The French Press Technique

The French press method of making coffee is quite simple and always produces a rich and deep flavored mug of coffee, as long as you follow some simple rules.

Equipment needed

1. A French press, there are many options online. Choose a good glass one that looks sturdy and has a good mesh plunger. Maintain the plunger by cleaning it after each use with running tap water. I wouldn’t recommend washing it in a dishwasher.
2. Source of boiling water. I use my trusty electric kettle.
3. A long spatula or chopstick (my personal tool of choice)
4. As always a very good grinder.

The Method

1. Get the water to boil, measure water based on how many cups you want to make and how much coffee you are using.
2. Grind around 12-15gms of fresh coffee beans in your grinder per cup of water. That’s around 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of coffee beans. Set the grinder to get a pretty coarse grind. If you use the Baratza, you can set it to size #25.
3. Pour the ground coffee into the French press
4. Once the water reaches a boil ~200 F, pour about half the total amount into the French Press
5. Let the coffee bloom for around 10-15 seconds after which you can stir it with your spatula/chopstick. Just a quick whisk to incorporate all the coffee into the water.
6. Pour the rest of the water into the French Press and put the top back on. Do not push the plunger yet!!
   
7. Use your timer of choice – cell phone for most of you and set it to between 3 and 4 minutes based on your taste. 4 minutes would provide full extraction, going lower reduces the extraction time for slightly weaker brews. I would not recommend going over 4 minutes.
8. Once the timer goes off, push the plunger down gently and immediately pour out the coffee. Remember the coffee continues to brew even with the plunger down.
9. Enjoy the perfectly brewed goodness!!