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Coffee is becoming more and more popular, and there are all kinds of brewing methods. However, when you're busy, a pour-over might feel like it takes too much time, and an espresso might also seem to take a while. In that case, using a lazy person's pot to make a cup of coffee might be a pretty good choice! Compared with pour-over coffee, coffee extracted with a French press retains rich oils and has a thicker, rounder mouthfeel, but compared with espresso, it has less oil.
Speaking of coffee oils, you might immediately think of the layer of "foam" on top of espresso, also called "Crema." If an espresso doesn't have that layer of oil, it might be considered an unsuccessful espresso. Indeed, espresso is only perfect with that layer of oil. The oil in espresso is mainly composed of carbon dioxide and the insoluble oils from the coffee grounds.
After roasting, coffee beans contain gases such as carbon dioxide inside. When a modern semi-automatic espresso machine extracts coffee, it generates 9 bar of pressure to "squeeze" the coffee puck. Because the pressure is so high, the carbon dioxide in the coffee grounds becomes supersaturated in the water, so the carbon dioxide cannot be released and instead dissolves directly into the coffee liquid. During this process, the fats in the coffee are emulsified, and these fats wrap around the carbon dioxide. Since they are lighter than water, they gradually separate into layers, and the golden-brown oil rises to the surface, looking very beautiful.
The French press is indeed one of the most convenient household coffee makers, and it is also a brewing method that best preserves the complete flavor of coffee (it easily brings out the good flavors of coffee and also exposes its flaws), so it has higher requirements for coffee quality and freshness. The French press is also the method among those we have mastered that most easily reproduces the same cup of coffee. With the same French press, the same coffee beans, the same water temperature, the same amount of water, and the same brewing time, different people can almost reproduce the same cup of coffee. This is something pour-over, siphon, and other brewing methods cannot achieve, so it is also the method most recommended for beginners to learn.
French Press: also known as a French filter press pot, press pot, or tea maker, and also called the lazy person's pot. It is a simple brewing device that originated in France around 1850, consisting of a heat-resistant glass body (or transparent plastic) and a metal filter with a plunger. At first, it was mostly used for brewing black tea, so some people also call it a tea maker.
The French press is the simplest to operate among all coffee brewing equipment, and at the same time its extraction rate is closest to that of coffee cupping. It can fully bring out the oils, aroma, flavor compounds, and various taste elements in coffee to the greatest extent. Its smooth, sweet, and rich mouthfeel makes it a very good choice of coffee equipment. Therefore, it is also loved by most people.
The French press is indeed one of the most convenient household coffee makers, and it is also a brewing method that best preserves the complete flavor of coffee (it easily brings out the good flavors of coffee and also exposes its flaws), so it has higher requirements for coffee quality and freshness. The French press is also the method among those we have mastered that most easily reproduces the same cup of coffee. With the same French press, the same coffee beans, the same water temperature, the same amount of water, and the same brewing time, different people can almost reproduce the same cup of coffee. This is something pour-over, siphon, and other brewing methods cannot achieve, so it is also the method most recommended for beginners to learn.
Below, let's take a look at this simplest way of making French press coffee:
We use a two-person French press to make two servings of coffee. The usual ratio of grounds to water is 1:14–18. Some French presses have water level markings, and some do not. We can just use a gram scale to measure. For French presses with markings, you need to pour in the water first and then add the coffee grounds, so that the coffee-to-water ratio is accurate.
☆The coarseness of French press coffee grounds is about the size of brown sugar (a coarse grind), and the grind should be relatively even. This is related to the extraction and filtration method of the French press: the metal filter has low density and fine particles pass through easily, and since hot water comes into direct contact with the coffee grounds, too fine a grind can easily lead to over-extraction.
Equipment needed: French press, gooseneck kettle, grinder, thermometer, gram scale, timer, fresh coffee beans, coffee cup.
