The French press, also known as a cafetière or coffee plunger, is probably the most underrated method of brewing coffee. It is cheap, easy, repeatable and just about everyone has one at home.
Considering its name, it seems somewhat surprising to discover that the most familiar version of the French press was invented and patented by an Italian called Attilio Calimani in 1929. However, a very similar brewer had been patented first by two Frenchmen, Mayer and Delforge, in 1852.
A French press is an infusion brewer. With most methods of brewing coffee, the water passes through the grounds. Here the water and coffee steep together, which helps produce a more uniform extraction.
The other relatively unique aspect of the French press is the way that it filters the grounds from the brewing liquid: by using a metal mesh. Due to the relatively large holes in the mesh, more of the non-soluble material from the coffee gets into the cup. The advantage of this is you get a little of the coffee oil and some tiny suspended pieces of coffee in the cup, which gives the resulting brew a bigger, richer body and texture. The disadvantage is what puts many people off of the French press: the sludge. At the bottom of the cup you will often find a reasonable quantity of silty particles of coffee that (if accidentally drunk) are quite unpleasant and sandy in the mouth.
The brewing method opposite is designed to achieve a great brew with the minimum amount of sludge. It requires a little more work and patience but you will be rewarded with a great cup of coffee that will give you easy access to all the unique flavours and characteristics of the bean.
Brewing coffee in a French press results in a drink of uniform extraction. The metal mesh allows for small particles to flavour the water, creating a rich body and texture.
THE FRENCH PRESS METHOD
Ratio: 75g/l. I recommend a slightly higher ratio of coffee to water when using an infusion brewer if you want to produce a brew with a strength similar to a pour-over brewer.
Grind: Medium/caster (superfine) sugar. Many people grind their beans very coarsely when brewing in a French press (see Grind Size), but I don’t think this is necessary unless your grinder produces a lot of very fine pieces and your brews quickly turn bitter.
1 Grind the coffee just before you start brewing. Be sure to weigh the coffee first. 2 Boil a kettle of fresh water with a low mineral content, suitable for brewing coffee. 3 Put the ground coffee in the French press and place it on the scales. A
4 Pour in the correct amount of water, weighing as you pour so you achieve the ratio of 75g/l. Pour relatively quickly and try to get all the coffee wet. 5 Leave the coffee to steep for four minutes. During this time the coffee will float to the top to form a crust-like layer. 6 After four minutes, take a large spoon and stir the crust at the top. This will cause most of the coffee to fall to the bottom of the brewer. 7 A little foam and some floating grounds will remain on the top. Use the spoon to scoop them off and discard them. B
8 Wait another five minutes. The coffee would be too hot to drink anyway, and leaving it in the brewer allows more and more of the coffee and fine particles to sink to the bottom. 9 Place the mesh plunger in the top of the beaker, but do not plunge. Plunging will create turbulence, which will stir up all the silty coffee at the bottom of the pot. 10 Pour the coffee slowly through the mesh into the cup(s). Until you get close to the bottom, this liquid will have very little silt in it. If you can resist pouring out the very last bit you will end up with a delicious, flavourful brew of coffee that has very little silt. C 11 Allow the coffee to cool in the cup(s) a little, then enjoy.
Many people recommend pouring out the entire pot once the brew is done, to prevent the grounds continuing to steep and start to overextract. If you follow the instructions above the coffee should not continue to brew or add negative flavours, so this is not necessary.