What Does French Press Coffee Mean - Is Hario or Bodum Better for French Press【Tan's French Press Method

The Principle of Using French Press to Brew Coffee

The French press is an immersion brewer: it releases the essence of coffee through complete, continuous contact between water and grounds, steeping rather than filtering the flavor out.

Tips for Choosing a French Press

Filtration quality depends largely on the filter element. A press with a spring in the filter assembly is extremely important for keeping grounds out of the cup — it directly affects how the coffee tastes.

Tan's French Press Method

Step 1: Grind the coffee beans — neither too coarse nor too fine is required; there is no need to fuss over the grind size.

Step 2: Add the grounds to the press, roughly 9-10 grams of coffee per cup.

Step 3: Add hot water at anywhere between 85-95 degrees Celsius, using 150-200 milliliters per cup.

Step 4: Shake the press several times so the grounds mix fully with the hot water. As long as grounds are concentrated and floating on the surface, keep shaking, until essentially no layer of grounds remains on top. The steeping time needs no special attention.

Step 5: Put the lid on and press the filter down. Let it sit for one minute, then pour and drink.

Problem Description

If you feel strong resistance when pressing the filter down, plenty of grounds are still floating on the surface, not yet soaked through. Pressed correctly, the plunger should glide down with barely any pressure.

Tan's method is forgiving about grind size. Grind coarser, and the extraction simply stretches longer to achieve sufficient soaking; grind finer, and the effective steep shortens itself, stopping soon after full extraction. That self-regulation is the beauty of the method.

Editor's Consultation Method

1. Prepare the ground coffee. The key is particle size: grind coarse with a burr grinder. A spiral (conical) burr grinding very uniformly can actually make the ideal result harder to hit. And because the French press filters through a metal mesh rather than paper, its filtration is limited — grind too fine and you will be drinking grounds.

2. Add the coffee. About one teaspoon (7 grams) suits one cup, though 5-10 grams is fine depending on taste. Baristas with deep French press experience all said the same thing: the ratio is yours to adjust. Whether 1:13 or 1:15, the figure is a reference point, not a law. One barista uses 21 grams per brew to finish with 300 milliliters of coffee. Adjust to your own palate!

3. Stir briskly with a wooden stick or plastic chopsticks so the coffee mixes completely with the water. Fresh coffee will bubble as it blends in. Avoid metal implements — they can scratch the glass carafe.

4. Once the coffee is fully mixed, raise the filter screen to the top and cover the pot, letting the coffee steep fully. Small pots take about 3 minutes, large pots about 4 minutes.

5. To prevent splashing, turn the lid's outlet away from the spout, then press the plunger down gently. Shaking the rod at this point lets grounds escape between the mesh and the carafe wall. If the coffee is ground too fine, it will slip through the mesh and the pressure will spike as you press — press too hard and coffee overflows.

6. After the filter reaches the bottom, wait a moment for the grounds to settle. Hold the rod firmly, pour the coffee out, and leave the last of the liquid at the very bottom — that is where the sediment collects.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The French press rewards beans with body and sweetness, and FrontStreet Coffee has two ideal candidates. FrontStreet PWN Golden Mandheling, one of Asia's most famous specialty coffees, is triple hand-sorted plus machine-sorted for uniform, luminous beans; roasted medium-dark, it shows rich spice, caramel, cedar, and dark chocolate, and the immersion method draws out its thick, full body and satisfying oils. FrontStreet suggests a coarse-granulated-sugar grind (about EK43s setting 10.5, or 26 clicks on a hand grinder), a 1:15 ratio — 15 grams of coffee to 225 grams of water — water around 90°C (let boiled water rest 2–3 minutes), and a 4-minute steep before plunging. For a fragrant, brighter cup, FrontStreet Strawberry Candy Geisha, a blend of Costa Rica honey-process and Panama washed Geisha, steeps into rose, citrus, grape, and dried blueberry aromas — and with a splash of milk it turns into strawberry gummy in a glass.