French Press Coffee Brewing Techniques: Understanding the Differences Between French Press and Espresso Coffee

Introduction

Recently, while chatting with customers, FrontStreet Coffee noticed that many coffee enthusiasts want to purchase an espresso machine to make Americano or latte at home, but are discouraged by the price. People buy espresso machines mainly to get a rich coffee base, then add their preferred ingredients according to taste. However, this rich coffee base doesn't necessarily require an espresso machine—it can be achieved with a French press!

Do You Really Need an Espresso Machine to Make Espresso?

Without an espresso machine, we can understand espresso as a very concentrated brew. Therefore, whether using drip or immersion brewing methods, you can obtain high-concentration coffee by reducing the coffee-to-water ratio. Of course, the coffee liquid made this way cannot be compared to espresso from an espresso machine. Whether made with a French press or pour-over method, the richness and body of high-concentration coffee still don't match true espresso, and it cannot achieve the golden crema found on espresso.

Little Science: What is the Crema on Espresso?

When an espresso machine extracts espresso, the coffee grounds are ground extremely fine and extracted under high pressure of up to 9 bar. When hot water passes through the coffee puck, the carbon dioxide in the coffee grounds cannot be released due to the high pressure, creating a supersaturated state where water cannot release the CO₂, which directly dissolves into the coffee liquid. The high pressure also forces the oils contained in the coffee to separate from the coffee puck, and they are carried out by the hot water.

After coffee extraction is complete, when the coffee liquid flows out of the machine, atmospheric pressure returns to normal. The carbon dioxide still remaining in the coffee liquid prepares to return to the air, but encounters the oils in the coffee liquid. The oils trap the carbon dioxide attempting to return to the air. This is how this layer of crema is formed.

Although French press espresso doesn't have golden crema, it can retain the original oils from the coffee. Unlike drip coffee, without paper filtration, the oils and very fine particles in the coffee are retained, resulting in a smooth mouthfeel but lacking some clarity.

How to Make Espresso with a French Press?

Normal French press black coffee typically uses a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio to directly extract coffee with appropriate concentration. Since it requires 4 minutes of steeping, the grind size is 75% retention on a #20 sieve (coarse sugar size) to avoid over-extraction. However, making espresso with a French press requires using a low coffee-to-water ratio to extract high-concentration coffee liquid. Therefore, use 20g of coffee with a 1:4 ratio to extract 75-80g of coffee liquid. The grind size needs to be relatively finer, with 80% retention on a #20 sieve (fine sugar size), water temperature at 92°C, and since the grind is finer, steeping time is reduced to 3 minutes.

How to Make Americano with a French Press?

Coffee made with a French press is considered black coffee and cannot be called Americano; the overall experience is similar to pour-over coffee. FrontStreet Coffee will demonstrate how to make black coffee using Ethiopian Natural Red Cherry with a French press, using a 1:15 coffee-to-water ratio, grind size of 75% retention on a #20 sieve (coarse sugar size), water temperature at 94°C, and 4 minutes steeping time.

Pour the ground coffee into the pot, then add 225ml of hot water. Pull up the plunger, cover with the lid, and wait for 4 minutes. Then slowly press down the plunger until the metal filter reaches 1/4 of the pot height, preventing fine particles at the bottom from rising to the top. After extraction is complete, pour out all the coffee liquid before tasting to avoid the coffee grounds continuing to extract, which would cause bitterness in the coffee.

Coffee flavor profile: Full-bodied texture like berry juice, with noticeable sweetness, black tea-like aftertaste, overall rich and robust, but lacking clarity.

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