Front Street French press coffee operation steps:
1. Weigh 20g of fresh coffee beans.
2. Generally, the water temperature for a French press can be controlled between 85–95°C. Adjust according to the roast level of the beans: for light-roasted beans, you can use a slightly higher water temperature to highlight the aroma; for dark-roasted beans, you can use a lower water temperature to suppress bitterness. This point needs to be controlled based on everyone's experience and personal preference.
3. Pour the ground coffee into the French press.
4. Add water, pouring in circles evenly, similar to pour-over.
5. Pour in about 300g of hot water, for a coffee-to-water ratio of about 1:15. As mentioned earlier, the French press coffee-to-water ratio is roughly 1:14–18, and can be adjusted according to personal taste. This French press has no scale markings, so we use a gram scale to measure the water amount. After adding the coffee grounds, tare the scale to zero, then weigh the hot water. Although the weight and volume of hot water differ somewhat from cold water, under home conditions this error can be ignored.
6. Stir.
7. Put the lid on, but do not press the filter down. Let it sit for 4 minutes. A shorter time will make the taste lighter, and a longer time will make it stronger, so the time is also set according to personal taste.
8. Filter: press down on the plunger and slowly push it down to the bottom of the pot (this action should be slow to prevent fine particles from passing through the metal filter; stop when it is near the bottom of the pot, and do not wait until it cannot be pressed any further).
9. Pour out the coffee, slowly tilting the French press to prevent the coffee grounds at the bottom from floating up due to vigorous shaking and affecting the taste.
10. Enjoy your French press coffee.
Does French press coffee have a lot of oil??
As Front Street also said just now, French press coffee has more oil than pour-over coffee and less than espresso, so it is a moderate amount.
Espresso machine
If you want to extract the oils from coffee, an espresso machine is the most suitable extraction method, because an espresso machine extracts coffee liquid through a fixed high pressure, which other extraction methods do not have. The extracted oil is the most abundant, very suitable for latte art, and the mouthfeel is very rich. It is mostly extracted using finely ground dark-roast blend coffee beans.
Moka pot
Friends who have used a moka pot know that the coffee extracted from a moka pot is relatively higher in bitterness and strength, and needs to be diluted with water or milk before drinking. At the same time, when a moka pot uses finely ground dark-roasted coffee powder for extraction, it can also carry rich coffee oils, though not as much as an espresso machine. If our budget is not enough but we still want to drink fresh-ground coffee with oils, the moka pot is undoubtedly a good choice.
French press
If you want to extract oils with a French press, you must use medium-coarse ground dark-roasted coffee beans. The oils extracted with a French press will not be abundant, but the French press is characterized by being simple and convenient. If you want to quickly and easily drink a cup of coffee with oils, then the French press is a good choice.
Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) brewing suggestions:
Whether coffee is pour-over, French press, or espresso, as long as it is a taste you like, it is good coffee. Front Street believes that any brewing method requires fresh coffee beans. Front Street has always believed that the freshness of coffee beans has a great relationship with the flavor of coffee, so the coffee beans shipped by Front Street Coffee (FrontStreet Coffee) are all within 5 days of the roasting date. Front Street's roasting philosophy is "freshly roasted good coffee," so that every customer who places an order receives the freshest coffee when they get it. The resting period for coffee is about 4–7 days, so when customers receive it, it is exactly at its best flavor.
For friends who need ground coffee, Front Street kindly reminds you: once coffee beans are ground in advance, they no longer need to be rested, because during transportation the pressure generated by carbon dioxide inside the package can also make the coffee flavor rounder, so once you receive the coffee grounds, you can immediately brew a cup and drink it. However, coffee grounds need to be brewed promptly, because after contact with air they oxidize relatively quickly, which means the coffee flavor will dissipate relatively quickly and the coffee will not taste as good. Therefore, Front Street recommends buying whole beans and grinding fresh before brewing, so that you can better taste the flavor of the coffee.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
