French Press
When people think of brewing specialty coffee, they may have an image in their minds of a sleek pour over dripper, a lab-like siphon, or an inverted aeropress. While the humble french press may not immediately come to mind, it's important to remember that these brewers can equally be used to make a fantastic cup of coffee. In addition, many homes have a french press already, and similarly when travelling, you may find one included with your accommodations. The french press is simple, can brew large batches, and will work well with any roast profile.
Typical recipes will be more volumetric (add "x" number of spoons of ground coffee, pour up to this marking, etc.), however, for consistency, we feel it's important to give it the same precision you would any other brewer. For this reason, our recipe uses weight. Our recipe is also longer than most recipes you'll find online, because it's actually modelled after our cupping protocol. If you've ever been at a coffee cupping, and found yourself lingering around your favourite cup, going back time and time again, this recipe is intended to replicate that experience, but in a larger format.
What you’ll need
- 1x French Press
- 1x Grinder
- 1x Scale
- 1x Kettle
- 30 g of coffee
- 450 g of 93 C/200 F water
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Assemble everything you’ll need from the list above
- Begin heating your water
- Weigh your 30 g of coffee and grind at a medium-fine grind (roughly the coarseness of sea salt)
- Pour your ground coffee into the french press, and once the kettle reaches the desired temperature, start your timer and pour the full amount of water into the brewer, ensuring that you wet all of your grinds. Place the plunger back on the brewer, but keep it above the grounds
- At 4 minutes, gently press the plunger down just enough to submerge any floating grounds
- After another 4 minutes (8 minutes total), gently press the plunger down all the way to the bottom, and immediately serve your coffee or pour the coffee into a separate carafe (this will prevent the coffee from continuing to brew and becoming over-extracted)
Variables
As always, this recipe is intended to get you started, but feel free to tweak the recipe according to your tastes. You can use the variables below to fine tune the end result.
- Too bitter? Try grinding coarser, lowering the temperature of your water, or brewing the coffee for less time
- Too weak? Try the opposite (finer grind, higher temperature, longer brew) and/or stirring the coffee at the 4 minute mark to create agitation and increase extraction
If you find the recipe produces too much (or too little) coffee, you can also prepare different batch sizes. This recipe uses a 1:15 ratio of ground coffee to water, so try different amounts to see what works best for you (e.g., 20 g of coffee to 300 g of water, or 40 g of coffee to 600 g of water). Happy brewing!