Is French Press Coffee Better?

 If you love drinking barista quality coffee at home, the French Press (also known as the cafetière or coffee plunger), is one of the easiest and most cost effective brewing methods.
 

The original French Press was created by Frenchmen Mayer and Delforge 1852, however the design we are more familiar came later from Italian Attilio Calimani in 1929.

One of the unique qualities about the French Press is that it is an infusion brewer. This means that the water and coffee steep together which helps produce a more uniform extraction, a great benefit for those of us who love coffee at home, but without barista experience.

Other advantages to using the French Press is that it filters the grounds from the liquid by plunging using a metal mesh, resulting in a little of the coffee oil working its way into the brew creating a bigger, richer body and texture.

There is only one disadvantage... Due to the relatively large holes in the mesh, some of the non soluble material from the coffee gets into the cup too. Which if accidentally drunk can be quite bitter and grainy.

However, in our brewing method provided below, we reveal the perfect technique to achieve a perfect cup of coffee using the French Press, while minimising the grain in the bottom of your glass. Enjoy!

The Method

1) Grind your coffee just before you start brewing for optimum flavour.

2) Boil a kettle, preferably using fresh water with a low mineral content.

3) Put the grounds coffee in the French Press and pour the water over the grounds in the cafetière relatively fast, so as to soak all the coffee grounds throughly.

4) Leave the coffee to steep for three minutes. You will notice that the grounds begin to float to the surface forming a 'crust'.

5) Once steeped, stir the 'crust' which will cause most of the coffee to sink back to the bottom. You will notice a little foam and some floating grounds will remain at the top, take two spoons to fish them out and discard them.

6) Now wait another 4 minutes which will leave more time for any of the residual grounds to sink to the bottom.

7) Place the mesh plunger into the top of the cafetière, but do not plunge... This is key, as plunging can often resurface and disturb the grounds at the bottom sending them back up and into your French Press.

8) Pour the coffee into your cup and enjoy your perfect brew!  

If you're looking for a high quality French Press to use at home or work, why not take a look at our range on offer in the Kokebi Coffee Shop here.