26 Jan French Press: A Low Stress Way to Enjoy Your Coffee
Whether the French press method of brewing came to light in the early or mid-1800s is up for speculation, there are patent records from 1852 wherein a Paris merchant and metal craftsman filed a joint patent for a device that filtered coffee using a piston action. It wasn’t until the late 1920s that the French Press began surfacing around Europe, with improvements being made well into the 1950s. It took Americans a bit longer to acclimate to this brewing method, receiving recognition and direction by food critics well into the 1980s and 90s, indicating possible drawbacks to the method. Even today it is still seen as a method used mainly by connoisseurs. Despite that, it is one of the easier methods for brewing fresh roasted coffee.
We will demonstrate the classic 8-cup Chemex using our Sumatra Black Satin coffee, using SCAA dosing parameters.
This is what you will need to brew a tasty French Press coffee:
French Press
Filtered Water
Long-handled Spoon or Stir-stick
Burr Grinder (recommended)
Kettle (gooseneck works best)
Scale
Timer
Favorite Mug
Step 1: Heat the filtered water to 195°-205° F, which is just to shy of boiling. We will use 672 grams of water for the brewing process, but heat extra to allow for preheating the French Press. Once the water has heated to the appropriate temperature, pour some into the French Press and carefully and slowly swish around to heat the decanter. This water can be poured into your mug after a minute or so after it has warmed the French Press.
Step 2: Tare your scale then weigh out 40 grams of coffee. Grind the beans using a “coarse” grind setting.
Step 3: Pour the coffee grounds into French Press and place on scale. Tare the scale again.
Step 4: Pour half of the water into the French Press and allow the coffee to bloom, or de-gas, for about 30 seconds. Stir the grounds to increase flavor extraction.
Step 5: Pour the remainder of the water into the French Press. Place the lid onto the press, pressing the plunger down enough to create a seal so the brewing can take place.
Step 6: Set the timer, and when it reaches 4 minutes press down the plunger slowly.
Step 7: Pour into your favorite mug and enjoy! There’s enough to share, if you want to.
Step 8 [optional]: Transfer any remaining brewed coffee into another glass decanter so the brewing process does not continue and to avoid bitter tasting coffee.