I recently purchased a French coffee press from Bodum (the 8-cup one).
Any tips on how to make the perfect cup of coffee? What beans are the best?
- Jen
Well, this is a big question. When the perfect cup of coffee is concerned there are many, many opinions. We're sure that our readers will weigh in on this one...
For us, we like our coffee black and strong, so a French press is ideal. A French press brings the water into extended contact with the ground coffee, and even after the grounds are pressed down a fine sediment of coffee remains. This gives a slightly thicker taste and feel to coffee brewed this way which some love but others find distasteful compared to the thinner liquid of drip coffee.
Of course, we could talk about beans all day long. The best beans are fresh and preferably organic, shade-grown and fair trade. Ideally they should be roasted fairly recently and ground directly before you use them. Yes, you can get a decent cup of coffee from ground coffee or beans off the grocery shelf and we will take pretty much any coffee in a pinch. But the best thing to do is find a roaster in your neighborhood and buy directly from them. Talk to them about how they roast the coffee and the blends and tastes they prefer - try several varieties, from dark roasted to light, and different coffees, from single source to mixed blends. If you're really enterprising you can try roasting beans yourself - see the great info at Sweet Maria's.
We buy fresh-roasted beans about once a month and store them in a cool dark cabinet.
It's difficult to give precise directions for good French press coffee; amount and brewing time depends on the blend of beans and your tastes. We use about a tablespoon of beans per cup of water. Grind beans for French press coffee a little rougher; the grind shouldn't be as fine or the coffee will be bitter. Pour boiling water over the ground coffee and let sit for about 5-7 minutes, then press and drink immediately. If this is too strong or bitter, adjust.
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The other thing about grinding the beans too fine for the French press is that it will be way too hard to push the press down--the grinds will clog the screen.
Jen,
Why don't you experiment and find out for yourself!?
Everything you need to know
http://www.coffeegeek.com/guides/presspot
Joan A. is right. The other thing with grinding the beans too fine is that too many of the grounds can sneak around the edges and end up in the coffee. Other than that, the pot is very forgiving, and the coffee will be great.
I find that French Press coffee is far less bitter if you let the water cool a little after boiling. My method is to boil the water, then turn off the kettle. In the time it takes me to pull out the press, measure the beans, and grind them, it's about perfect. And I go with a maximum of 5 minutes, often closer to 4.
http://www.coffeegeek.com/guides/presspot
For an illustrated how-to...
Blake, you and I like the same kind of coffee!
My first press experiences were less than delicious, but after I read the coffeegeek tip to let the water cool, I've been thrilled.
Also had a problem with a cheap blade grinder I was using—not sure if the beans were getting "burned" or if the grind was just too inconsistent to work well in a press....
L
Never clean the press with soap of any kind. Just use hot water and a soft cloth. The soap will effect the taste of the coffee.
I confess I take the press apart and run it through the dishwasher.
how do you all clean the screen? mine never seems to be truly *clean*! thanks. h
I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Big Sky Bistro travel coffee press. It's plastic and lightweight and goes everywhere with me from work to camping.
http://www.amazon.com/Big-Sky-Bistro-French-Press/dp/B000BBS7W6
I agree, don't grind your coffee too fine or you'll end up with a lot of it in your teeth.
I sometimes use espresso beans too.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Big Sky Bistro travel coffee press. It's plastic and lightweight and goes everywhere with me from work to camping.
http://www.amazon.com/Big-Sky-Bistro-French-Press/dp/B000BBS7W6
I agree, don't grind your coffee too fine or you'll end up with a lot of it in your teeth.
I sometimes use espresso beans too.
And don't worry about "truly" cleaning the screen! That's where all the 'seasoning' happens, don't 'soap out' that nice oily flavor coating!
Not boiling water. Ideally you want your water between 190-200 degrees. Just below boiling.
You *want* a coarse grind.
If you are grinding the coffee yourself, you should go as coarse (or very close to) as your grinder allows. If you are getting it ground at the shop, tell them you want it coarse.
If you are using a blade grinder, sell it on Craigslist and get yourself a good burr grinder.
I generally bring the water to a boil, turn off the heat, scoop the coffee into the carafe, pour the no-longer-boiling water over the grounds, and let it sit for a moment while I fetch a wooden spoon. Once I actually stir in the grounds, I set the timer for 5 minutes, and normally let it brew a moment or two longer, depending on what else I've wrapped myself into in those 5 minutes.
Be careful with darker roasted beans. Leaving it to brew for too long will just make it bitter.
If you bought a Bodum (so far, it's been worth the extra initial cost), stock a replacement carafe. They're more fragile than you realize some mornings. Amazon's prices on replacements is outrageously less than anywhere else I've looked.
Enjoy.
hbk - I take apart the plunger thing (screen and two pieces that sandwich it) and put everything in the top rack of the dishwasher. If you're going for the no soap thing, that won't work for you, but it does get the screen clean (and it doesn't affect my coffee, as far as I can tell, but maybe I'm just used to it).
buy whole beans (I like Kenya or Ethiopia), grind them yourself, and don't overgrind - you want coarse grounds. Proportions are totally up to you - I use about one teaspoon per cup - be sure the water is boiling and have fun pushing down!
