"For those who don't know how to do pour-over,what coffee brewing equipment is suitable for coffee beginners?" Faced with this question, Front Street Coffee first recommends the French press, which is simple and convenient to operate. What exactly is the charm of the French press that can win over coffee lovers who don't know how to do pour-over?
French PressCoffee Extraction Principle
The French press originated in France around 1850. It is a simple brewing device composed of a heat-resistant glass body and a metal filter with a plunger rod. The invention of the device itself was for brewing tea, but later someone had a sudden idea and put coffee grounds into it, discovering that the brewed coffee was very rich and full-bodied. After the pore size of the metal filter was reduced, the French press also became widely used by coffee lovers.
French Pressmainly relies on immersion to extract coffee. Within a fixed capacity, a certain amount of water evenly dissolves the substances in the coffee grounds. During the extraction process, the main influencing factor is time. The longer the immersion time, the more substances are extracted from the coffee until saturation, meaning the longer it steeps, the stronger the taste.
At this point, some friends will ask Front Street: "With the French press's long immersion, will unpleasant flavors also be extracted?"
The "long time" mentioned here does not mean actually steeping for ten or twenty minutes. Generally, the immersion time for a French press is 4 minutes, the water temperature for steeping coffee is set at 88°C-91°C, and the coffee grounds are ground relatively coarse. Since the glass body of the French press does not retain heat for very long, the water temperature will continuously drop during the immersion process. At the same time, because the coffee particles are coarser, the flavor substances in the coffee are released slowly. 4 minutes is the optimal immersion time for making coffee with a French press, but do not exceed 6 minutes. After the 4-minute immersion is finished, press down the filter, and then pour the coffee into another container before tasting.
What are the characteristics of coffee brewed with a French press?
1. Compared with drip-style pour-over coffee, immersion-style French press coffee has a richer and fuller body!
The French press filters out coffee grounds through a metal filter, and the pore size of the metal filter is larger than that of regular filter paper. During the filtration process, most of the coffee oils can be retained. Front Street has noticed that coffee made with a French press has a thin layer of oil on top. The pour-over coffee we commonly see is made by pouring water through the coffee grounds layer and high-density filter paper. When the coffee liquid passes through the filter paper, most of the oils are filtered out, and the coffee also feels noticeably cleaner when it comes out. Although it is richer and fuller than pour-over coffee, due to the design of the metal filter, many fine coffee grounds remain. It is also quite normal to end up drinking coffee grounds at the bottom of a French press.
2. Coffee brewed with a French press highlights the most original taste of the coffee
The extraction mode of the French press is similar to cupping, both being immersion extraction. The advantage is that it minimizes human influencing factors and best reflects the most original taste of the beans, and the coffee's flavor is also more concentrated. What are human influencing factors? For example, in pour-over coffee, the height and speed of pouring water can change the expression of the coffee's flavor, or brewing with different drippers can also produce different flavor expressions. But this does not apply to the French press. The only three things that can affect the flavor of coffee made with a French press are: grind size, water temperature, and immersion time.
How to use a French press to make coffee?
For this brewing, Front Street selectedCosta Rica Musician Series Mozart coffee beans, a coffee with the fermented feel of dried fruit, white floral notes, and obvious sweet-tart acidity. The brewing parameters are as follows:
Dose: 15 grams
Coffee-to-water ratio: 1:15
Grind size: medium-coarse grind (68% passing rate on a No. 20 standard sieve)
Water temperature: 90°C
Immersion time: 4 minutes
First, preheat the French press with warm water, then discard the warm water. Pour the ground coffee into the French press. The grind should be slightly coarse, then pour in 225ml of hot water (90°C). The pouring can be a bit more forceful (finish pouring in about 3 seconds) to make the coffee grounds tumble and improve extraction efficiency. After pouring is complete, pull up the filter, put the lid on, and let it steep for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes, gently press down the plunger to about 1/4 of the way down the pot, avoiding fine grounds at the bottom surging upward. After pressing down, the coffee can be poured out and enjoyed.
Yes,making coffee with a French pressis just that simple to operate. How does Mozart coffee made with a French press perform in terms of flavor?
After the coffee is poured out, Front Street smells a rich fermented raisin note. On the palate, there is a berry juice sensation, the aroma of orange blossom, an obvious fermented feel, and a pineapple-like sweet-tart acidity.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
