You’re getting a great cup of coffee when you use an automatic coffee maker, but are you tasting every single part of the bean? With a French Press coffee maker you can experience what it’s like to enjoy a very flavourful cup of coffee, but instead of your standard brew you’ll drink a cup that’s aromatic, delicious, and may even include a tiny piece of bean or two.
Why choose a French press?
A French press is a slow method of brewing coffee. Because you grind your beans, add them to the pot, and let the hot water slowly extract the flavour, you’re going to taste every part of the bean. This is great if you’ve bought a bag of really aromatic coffee beans and you really want to experience what they’re like.
Some coffee lovers have said that using a French press lets you connect to all five of your senses while drinking coffee. The mesh filter will do a great job of filtering out the grinds, but you may taste bits of them when you’re drinking. Those tiny bits, called ‘fines,’ can really add to the flavour of your cup.
How does a French press work?
The best French press coffee follows a tried and true recipe. Thankfully, that tried and true method is also really easy for anyone to do.
Grind your coffee beans
Step one is to use your coffee grinder to grind your beans to the coarsest grind possible. Expert tip: for the best French press coffee, your grinds should look like tiny grains of sea salt.
How many grinds should you add?
Next, you’ll decide how many grinds to add to your French press. That will depend on how much coffee you’d like. The amount you use will vary on how strong you like your coffee, but a general rule is to use one heaping tablespoon per 200 ml or 6.7 oz of water. Add your grinds to your French press.
Boil your water and pour
Boil your water in your kettle and pour it straight off the boil. Set a timer as soon as you add your water. Stir the water and coffee grinds at the 30 to 45 second mark. You’ll notice the coffee isn’t floating anymore.
Steep for 6 to 8 minutes
Once your coffee is steeping, the real waiting game begins. You can steep it for 3 to 4 minutes, but for a full bodied brew, you’ll want to set your timers for 6 to 8 minutes. That will allow for the best flavour extraction from the bean.
Plunge your French press
A French press uses a fine mesh filter to push the coffee grinds down from where they are floating in the hot water. Some French presses have a single filter, while others have two or three filters that ensure almost every spec of coffee is removed.
When your time is up, you put your plunger in and give it a plunge gentle from top to bottom. Once you’ve done that, all that’s left to do is pour a cup of your French press coffee and enjoy!
Types of French press
Making the best French press coffee starts with choosing your own French press, and there are quite a few different types.
From elegant Bodum and Frieling French presses with an old style percolator or clear glass look to durable plastic hot or cold French presses you can take with you on the go, you can choose one or several French presses for your kitchen.
French presses aren’t just great for the weekend. Because of how quickly they can brew up the perfect pot of coffee, you can use them anytime. Take a look at all of the different styles of French press you can find on Best Buy, and get ready to enjoy the perfect cup of coffee.
