturated grounds with ~700g of filtered water. If you don't have a scale, add 3 x 8oz cups, or 24 fluid ounces, of hot water. Lightly place the plunger on top of the vessel to keep the heat from escaping, but do not plunge yet!
- At 6 minutes, remove the plunger and break the "crust" of the steeping coffee with a spoon or other stirring tool and stir the brewing coffee 3-5 times.
- Replace the plunger and gently press down until the filter reaches the bottom.
- Immediately pour brewed coffee into mugs to serve or decant into a serving vessel.
Notes:
- This recipe is based on a standard 32oz French Press, and is enough to brew two full mugs. If you have a different sized French Press or would like to brew more or less, simply adjust the water and coffee as desired, but be sure to maintain the same ratio of water to coffee. For this recipe we are using a 14:1 ratio, meaning 14 grams of water to 1 gram of coffee. Simply divide your water weight by 14 to determine your coffee weight.
- While many people are accustomed to using volume to brew at home (cups of water and scoops of coffee), a small investment in a gram scale will do wonders for the consistency of your coffee. We believe an affordable coffee scale such as the OXO 6lb Precision Scale or the next level Acaia Pearl Scale is well worth the investment and will be useful for all of your future brewing adventures. However, if you're intent on keeping things simple and your costs down (or are traveling and don't have access to a scale), simply remember to use 3 level scoops of ground coffee for each 8oz of hot water water in your French Press.
- Lastly, taste the coffee and adjust the recipe to suit your preferences! If you find the brew to be too bitter or tannic, you may need to grind coarser. Likewise if the plunger is difficult to press down, your grinds are probably too fine. Test, adjust, and test again - it won't be long until you find that sweet spot!
Happy sipping!