French press, learning to brew coffee in a coffee press with the Coffee Project team

How to brew coffee in a French press correctly

The procedure is simple and is done in several steps.

Step One To make delicious espresso in a French press, you need to start by preparing the water. You need it either bottled or simply filtered. Since we will be preparing one cup, we will need 0.2 liters of water. Bring it to a boil, but the temperature should be 82 degrees.
Step number two While the water is boiling, grind the grains. We need a coarse grind. For 100 ml of water we take 10 g (2.5 tsp) of powder.
Step number three Pour the ground grains into a French press and fill it with almost boiling water so that there is about twice as much of it as the powder itself. A bamboo stick, a teaspoon, or even a butter knife are suitable for mixing. You can add a little cold water to the thickener.
Step number four Leave for half a minute and let it swell. When it increases in volume, you can start...
Step five : Fill in the water that we have left. We insert the piston into the press flask and lower it to the surface of the grounds. We wait another 4 minutes.
Step six Lower the piston slowly and with effort. The force needed is the same as when pressing on a grandfather clock. If the grind is coarse (as we need), the piston will go down easily, if it’s too fine, it will be hard to go down. Immediately after this you can pour into cups.

Important! If you want a stronger drink, brew not 4 minutes, but 6-7 .

Origin story

A French press is a glass flask in a glass holder with a lid, to which is attached a sieve on a piston plunger. The design does not have separate compartments for water and grains; the drink is obtained by straining the infusion at the moment the piston is lowered.

This technology was first patented by the Italian Attilio Calimani in 1928. However, the production of such teapots was launched a little earlier - in 1913 in France. Louis Forest launched Cafeolette, teapots with a metal piston filter. The device was intended for only one type of drink - coffee with milk. The ground grains were poured with hot milk, left to steep for several minutes and then filtered using a piston.

But the Italians did not want to give up their championship. In 1958, coffee inventor Faliero Bondanini presented the world with an improved form of French press - a glass flask in a metal frame with a steel plunger mechanism. This model was patented under the name “Chambord”, but it was still produced by the French factory Martin A.

Since that time, designers and aesthetes have changed the material and appearance of the convenient teapot many times, leaving the basic design unchanged - the glass flask and plunger. The flask glass holders were painted in the Gzhel and Khokhloma style, the handle was designed in vintage, hi-tech or fantastic steampunk style. The French press awakened the creativity of craftsmen with the fantastic aroma of coffee.

American Press - the latest word in coffee technology

But brave American innovators attempted to modify the basic design. In 2021, a fashionable coffee device appeared on the market - the American press. Unlike its predecessor, the American version demonstrated significant advantages:

the flask is no longer made of ordinary glass (the fragility of which has always been a disadvantage of the French press), but of two-layer polycarbonate. This material is just as transparent, but has super strength; it is used to make windows on airplanes;
there is no cup holder with a holder, but they are not needed - the thermal conductivity of polycarbonate is low, it is impossible to burn your hands on the walls of the teapot;
a sealed compartment for ground beans with the finest metal filters of 100 microns appeared;
a smooth plunger allows you to vary the lowering speed, due to this you can control the degree of brewing;
The hydraulic seal separates the hot water and the brewed drink, resulting in the most efficient coffee extraction.

Interesting: extraction is a term from a chemistry course; it has entered the professional lexicon of baristas and means the process of extracting beneficial ingredients from ground coffee. This is the highest skill: choosing the right proportions of water and coffee beans to get a drink with a delicate aroma and bright taste.

The walls of the French press flask do not maintain the temperature of the drink for a long time, so it is recommended to brew coffee immediately before a meal. There is no need to leave the meal (coffee grounds) in the brewer; refilling it will be tasteless. The American Press, due to its tightness and two-layer casing, leaves the drink hot for 15-20 minutes.

There is one more difference between the French press and the American teapot. In the classic version, the flask has a spout for pouring the drink into a mug, and in an alternative version, such a spout has been moved to the lid. And yet, the process of preparing a coffee drink for both devices has the same principles.

How to make coffee with milk in a French press

A French press is quite suitable for making lattes.

First, rinse the French press and wipe dry. This will avoid unpleasant odors and tastes.
Pour a couple of cups of ground coffee into the press and add 0.1 liters of water. The temperature should be up to 90 degrees. Let it brew for about five minutes, after which we lower the piston and filter. You can pour the drink into two cups.
And now the fun begins. We rinse the French press again and pour 0.3 liters of milk into it. Its temperature should be from 60 to 65 degrees. We begin to move the piston quickly down and up, whisking the milk for about half a minute. Hold the foam with a spoon and pour milk into cups (we need a product with a fat content of about 3.3%). Next, add foam to the cups. You can add grated chocolate or cinnamon on top of the foam. Remember that we need one part espresso for three parts milk.

