The French press, or plunger, is the most forgiving brewer there is. There is no paper filter, so the coffee's oils stay in the cup, which is why the body is heavy and the flavour is rounder than filter coffee. It is also the cheapest good coffee you can make.
What you need
- Coarse ground coffee, like raw sugar.
- Water just off the boil, around 93 to 96C. Boiling water scorches the grounds.
- A ratio of about 60 to 70g of coffee per litre. For an 8 cup (1L) press, that is roughly 60g, or about 8 heaped tablespoons.
- Four minutes.
The method
- Preheat. Rinse the press with hot water and tip it out. A cold glass jug drops the brew temperature immediately.
- Add the coffee, then pour in twice its weight in water and wait 30 seconds. The coffee will bloom and swell as trapped gas escapes. Fresh coffee blooms noticeably; stale coffee barely moves.
- Pour the rest of the water, steadily, and put the lid on with the plunger pulled all the way up. The lid keeps the heat in; do not press yet.
- Wait four minutes.
- Break the crust. A crust of grounds will have formed on top. Stir it gently twice with a spoon and most of it sinks. Skim off any foam and floating grounds with two spoons.
- Plunge slowly, with even pressure. If it takes real force, your grind is too fine. Press to just above the coffee bed, not hard into it.
- Pour it all out immediately into cups or a jug. Coffee left sitting on the grounds keeps extracting and turns bitter within minutes.
Why your cup is muddy
Almost always the grind. Fine particles slip straight through the mesh and keep brewing in the cup. Go coarser, and grind fresh: pre-ground supermarket coffee is usually sized for filter or espresso, not for a plunger. Our coffees can be ground for plunger when you order.
The other cause is skipping the skim. Breaking the crust and lifting off the foam removes most of the fines before you ever plunge.
Which beans
The full body of a plunger suits a medium to dark roast with chocolate and nut character, and it flatters bigger, less delicate coffees. A bright light roast can work but often tastes better through a pour over. For the difference, see single origin vs blend.
Cleaning
Rinse the mesh and the plate after every brew; oils build up in the screen and go rancid quickly, which is the usual reason a press that once made good coffee stops. Take the filter assembly apart every few weeks and wash the discs properly.
For grind sizes across every brewer, see the coffee grind size chart.
