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The French press is one of the simplest coffee brewing devices to operate and is quite popular in Europe and America. However, most Chinese people associate it with "brewing tea." In fact, the coffee it brews is just as good as pour-over coffee, and it can brew more than 2 servings at once. Therefore, for those who want to easily make coffee at home, Front Street always recommends the French press first. So what kind of coffee beans are suitable for the French press? Today Front Street offers some suggestions.
Introduction to the French Press
Originating in France, it consists of a cylindrical container and a lid, with a metal filter in the middle of the lid that can be pulled up and down to separate the coffee grounds from the coffee liquid and control extraction. The principle of the French press is the same as brewing tea: after soaking the coffee grounds in hot water for a certain time, the plunger is pushed down to filter and obtain the coffee liquid. Although brewing coffee with a French press is really convenient, some friends have still reported to Front Street that the coffee they brew with a French press always tastes unsatisfactory.
Recommended Parameters for Using a French Press
Usually, when we look at tutorials for using a French press, coarse grinding is generally recommended. Front Street suggests choosing a grind size where 70% passes through a Chinese No. 20 standard sieve, that is, the size of coarse granulated sugar.
Coarse grinding can not only improve the fault tolerance of the extraction process, but also reduce the very fine powder produced by grinding. The metal filter of a French press generally ranges from 80-300 microns, and the filter holes are visibly large, so fine powder can easily pass through and enter the coffee liquid, making it cloudy. Of course, if you want to pursue more layered flavor and mouthfeel, you can also use a fine grind, but remember to correspondingly reduce the soaking time to avoid over-extraction.
Time is a parameter that can be freely adjusted with a French press. Without the factor of manual stirring, soaking time is one of the key factors affecting the extraction yield. Under the same conditions, generally speaking, the longer the extraction time, the richer the mouthfeel, but it is also more prone to over-extraction, resulting in bitterness, astringency, and woody notes. Paired with coarse grinding, Front Street recommends a soaking time of about 4 minutes for medium-light roasted coffee. Medium-dark roasted coffee more easily extracts bitterness, so soaking for 3 minutes and 30 seconds is enough. This time can fully release the positive flavor substances and also avoid the bitter and miscellaneous sensation caused by soaking too long.
Since the French press completes pouring all at once, the extraction temperature will gradually decrease over time, so a slightly higher water temperature is needed than for pour-over. If brewing medium-light roasted coffee with acidity, you can use 92–94°C; for medium-dark roasted coffee with bitterness, 89–90°C is recommended. In autumn and winter when room temperature is lower, we can preheat the French press with boiling water in advance to reduce heat loss during extraction.
Adjusting the concentration of coffee is of course inseparable from the coffee-to-water ratio. Front Street generally recommends brewing with a 1:16 coffee-to-water ratio. For example, if using 15 grams of coffee, then 240 ml of water should be poured. The coffee brewed with this ratio will have a concentration of about 1.1-1.2%, which is a very comfortable concentration range. If some friends prefer it stronger, they can also use a 1:15 ratio.
What coffee beans are suitable for brewing with a French press?
After many customers choose a coffee bean, they ask Front Street whether it is suitable for French press brewing. In theory, the French press is suitable for all coffee beans that can be used for pour-over. However, considering that its extraction principle is static immersion extraction, the oils can give the coffee more body, and the flavor tends toward rich, mellow, and balanced, it is therefore more suitable for expressing medium or darker roasted coffee.
For those who do not like acidity, we recommend Front Street Golden Mandheling, Front Street Queen's Manor, Front Street Bird of Paradise, and Front Street Huilan, several medium-dark roasted coffees with black chocolate, nut, and caramel flavors. If you can accept a bit of acidity, you can try Front Street Strawberry Candy, Front Street Mozart, and Front Street Sidra, medium roasted coffees with obvious fruity aromas, which can let you easily make delicious French press coffee.
Finally, Front Street needs to emphasize one more point: after long-term use, the metal filter of a French press will absorb and accumulate the oils released by the coffee. Residue left on the filter and plunger rod will oxidize and deteriorate, thereby affecting subsequent use. So after using the French press, we must, must remember to clean it promptly. When cleaning the French press, all metal parts should be disassembled. Both the container and the parts need to be washed with detergent, completely wiped dry, air-dried, and then stored.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
