How to Froth Milk with French Press, French Press Latte Art, French Press Principles and Usage Methods

"Boss! Is there a tool that can create hot milk foam without using an espresso machine?"

"Try the 20-yuan French press, it comes with a spoon."

"Huh?"

The French press, also known as a French press pot. According to James Hoffman in his book "The World Atlas of Coffee": It can be traced back to the 1850s in France, when two Frenchmen, Mayer and Delforge, invented the "piston filter coffee device" and applied for a patent, then named it "French press" and began selling it; However, initial sales were not satisfactory because when pouring coffee, if the plunger was not held down to keep the filter screen stable, the center of gravity of the filter screen would shift, causing coffee particles to flow into the cup through the gap, easily resulting in a mouthful of coffee grounds with every sip.

It wasn't until the 20th century that Italians registered a patent for a modified version. The improved French press filter screen had an additional set of springs, which increased mobility while ensuring the balance of the filter screen. This way, when the plunger was pressed down, the filter screen could be level with the bottom of the container, no longer creating escape routes for coffee particles. With this improvement, people gradually began to recognize the convenience of the French press.

Its structure is not complicated! The pot body, plunger, and spring plate with a metal filter screen; The method of making coffee is equally simple: put in the coffee grounds, pour in water, press the plunger, and the coffee is ready!

However, today's focus is not on brewing coffee with the French press! The focus is on its other uses - "frothing milk." These past two days, friends have been asking in the background how to create latte art without an espresso machine, so we've brought out the king of cost-effectiveness—the French press~

Preparation materials: French press, latte art pitcher, milk, espresso concentrate, any heating source, thermometer.

Step 1: Extract Espresso

First, let's extract the espresso. (Without a coffee machine, there are many ways to get espresso concentrate, such as using a moka pot or coffee capsules.)

Step 2: Heat the Milk

How to measure the amount of milk to use? We just need to subtract the espresso weight from the capacity of the latte cup we'll be using. For example, FrontStreet Coffee will use a 250ml capacity cup later, we subtract the espresso weight of 30ml, which gives us about 220ml of milk. You can use any heating tool to heat the milk to 68 degrees ± 3 degrees. This temperature is just right to activate the lactose in the milk, making the milk sweeter, and after frothing, the temperature will be just right for drinking.

Step 3: Froth the Milk

Pour the heated milk into the French press for pressing.

Key points: We all know that the process of frothing milk with an espresso machine's steam wand is mainly divided into: air injection, texturing, and integration. The French press is no exception—it also involves these three steps. The difference is that with a French press, these three steps need to be achieved separately, rather than all at once like with an espresso machine's steam wand.

Air injection: Press rapidly from top to bottom 5 times to inject air (this creates foam for latte thickness; for cappuccino thickness, you can add a few more presses). The pressing amplitude should be as shown in the image below.

Texturing: Keep the metal filter screen below the foam surface and press continuously until the foam reaches the desired thickness. This step cuts the foam, breaking it down into numerous tiny bubbles, resulting in a final foam texture that is dense and creamy.

Step 4: Transfer to Pitcher

Pour the pressed milk into the latte art pitcher, repeatedly transferring back and forth. (The purpose of this transfer is to fully integrate the milk and foam.)

Step 5: Latte Art

Now you can start creating latte art.

Besides making hot milk foam, the French press can also make cold milk foam! However, there's a disadvantage when pressing—it's quite tiring for your hands...

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FrontStreet Coffee

No. 10, Bao'an Qianjie, Yandun Road, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473