In other words, the French press. This has been my personal favorite for about 6 years and is how I prefer to drink my café noir in the morning. A simple and quick way of brewing that gives you a full-bodied flavor, this is a great brewing method to bridge the gap from a regular drip coffee maker to the true world of coffee. If you are looking to wow someone naïve to the world of coffee with how you brew yours at home, but are also a newb and don’t want to be overwhelmed, I recommend a French Press. Below you will see the different parts of a press as I have broken it down to make it easier to understand. As far as extracting the best flavor for your bean water, I encourage you to grind your beans right before you brew (you do not have to, but it allows for a fresher/fuller taste). As we go through this, I will give you what I have done in the past and provide a recommended process as well.
I prefer to grind my beans each morning; you want to have a medium-coarse grind to ensure the grounds do not seep through the filter and get into your cup — no one wants to be walking around looking like they have turf in their teeth. Once you have ground your coffee, go ahead and place it into the beaker. Next, you want to boil your water. Once my water is boiling, I remove it from its burner to let it simmer down before pouring it over the grounds.
Now, these next few steps I have recently changed as I noticed the difference taking the couple extra steps. Previously, after I had poured the hot water over the coffee grounds, I would place the lid and all parts attached to the rod atop the carafe (not pushing it down just yet). Although, after about 7 minutes, sometimes less if I didn’t have the time, or longer if I forgot, I would push the grounds down with the plunger and pour my coffee – insert bitter taste. I could not figure out why my brew was sometimes bitter and other times tasted like bean essence. Getting a good/consistent cup of coffee requires time and attention though. How I changed my process (besides allotting myself the time in my morning routine) was by waiting about 4 minutes before removing the top and gently stirring down the grinds that have risen. Wait another 2 minutes and then replace the top to slowly plunge the filter to the bottom. I can honestly say that since making this small adjustment, I get a consistent cup each time and it is far more enjoyable to drink.
Coffee-to-Water Ratio
Some prefer to weigh their beans; I currently use a tablespoon. Typically, the ratio is between 1:12 and 1:17, depending on if you like coffee that puts hair on your chest or for it to merely taste like water with a hint of coffee. Kidding, but for the sake of being somewhere in the middle, I am going to give you a 1:14 ratio.
If you are trying to make 2 to 3 cups of coffee, the recommended ratio is 35g coffee beans (7 tablespoons ground) to 500ml (16.5 ounces) water.
3 to 4 cups: 53g beans (10.5 tablespoons ground) to 750ml (25 ounces) water.
4 to 5 cups: 70g coffee beans (14 tablespoons ground) to 1L (33 ounces) water.
These recommended ratios are from a book I found (Brew Better Coffee at Home by Brian W. Jones). There is lots of great information in this book, especially if you are trying to do exactly that and improve your cup at home. I will reference this book a couple times throughout other posts as it is one, of many, resources that are helping me along the way. However, most of my at home brewing tips are going to be personal trial and error.
Lastly, you do not need all the fancy tools, or expensive pieces, to help enjoy coffee within the comfort of your own home. I currently have four different brewing methods and I have found each of those either at a garage sale or thrift store; there’s no shame in it. Besides, I know some of these things can get quite pricey! I tend to spend a little more on the beans themselves but again, it is not a must. You can enjoy your cup just the same without going broke but if you have never tried specialty coffee, I recommend trying it at least once if you have the opportunity! Especially poop coffee – if you know, you know, and if you don’t, well… we will cover it in another article. For now, I challenge you to try something new with your home brew! Email me, or leave a comment, with thoughts, questions, or suggestions (:
We’ll talk soon coffee berries!
-Autumn