Drink quickly though, because the coffee doesn't stay hot...alas, the one downfall to this otherwise spectacular piece of equipment.
i get mine pretty clean by hand by filling the carafe about halfway with hot soapy water, and then plunging vigorously.
although i did just switch to a timer-programmable coffee maker, which i like for busy mornings.
Okay, I have to warn you, my husband went on a Sweet Maria's roast-your-own bender a couple of years ago, and this is not an activity for people who don't have a detached garage to do it in. You would think that roasting coffee beans would smell delicious--like, well, like roasted coffee beans, right? WRONG!! They pour off a prodigious amount of acrid smoke, smoke that gets in your hair and your clothes, smoke that will make the neighbors go "What the hell--?" The final product is delicious, but this endeavor is not in the same category as making your own ricotta or other similar DIY cooking projects. You've been warned!
Love the coffee from a french press, if there is a Trader Joe's close to you I find their Kona to be delicious!
I just wanted to say THANK YOU!, because I've been thinking of getting one of these in order to serve coffee to guests, but really wasn't sure where to start or what made the coffee taste great or lousy. I can't drink coffee myself so it *really* helps knowing all the tips & tricks to brewing it successfully, thanks!
I just had to echo sfg's approach to EVERYTHING said on this subject.
My husband and I enjoy french press so much we bought two of these http://www.bodumusa.com/shop/line.asp?MD=1&GID=6&LID=9&HID=1505%2D01FM%2DC&CHK=&SLT=&mscssid=M76J64VVELF49G1R6QEFU430PB902D21
(sorry about the long link)
We have an instant hot water dispenser that we bought on Amazon and we keep it in the bedroom for tea all day. We now have ONE large cup of very good coffee every morning (see the above link), as opposed to several cups of average coffee. The Cuisinart automatic coffee maker that we used to use every morning is going in the garage sale. If we have company, we'll dig out the large french press.
we also prepare coffee exactly the way sfg does...but we add one more thing...heated milk. we heat in a small pan, pour into mug first...then pour the coffee. it's not as time consuming as you would think. we heat the milk as the coffee is steeping. plus, we love our local cafe's organic, shade grown, fair trade beans from "jacks," it's on west 10th off of greenwich ave.- very low acidity. hope these tips help. you'll become an expert in no time with your french press.
Mine is the small, 3 oz. Brazil version of Bodum's French press. Everything has pretty much been said. I find you get a small sediment, not grounds, in your cup after you pour, but it is not lethal, though, and won't gag you. The fair trade coffee I've tried was horrible, so I use either Archer Farms or Starbucks French Roast. I measure two heaping tablespoons of ground coffee in order to make it a little stronger than I need it. I have had mine for over two years now, and I have yet to need a replacement carafe, mainly because I follow the instructions and don't pour boiling water in it, and I don't use anything metallic to stir with. I use a wooden chopstick to stir with. After I pour, I top up with hot water, because I use a larger cup than what the press provides for me.
Before I got the press, I used to use a permanent mesh coffee filter to fix coffee with. I'd boil some water in a small saucepan, then I'd put some coffee in the mesh filter and dunk filter in the water and let it sit for a few minutes, then pull it out, then pour coffee out of my saucepan into my cup. I still do that from time to time! Gadgets really aren't necessary, are they?!
Thanks
Having destroyed a few too many of the glass Bodum carafes, I picked up a stainless steel Starbuck's French press.
Starkbuck's was having a sale on the product, so it wasn't that much more than 1 glass Bodum + 1 replacement carafe. They also threw in 1lb of coffee.
The added bonus for this model is that it's a thermal carafe, so it'll keep the coffee warm after it's been pressed.
If the coffee from a french press is too bitter, add a little salt. Just a little dash or a pinch.
There are actually straight-forward scientific rules for this that result in excellent coffee 95% of people will love. Follow the SCAA guidelines! I've discussed this at length: http://bccy.blogspot.com/2003/11/life-with-cafetire.html
Mark Prince's coffeegeek instructions are outside the SCAA guides. With all due respect, I would say most of you here appear to be brewing your coffee on the weak side, but I think you're all spot on with your emphasis on freshness and grinding on the spot.
On the other hand, to by your coffee once a month is too long. Coffee is like milk; it goes bad quickly. Specifically, coffee stales in about 14 days after roasting; pre-ground coffee stales much more quickly.
http://bccy.blogspot.com/2003/11/life-with-cafetire.html
Freshness is key. Personally, I roast my own beans (crazy easy to do). Next a decent burr grinder and grinding just a bit more coarse than drip and then 190 to 200 degrees H2O brewed for 4 minutes. Personally I switched to a vac pot (that I bought from ebay for $35) and prefer it WAY better. Go to sweetmarias.com for your best green coffee bean selection and tons of useful info.
Oh, yea 7.25 grams (about 1 TBLSP) of coffee and 5 ounces of H20 per serving. And yes I am anal enough to bust out the digital scale and weigh both :-)
The French press is better suited for single-cup coffee making because the coffee continues to steep in the hot water even after you put the plunger down. However, if you pour off the coffee to your guests right after the 3 min. steep, things should be okay. Pity the laggard who decides later they want a cup...theirs will be much, much stronger. Or make them a new pot/press full.
Coffeegeek does a great job, but here are simplified instructions:
http://www.coffeeandbookreviews.com/sept0307.html
Good coffee to all!