For many, French Press brewing is one of the best and easiest ways to enjoy coffee. The French press (or press pot) was probably developed in France in 1850 and has since firmly established itself in the ranks of filter coffee brewing methods.
It is inexpensive to purchase - depending on the brand - and you don't need any other accessories, such as paper filters or the like, which makes the Frenchpress a very environmentally friendly brewing method. Some of us may have already relegated the pot to the furthest nirvana of the kitchen cupboard, because it usually only vaguely met the morning coffee expectations.
The French Press preparation is actually quite simple, but small mistakes in the handling can negatively affect the coffee taste. For this reason, we show you here how to do it right:
OUR RECIPE:
31g freshly ground coffee
500g water
STEP BY STEP:
1. PREPARATION AND DOSING
First weigh out your coffee beans. The basic brew ratio for French Press coffee is 1:16. This means that 16 parts of water are used for 1 part of coffee powder. So if you want to brew a liter of coffee, you use about 62 g of coffee powder, for 500 g of water you need 31 g, and so on. This is a helpful guideline for now, which you can adjust depending on your coffee and preferences.
2. THE RIGHT GRIND
The right grind is a decisive criterion for a successful French Press coffee. The goal in coffee preparation should always be to optimally extract the aromas and ingredients of the coffee bean with water and thus produce a balanced coffee with a harmonious taste. For all coffee nerds among you who want to know exactly: Ideally, 18 to 22% of the aroma substances should be extracted from the coffee. This creates a balanced relationship between aroma and strength.
But what does the grind of the coffee powder have to do with it? The finer the powder is ground, the larger its surface area and the more ingredients can be dissolved by the water.
In French press preparation, water and coffee powder are in contact for quite a long time, for several minutes, and thus the water has plenty of time to extract flavor and aroma substances from the coffee powder. For this reason, the grind of the coffee powder should not be too fine, otherwise over-extraction will occur and the coffee may taste bitter and too strong. Adjust the grind so that the texture of the powder resembles coarse sea salt or breadcrumbs (about level 7 on a scale of 1 to 10). Pour the coffee powder into your French Press.
Small tip: it is best to rinse the glass jug briefly with hot water beforehand so that the glass warms up and the temperature does not fluctuate too much.
3. POUR THE WATER
Bring the water to a boil and then let it cool down for 30 to 40 seconds so that the water temperature is about 92°C. If the water is too hot, unpleasant odors will appear. If the water is too hot, unwanted bitter substances will be dissolved from the coffee. Now fill half of the hot water evenly into the French Press, stir briefly with the wooden spoon to wet all of the coffee powder with water, and add the second half of the water.
4. BREWING TIME
Keep the brewing time to 4 minutes. The best way to do this is to set a timer immediately after you have poured all the water. Your coffee can taste bitter and over-extracted very quickly if you exceed the brew time.
Once the four minutes are up, press down evenly and slowly on the strainer. Don't press so hard or the water may be forced out of the pot by the pressure.
Tip: Shortly before the 4 minutes are up, "break" the coffee crust by stirring the layer of coffee powder floating on top with a spoon and pressing down a little. This will cause the powder to drop to the bottom of the pot even before it is strained, and the coffee will be thoroughly filtered and taste clean.
5. ENJOY
Now don't let the coffee sit too long in the French Press pot to avoid further extraction. It is best to serve it right away or transfer it to a coffee pot.
OUR COFFEE RECOMMENDATION: the floral Geisha coffee from Peru, with a light nutty note: La Requia Geisha Washed
