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The French Press
The French Press is my go-to whenever I just want to sit and enjoy a nice cup of coffee. When done right, I feel like there is nothing quite like it. Nothing like fresh ground coffee, pouring hot water on it and then letting it steep and fully immerse in the smell. Oh, the smell!
So first thing first how to use a French Press? Well, first things first, it all starts with a great grind. You want to start by grinding it to a coarse grind (about the size of coarse sea salt) using a bur grinder preferably, so you can get a more uniform grind without the extra heat that is produced by blade grinders. Yes, I know bur grinders are super expensive but if you want to get a feel for one you can try a manual type. You can usually find them for a pretty reasonable price as well as you can get the strength of an arm wrestler to boot!
Now that we got the grind out of the way. Now it's onto the water you use. Water is water, right? Well yes, but you do want to use filtered water to get as much of a crisp water taste as you can get as a good base for the coffee. Once you filter it or buy it, you want to heat it up to a boil. Boil extra water, because you're going to want to preheat that bad boy before you put the grinds into it, so add that to your calculations.
So what about the ratio? Well to start out, personally I would use one to one and a half tablespoons for every cup your making(8oz), but to each their own! So this is where the fun of trial and error comes into play to add more coffee or less. It's up to you for your own specific taste buds.
The Steps:
Right before you get that water to boiling, pour some of it into the French press to preheat that bad boy. Then once it's preheated, pour that water out and add the grounds. Once your water starts boiling, you wanna take it off the heat source (or unplug it) and let it stand for about one minute to let it cool down. Pour it into the French press with the grounds. Now I like to let it bloom without the cap on for about 30 to 45 seconds, then I stir it you can also add a step if you would like by taking two spoons and then scraping off the foam and the excess grounds off the top of the coffee. Make sure there are no grounds hanging around anywhere near the top of the spout waiting for a free trip into your cup! Once I make sure my French press is secure, I put the lid with the plunger all the way up, then let it sit and steep for about 4 minutes (this is something else you can play with, the longer it steeps the stronger it gets) then push that plunger down slowly. I normally push it down about halfway. If it's really hard to press down the grounds, might be too finely ground, and if it has no resistance then it may be just a tad too coarse. THEN WALLAH!!! It's ready to drink but you might want to put it into a different container cause the longer it steeps the stronger it gets. Try it out and play with it next time to try to get your coffee just the way you like it!
So in summary:
Filter water
Boil water
Preheat the French press (then pour out the preheating water)
Grind Coffee to coarse and pour it into a pre-warmed French press
Wait for boiling water to rest for 1 min then pour in French Press
Let bloom for 30-45 seconds and stir and scrape
Let it steep for 4 minutes or so with the cap on the plunger up
Press down the plunger slowly
Drink UP and ENJOY!!
Cleaning The French Press
The cleaning of the French Press has always been my biggest issue while using the brewing method. I however have started using a method that really helps me keep the grinds from all going down the drain. That method is filling up the French Press and then pouring it into a stainless steel mesh pour-over filter or any reusable coffee filter. You'll probably have to do this a couple of times to get most of the grinds out then just fling them into the trash and clean off the filter for next time. Once you're done, use a paper towel to get the leftover grinds from inside the French Press. You can purchase these pretty cheap or you sometimes get them free when you buy a pour-over setup. I know this seems like a lot to just clean it up but this is the only method that really works for me however, if you have another method I would love to hear it in the comments below!
How do you like your coffee made?
French Press
Drip Coffee maker
Single-serve Coffee makers
Pour over
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