How to Use a French Press? Million-View Extraction Tips! What Grind Coarseness? Can You Use Boiling Water for Coffee Extraction?

Obviously, the French press can be called the simplest coffee brewing device! With its extremely low price and simple operation process, it has won the favor of a large number of fans.

The French press was born in the 1850s, but at that time, it had a more complex name: "piston filter coffee device." It was invented by two Frenchmen, Mayer and Delforge, in France! After the patent was applied for, in order to better sell it, they gave the device a simpler and clearer name, which is the French press.

From the picture, we can see that the first-generation version of the French press is not much different from the current French press in structure. It is also a container with a plunger filter. It uses immersion extraction by adding coffee grounds and water for a period of soaking, and finally pressing the filter to filter out the coffee liquid, and a cup of coffee is completed! However, since the French press at that time did not think of keeping the filter balanced when pressing down, it is very easy for the filter to shift during use! This situation will cause the coffee grounds to be poured out along with the coffee liquid, creating the effect of a mouth full of coffee grounds. Until the early 20th century, this flaw was fixed by an Italian, and it is the French press with springs that we see today.

The Importance of Parameters

Although making a cup of coffee with a French press is very simple, if you want to make it taste good, you still need to put in some effort. James Hoffmann, author of "World Atlas of Coffee," emphasized in his French press coffee making video on YouTube the importance of various parameters for making a good cup of coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee has shared these contents in previous articles, and everyone can search for them themselves. But the key point is that he listed a French press brewing method, which has been recommended by many coffee enthusiasts, claiming that the coffee made is very close to pour-over coffee! So today, FrontStreet Coffee will test Mr. James Hoffmann's French press coffee extraction method to see if the coffee made is really as delicious as rumored!

Extraction Experiment

This time, FrontStreet Coffee used Ethiopian Gesha Village Red Label, a medium-light roasted fruit-acid type coffee bean! The extraction parameters are as follows:

Coffee dosage: 15g (adjust according to your French press size)
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:16
Grind size: Ek43 10.5 scale, 70% pass-through rate on #20 sieve, sugar-like particles
Water temperature: 100°C
Steeping time: 9 minutes

When we are ready, we can start our extraction!

①: First, pour the coffee grounds and boiling water into the French press in sequence, and start timing, waiting for four minutes.

②: When the time is up, use a spoon to press the coffee grounds still floating on the surface into the water, and then wait again. This waiting time is five minutes.

③: When the time is up, place the lid of the French press on, and then push the filter to the surface of the coffee liquid!

④: After completing the above steps, we can pour out the coffee and enjoy it! Pour the coffee slowly and steadily to ensure minimal release of fine grounds!

Tasting and Evaluation

The whole process is very simple, and the most time-consuming part might be the waiting time. After tasting, FrontStreet Coffee believes that this cup of French press coffee indeed has a good performance. The citrus and strawberry aromas of Gesha Village Red Label are well presented. The mouthfeel is rich and the taste is balanced! Importantly, the extraction is appropriate, and the coffee is neither under-extracted nor has the miscellaneous and bitter taste of over-extraction. Although the parameters seem to suggest high extraction efficiency, after all, the time is long and the water is boiling hot. But in reality, we did not disturb too much during the extraction process, and at the same time, the hot water was continuously cooling down. Therefore, under the mutual offset of various parameters, the extraction efficiency is just right! The coffee did not show negative situations such as under-extraction or over-extraction.

But if you ask whether it can compare to the taste of pour-over coffee, it naturally cannot. After all, their extraction methods are completely different, and there is no need for comparison at all. But if you evaluate it on its own, it is still very good~ Worth a try, after all, it's simple and convenient~

Important Notice :

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