Most days recently are French Press days. It just matters what happens to the coffee after the brewing. Do I consume it hot and black? Or poured over ice and slightly diluted. Step one is to grind the coffee, hopefully in your own burr grinder, grind the coffee coarse. Finer ground coffee is for espresso and other methods of brewing. Below you see about 4 servings of coffee. I have a 34 oz french press, and after some trial and error, I found that makes about 4 mugs of coffee.
Next up, put the coffee into the carafe If you grind the coffee too finely you will get lots of sediment in your coffee. and no one wants gravel in their coffee. The benefit of the French Press that I use is that it has a double screen, so it filters out all but the smallest of particles.
The next step is to boil the water. Usually, you want your water at 210 degrees Fahrenheit. so the easiest way to get there is to boil the water, 212 degrees, and let it sit for a couple of seconds to cool down. Pour slowly over the ground, making sure you hit everything. Some people like to stage their pours, wetting the grounds first and then adding the rest of the water, I don’t subscribe to that method. I pour it all in slowly at once.
Once you have the carafe filled up almost to the top you let the coffee sit and brew. At this point, if you are using fresh ground coffee and roasted you will see a light foam appear at the top of the carafe. I have heard some people say that this is carbon dioxide escaping fresh coffee, but I can’t be certain. All I know is the fresher the coffee the more foam I get. This is normal. and once the coffee has sat for 3 – 4 minutes you can put the plunger on the top and begin to slowly press down. To get this shot I held the lid up, but to prevent spilling you should keep it down.
As you press down on the plunger you will compress the spent grounds to the bottom of the carafe. Leave the plunger down. I heard once that someone suggested pulling the plunger up and pressing it down again, to better mix the coffee, but after trying it several times the only thing that happened was I got more sediment in my coffee. Less gravel is a good thing.
Now pour it out into your favorite mug, over ice or straight and enjoy. Today is a good day for some French Press coffee. I find that the ritual of brewing is almost as relaxing as the coffee is itself. There is joy in the journey. Enjoy and leave a comment about your favorite way to enjoy coffee.