Brewing Great Coffee with a French Press: As Simple as Making Tea!

Although French press coffee may seem simple to make, it's actually genuinely simple!!! It doesn't require strict brewing techniques or methods—just add the corresponding materials and let them steep, and it will show you just how easy making delicious coffee can be. That's why the French press is often an essential tool for lazy people like those at FrontStreet Coffee!

The History of French Press

Speaking of the French press, its origins can be traced back to the 1850s in France, when two Frenchmen, Mayer and Delforge, jointly invented the "piston-filter coffee device." After applying for a patent, they officially named and sold it as the French press.

However, this version of the French press had a flaw: when pressing down to make coffee, it couldn't maintain the filter screen's center of gravity, causing coffee grounds to easily slip through the gaps. Drinking coffee often meant getting a mouthful of grounds with every sip, so sales were dismal. It wasn't until the 20th century that Italians corrected this "bug" by adding a set of springs to the filter screen, which not only kept it balanced when pressed down but also increased its sliding ability. As a result, the coffee made by this version of the French press no longer left people with grounds in their mouths, and its convenience and efficiency immediately gained popularity. This is also the version we see today.

French Press Structure and Brewing Process

From its appearance, we can see that the French press has a simple structure. It consists of a pot body that holds coffee and a plunger with a metal filter screen and spring plate. The coffee-making steps are also very simple: add grounds → pour water → wait → press down → complete! However, beginners sometimes end up with French press coffee that's disappointing in flavor.

Since we don't make any major movements during the brewing process that could affect extraction, after ruling out human factors, we know: the problem must lie in the parameters.

Key Brewing Parameters

Grind Size

First comes the grind! In terms of grinding, most French press tutorials we can find online generally recommend coarse grinding! Similarly, FrontStreet Coffee also recommends beginners use a relatively coarse grind for French press coffee: a 70% pass-through rate with a #20 sieve is a suitable grind size for French press steeping, which can be analogized to raw sugar grinding.

Of course, it's not that fine grinding can't be used, but coarse grinding offers more room for error and can reduce the probability of over-extraction flavors due to excessive steeping! Fine grinding is like a double-edged sword: when done well, the flavor is extremely rich; when done poorly, it's full of bitterness! Besides being prone to over-extraction, it has another disadvantage—too many fine particles. Because the gaps in the metal filter screen are not as small as those in filter paper, these fine particles can easily pass through the filter screen and enter the coffee liquid. As a result, while the coffee may gain some body, it will also lose a lot of clarity.

Water Temperature

Since French press water is poured all at once and there are no stirring actions during the steeping process that would increase extraction rate, we need to raise the water temperature slightly to compensate for this extraction rate, just 1-2°C higher than regular pour-over temperature. For medium-light roast coffee beans, the recommended water temperature is 92-94°C; while for medium-dark roast coffee beans, 89-90°C is sufficient.

Coffee-to-Water Ratio

If we need to adjust coffee concentration, we must mention the coffee-to-water ratio! The 1:16 ratio is commonly used for French press and yields a coffee concentration that's quite appropriate. The coffee extracted with this ratio will have a concentration between 1.1-1.2%. For friends who prefer stronger coffee like those at FrontStreet Coffee, you might want to try the 1:15 ratio, which will produce coffee with a richer, fuller flavor.

Steeping Time

Finally comes the steeping time! As mentioned earlier, due to the lack of manual stirring, to extract substances from the coffee, we need to increase extraction rates in other areas, and steeping time is another factor that needs to be increased! Under the same conditions, the longer the steeping time, the higher the extraction rate, and of course, with higher extraction rates, the probability of over-extraction also increases.

According to FrontStreet Coffee's tests, if using medium-light roast coffee beans, with the other parameters mentioned above, controlling the steeping time to around 4 minutes would be more appropriate; if using medium-dark roast coffee beans, then controlling the steeping time to about 3.5 minutes will suffice. These two time points can fully extract the coffee flavors corresponding to their roast degrees while avoiding the bitterness that comes from over-steeping~

Final Thoughts

After using the French press, you must not forget to deep clean it! Because after steeping, coffee oils and other substances will remain on the metal filter screen, and if not cleaned promptly, oxidation can easily occur!

Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee recommends disassembling and cleaning all parts individually after use. This not only ensures delicious coffee production but also provides some health protection~ Besides making coffee, it can also be used to steep tea and froth hot or cold milk for latte art, combining numerous advantages in one device, and crucially, its price is very suitable—simply too competitive!!

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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