By Show Me Step by StepPublished
Based on a video by Daddy Got Coffee.
The French press is forgiving in the way that matters and unforgiving in the way you notice. Immersion brewing more or less stops extracting once the coffee reaches a certain concentration, so it is genuinely difficult to ruin the flavour. What it does do, readily, is put grit in your cup.
Search for a coffee ratio and you will land on 1:16. That is the filter coffee number. Immersion is slightly less efficient at pulling flavour out of the grounds, so a French press wants 1:14 or 1:15 - a little more coffee for the same water.
This is the advice that surprises people. Coarse grinding is supposed to stop grit, but the dust that causes grit is a byproduct of the grinder itself, not of the setting you chose. On cheaper grinders, going coarser can even produce more of it. A finer grind extracts better, and the grit is dealt with separately.
Plunge slowly and the coffee bed itself acts as a second filter. Break the crust, wait for everything to settle, then plunge - cleaner, but it costs you ten minutes. Or lay a paper filter over the mesh screen, which is the closest thing to a guaranteed result. Whichever you pick, decant into a jug at the end rather than pouring straight from the press.
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Use one part coffee to 14 or 15 parts water. The 1:16 ratio you find online is for filter coffee, and immersion brewing needs a bit more coffee than that.
Tip
One part coffee to 14 or 15 parts water. The 1:16 figure you find online is for pour-over and drip, and it leaves French press tasting thin.
For a 650ml press that works out to 40 to 45 grams of coffee. A cheap kitchen scale with a built-in timer is the single best consistency upgrade here.
Tip
650ml of water needs 40 to 45 grams of coffee. A cheap scale with a built-in timer is the single biggest consistency upgrade you can make.
Grind with a burr grinder if you can. A spinning blade pulverises some beans into dust and leaves others coarse, and that dust is where the grit comes from.
Tip
A spinning blade pulverises whatever sits near it into dust and leaves the rest coarse. If a blade grinder is what you have, shake it like a cocktail shaker while it runs to even things out.
Grind finer than the coarse setting everyone recommends. A finer grind extracts more efficiently, and the dusty fines are a byproduct of the grinder rather than the grind size.
Tip
Finer than the coarse setting everyone recommends. Most of the grounds are still far larger than the holes in the mesh - the dust is the problem, and it comes from the grinder, not the setting.
Tip the ground coffee into the empty press and start your timer as the water goes in.
Tip
Grounds into the empty press first, then start timing as the water goes in.
Fill the press about halfway with hot water to wet all the grounds.
Tip
Enough water to wet everything. You are aiming to saturate the bed, not fill the press yet.
Give the slurry a good stir. This breaks up dry pockets and makes the extraction more even.
Tip
This breaks up dry pockets and is a genuine improvement to extraction, not a ritual.
Top the press up to full and leave it for four to five minutes. Immersion brewing self-limits, so a little extra time will not over-extract it.
Tip
Four to five minutes. Because immersion self-limits, running long is far less damaging here than it would be on a pour-over.
Press the plunger down very slowly. A fast plunge stirs up fines and forces them through the mesh, which is what puts grit in the cup.
Tip
The crust itself traps fines on the way down if you go slowly enough. Force it and you push sediment straight through the mesh.
For a genuinely clean cup, lay a paper coffee filter over the mesh screen before you plunge. A flat circular filter is easiest to seat.
Tip
Lay a flat circular filter over the mesh screen before plunging. You will feel more resistance - that is expected. Do not force it.
Pour the finished coffee into a serving jug before it goes into cups. That evens out the strength from top to bottom and leaves the last gritty drops behind.
Tip
Pouring into a jug evens out strength from top to bottom and leaves the last gritty mouthful behind in the press.
Keep going
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How to Use a French Press
How to Use a French Press
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Question 1 of 5
What coffee to water ratio does this guide recommend?
Quick reference
5 questions, answers, and one-line explanations. Tap to expand.
1.What coffee to water ratio does this guide recommend?
Answer: 1 part coffee to 14 or 15 parts water
Immersion brewing needs a bit more coffee than the 1:16 quoted for filter.
2.How long should the coffee sit before you plunge?
Answer: Four to five minutes
Immersion self-limits, so a little extra time will not over-extract it.
3.Why does a burr grinder beat a blade grinder here?
Answer: It grinds evenly with far less dust
Blades pulverise some beans to dust, and that dust is the grit in your cup.
4.What happens if you push the plunger down fast?
Answer: Fines get forced through into the cup
A quick plunge stirs the fines up and pushes them straight through the mesh.
5.Besides plunging slowly, what gives you the cleanest cup?
Answer: A paper filter on the mesh, then decant
The filter catches fines and decanting leaves the gritty last drops behind.
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