How to Use a French Press
How to Use a French Press
21 comments
-
There's always syndrome with a more particular, exotic, and "superior" brewing technique than your's. Pour over has gotten that way, with people debating the superiority of the same brand of paper filter based on where it was made.
I have manual hand-press espresso machine I've had for years, but my daily go-to is a cold brew. My process is
- GRIND ALL THE COFFEE
- Dump ALL THE COFFEE into a big, plastic bucket
- Go to bed
- Wake up and decant the results into a big pitcher
Preparing the coffee for drinking is putting a kettle on, pouring a quarter cup of brewed into a cup and topping off with boiling water.
The prep is easy and I do it about once a week; the brewed concentrate is enough to last me that long, and the day-to-day preparing a cup is almost as easy and fast as a pod machine.
It's funny that the process I used when I started with the espresso machine is far more involved and uses many more tools: scale; grinder; portafilter; newish little funnel attachment that's really cleaned up filling the portafilter; newish little stirrer that's improved the grounds distribution; tamper; rubber mat on which the tamping occurs; newish puck screen that dramatical improves keeping the head clean; espresso machine; knock box. What a laborious process, and it's only gotten more steps and devices over the decades.
But now, my daily method is just cold brewed from the fridge and boiling water from the kettle. And the only tools are a scale, grinder, and an Oxo cold brewer.
-
Scoops? SCOOPS??? How are you people making coffee without a weighing scale?
-
Precisely. No matter what vantage point you are at there is someone just a bit higher casting judgement down upon you when it comes to coffee.
-
-
I follow James Hoffman's instructions:
- 60~70g of ground coffee per liter of water
- pour the water and stir
- wait 5 minutes
- stir the top to break the "crust" and let some more ground sink
- wait 3 minutes
- soup the foam away
- place the lid but DO NOT press ! Just bring the filter to the surface of the liquid
- serve
-
If he didn't change it after his 8 year old yt video his instructions are definitely different:
- no stirring directly after pouring
- wait for 4 minutes
- then stir
- wait for at least(!) 5 minutes
Did you watch his video or follow a written instruction? I noticed you can't rely on those anymore.. My guess is AI slop, that gets it ever so slightly wrong each time, always go straight to the source nowadays.
-
I watched the video, but maybe I remember wrong ?
-
I just press down slowly and if it gets too hard to press, I pull back until the pressing gets easy again. I've found when pressing hard you start creating high pressure and thus extracting bitter flavor.
-
They are not drinking it because it got oversteeped when she forgot to pour it off.
-
WRONG!
- The proper amount of coffee is actually "Up to the number 3 on my grinder's fill chamber"
- The proper waiting time is 6 minutes
- The proper vantage point for casting judgement is behind a keyboard
I'll see you at the world barista championship
-
You forgot the hand-forged carbon steel burr manual grinder, set on 3.275 clicks.
Calibrated weekly to produce grounds within 10% of the required micron distribution.
-
Also, you don't actually press with a French press. The French have lied to us. You just let set down on top of the water to keep the heat otherwise, especially with more coffee, you'll make more bitter than it should be.
Also they forgot about the conversation starterthat'll make you liked by all around every time you repeat it with "you know it's just better this way. The filter catches tanen's and changes them so much you know it'smore environmentally friendly andhonestlyeasiertocleanandtakecareofwhyhaventyoutriedityetIsentthelisticlethreetimesforbegginerfrenchpressespleaseimsolinely"
-
So that's how my coworker 'accidently' shit on the top of the fridge.
-
French Press coffee will have that effect.
-
It's not good coffee unless there's a bowel movement soon afterwards.
-
-
-
The water compressed by half in step 4.
She must be using a high quality french press!
-
I bloom the coffee by pouring a little water in first, then swish it around 20 or 30 seconds. Then add the remaining water.
I'm not sure why. It was how I was taught.
-
Blooming coffee grounds does have some effect on the final brew. https://www.seriouseats.com/the-hows-and-whys-of-blooming-coffee
But in a French press, I just fill it up to my mark, wait a few seconds, and swirl the grounds around to get rid of the CO2 bubbles.
-
-
I have one of those, it sits in my cupboard in case my coffee maker breaks.
-
What does βreplace plungerβ mean here?
The way I know it:
- Coffee in
- Water in
- Plunger in, just enough so all the coffee is submerged
- Wait 4 minutes
- Press down slowly
- Done
-
I thought you don't press, just put the lid.
-
Skipped pouring the coffee.
21 comments