For a long time I just didn't appreciate French press coffee, since mine often turned out bitter and murky. I really preferred my speedy Aeropress, which gives a clean, robust cup of coffee in a very short amount of time. But lately I've been drinking French press and loving it. Turns out that my method had been missing one key element all those years: The right grinder. Here's how I make French press coffee now, and the elements to watch out for if you want the perfect cup.
There aren't many processes in the kitchen that truly depend on one gadget or tool, but good French press coffee is one of them. Good French press is almost totally dependent on a burr grinder. Here's why. A regular blade grinder like this one is perfectly good for grinding coffee beans for a drip machine and other methods, but a French press relies on having very evenly-sized grains of coffee, and they need to be relatively big. Smaller-sized grains will get through the filter, creating a sediment in your cup, and also get over-extracted, making your coffee bitter. It's essential that all the coffee beans are ground to the same consistency and the burr grinder is far superior at making this happen. So, the first step is getting a burr grinder. Here's a great thread on finding an inexpensive burr grinder:
• Good Question: Best Burr Grinder Under $100
This method is calibrated for a 34-ounce French press, like this one from Bodum:
• Bodum Columbia 8-Cup Stainless-Steel Thermal Press Pot, $59.95 at Amazon
The amounts called for below are calibrated for a full pot, which, after you press the grounds down, yields about 24 ounces (3 cups) or so of actual coffee. My husband and I drink this pretty much every day, which comes out to about 1 1/2 mugs of coffee each. Some days we scale back and do a half pot (with 1/4 cup of beans instead of 1/2 cup) instead.
Overall, this method yields one of the best cups of coffee I've ever had. The flavor of the coffee comes through clearly, without too much sediment in the cup, and it's also full, rich, and robust.
Of course, a lot depends on the quality of your beans. Look for freshly roasted beans from a local supplier and roaster. We often buy African (especially Ethiopian) coffee beans and blends, since we enjoy the winey, fruity flavors you find there.
What You Need
Ingredients
Good, freshly-roasted coffee beans
Water
Equipment
Electric kettle OR stovetop kettle and a thermometer
Burr grinder
French press
Long spoon
Instructions
1. Heat your water. Water for French press coffee should be heated to 195°F — not boiling (212°F at sea level). If you use a stovetop kettle, take it off just before it reaches a boil and then use a thermometer to check and see when it cools to the right temperature. A lot of newer electric kettles, though, have a setting for this temperature.
2. Measure out 1/2 cup coffee beans.
3. Grind the coffee beans on the coarsest setting in a burr grinder, or in brief, sharp pulses in a blade grinder.
4. Your coffee should look something like this: Evenly-sized grains of ground coffee.
5. Pour the ground coffee into your French press, then pour about 32 ounces of hot water, which will come to about an inch below the top of the press. Stir vigorously, using an up and down motion.
6. Steep for 4 and a half minutes (for a fairly robust pot). When the timer goes off, immediately press the coffee, and pour it into a carafe. You do not want to leave the coffee sitting on top of the grounds, as that will make it bitter. Drink immediately.
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Related: What Is the Best Way To: Make Coffee at Home?
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What I do about the water temperature is bring it to a boil and then turn it off and let it sit for about 45 seconds to a minute to cool back down. Usually during that time I grind the beans for the coffee and put them in the french press. It's probably not the perfect method, but the coffee is reliably good, so it's probably good enough!
I get my coffee course ground at the store where I buy my coffee. I hate trying to grind it just right at home and I hate the noise of the grinder first thing in the morning. I also swear by good Colombian coffee.. though that's probably just my own preference :)
Good piece--I agree, the burr grinder makes a huge difference.
without getting a burr grinder, I've found that a funnel and a paper filter from a drip coffee machine answers pretty well... as long as the murky bits aren't too big. It gets cold while waiting to filter... It also works well with cold brewed iced coffee (all the steps as above, with cold water, and stick entire press in fridge for about 12 hours... filter and enjoy...)
We don't have a burr grinder (just the blade grinder) but I've found that my husband has the perfect touch to grind the coffee correctly for our French press - whenever I attempt it, the coffee just doesn't turn out right. He shakes the grinder vigorously in the air while it's running - perhaps that makes the pieces more evenly chopped. Anyway, he's mastered the technique. Also stirring the grounds in the hot water before putting the plunger on is another key element to get the most flavorful coffee.
Gotta have the burr grinder. Trying to pulse with a blade grinder to get good coarseness is near impossible.
As for coffee, please try some shade grown coffee, you won't be disappointed, much smoother taste and its actually environmentally responsible, unlike the ambiguous "organic" labeling, win-win.
@pierrot that's exactly what my husband would do, too, before we got the burr grinder! That did help, and he was good at it, but the burr grinder just makes it easier.
I should mention, for the record, that my husband makes the coffee every day, so this post is dedicated to him. :-)
i also get my beans ground at point of purchase, makes life a bit easier!
From Martha Stuart:
"Moisten the coffee with a tiny bit of cold water and stir."
This really makes a huge difference vs just pouring the hot water onto the dried beans.
If you care at all about the quality of your coffee, you know how important it is to have a burr grinder. And I would question the quality found in one costing less than $100.
I received a hand burr grinder for Christmas and love it. I love that it is beautiful, works well, and is not very noisy. Of course I only drink coffee at home on weekends, so the effort may not be worth it for every day use.
I have this one: http://www.redroostertradingcompany.com/coffee.html
They used to be located here in Washington state, but recently relocated to Missouri (or were bought by someone there).
My burr grinder cost <$50 (I live in Switzerland, where prices are HIGH) and unsurprisingly it's not a great grinder. But still it's a burr grinder, and once the beans have been exposed to the burr they are collected in the reservoir below where they can no longer be reground. So result: even size, even in the shadier cheaper models.
I'm planning on upgrading to a conical burr some day!
As the coffee technician in my house, I would always try to pulse the blade grinder by waving it wildly around in the air... Never worked out too well.
We picked up a cuisinart burr grinder from bb&b for around $50 about two years ago. It works reasonably well, creating some dust in the grinding process (it sticks to the side of the collection bin due to static cling, so it usually doesn't end up in the coffee). It also produces about the same noise level as 12 lawnmowers, but it's only for about 30 seconds each morning...
Recently I started using a pur filter jug (it stays on the counter) for the water, and the taste has improved dramatically!
I completely agree with buying African coffee, whole foods tends to have a pretty good selection of that... My favorite is the Ethiopian blends. My wife prefers a french roast for the stronger flavor.
Using a french press is the only way that I can make a good cup of coffee! I completely agree that grinding the beans right before steeping makes all the difference, although I use a cheapie blade grinder....
@ laetitiae - that's exactly what I do (let the water boil and then grind beans and prep the press while it cools for ~45-60 seconds). Always works!