We prepare everything you need to make delicious French press coffee at home

To prepare cappuccino or espresso in a French press, you only need the device itself, coffee, water and something that can change the taste of the drink. This could be milk, sugar, syrups, spices, cocoa. As with the Turkish press, you can experiment with the French press.

Ingredients for making French press coffee

One of the key ingredients is the coffee itself. But not everyone will suit you. Firstly, the beans should be medium roasted. The grind should be coarse: the size of small buckwheat or coarse rock salt. The grains must be ground evenly.

Another important point is the French press itself. There are many options for this device on the market, but if you plan to brew coffee in it, then choose a glass flask. The fact is that glass never reacts with water or grounds.

Recipe 1 Cappuccino

Yes, a French press is quite suitable for preparing it. We need:

600 ml water;
Coffee – 2 tbsp;
Milk – 125 ml;
Sugar – 2 tsp.

To prepare, heat the water to 85 degrees. We prepare coffee like any other using a French press. Pour into cups. Heat the milk to 70 degrees , but no more. For this, for example, you can use a microwave. Once warmed up, pour it into a French press and move the piston up and down very intensively. After half a minute you can put it in a cup of liquid. Be sure to sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Recipe No. 2. Latte macchiato in French press

Heat the French press with hot water. 4 tsp into it. ground coffee;
Pour in 150 ml of boiled water (temperature about 90 degrees). Don't forget to stir;
Cover the French press so that the piston reaches the liquid a little and comes into contact with it;
5 minutes , but no more, otherwise the makeup will lose its properties;
While everything is brewing, take pasteurized milk ( 150 g ) and place it in the microwave for a couple of minutes;
Now we lower the piston down extremely slowly, pour the drink into a preheated container, from which we will then pour it in a thin stream into the milk;
We rinse the French press. Pour milk into it. Beat with a piston, progressively moving it up and down. Move the piston for a third of a minute;
When the milk froths, pour it into a latte glass and wait for the line between milk and foam to appear. This usually takes about a third of a minute;
Slowly pour coffee into the center of the milk;
Sprinkle everything with spices, cocoa powder or grated chocolate.

Recipe No. 3. Shmeleff coffee

For preparation you will need ripe lemongrass berries. The seeds need to be extracted from them, washed and thoroughly dried and ground. For one part of lemongrass powder, take 3 parts of coffee. Brew for 7 .

Related material: How to make Turkish coffee.

Secrets, life hacks and useful tips

Brewing coffee in a French press is a fun process. You can add cardamom, nutmeg, vanilla or cinnamon to the device's container. Every time a completely new drink will appear on your table.

If you drink coffee and tea with equal pleasure, have two French presses at home. One will be used for brewing coffee, and the other for making tea. This way, the smells of the drinks will not mix.
Brew coffee for one time only, do not leave it in the French press. Otherwise, the drink will acquire an unpleasant aftertaste.
Using the device, try making cappuccino foam. Warm the milk to 70 °C and pour it into a clean teapot flask. By raising and lowering the plunger, create a thick foam.
Try changing the proportions of water and coffee a little. So, you can find your ideal recipe for making a drink. Try not to squeeze out all the liquid, otherwise bitterness from the sediment will get into the drink.
Rinse the filter thoroughly. Particles of coffee and tea leaves accumulate under the grate.

A French press allows you to do without using a Turkish coffee pot or an expensive coffee maker. The drink prepared from ground grains is infused and acquires an amazing taste and aroma.

French Press Experiments

What can you experiment with? Firstly, with different beans, roasts and varieties. Secondly, you can reduce the brewing time and change the grind. You can safely experiment with spices that are added to the drink.

Excellent milk foam

Foam is needed for making cappuccino and latte . The piston is quite suitable for whipping it. The milk should be warm: 60-70 degrees. We heat it up and pour it into the device. Beat the foam with a press, moving it up and down. We open it and lightly hit the table surface with the bottom of the French press so that the air comes out of the foam and there are fewer bubbles. We move the french in a circle and scroll the foam until it becomes glossy, that is, until the large bubbles disappear. You can add buckwheat honey or vanilla in any form to milk.

Grinding and coffee

The French press is picky about the grind and type of coffee. The higher the quality of the grain and the more suitable grinding method, the more shades of flavor the press will retain. For brewing, take coarsely ground coffee, the diameter of the particles is the same as sea salt. A coarse grind will make the drink pure.

Coffee will taste better if you grind it before brewing, use soft bottled water rather than tap water, and purchase quality beans.

Finished ground beans should not be stored for more than 3 weeks, so French press lovers buy coffee in small “batches.” We have already written about how long coffee can be stored.

Proper grinding of coffee for a coffee press

How to care for your French press

There are no particular difficulties when caring for this simple device. Once you have brewed coffee or tea, pour it into the cup without any residue. Be sure to clean the piston from grounds or tea leaves.

The French press should only be washed under running water and a soft sponge. It is not necessary to use a cleaning agent, but if you use the device for a long time, it may develop a yellowish coating. Liquid dishwashing detergent would be appropriate here.