Ground coffee is placed in a glass container; hot water is added and allowed to steep. A tightly fitting plunging screen is then pushed to the bottom of the glass, where the grounds are trapped. Unexpected coffee grounds can enter the coffee in this method, which allows for more oils and coffee solids (small, desirable suspended particles called colloids) that provide a cup of coffee with more aroma and dense body. People who prefer coffee to have a strong character and substance consider this a perfect brew method.
HOW TO:
1. Prep - Make sure all your equipment is cleaned to remove any rancid coffee oils from a previous brew, and rinsed to remove any detergent residue.
2. Boil - When you're using a French press, always boil the water before you start grinding the beans. This will allow it to cool to the correct temperature and prevent scalding the coffee.
Depending on the quality of your water, you may find that using filtered water significantly improves the taste of your coffee. In any case, you should always use fresh water, and not the water that's been sitting in the kettle all night.
3. Grind - A high quality grinder is the most important factor in guaranteeing the perfect French press coffee. What you are looking for is a grinder that will produce large grounds, all of equal size. If you use a cheap grinder you will end up with some fine particles mixed in with the large grounds. The press filter will not be able to remove these fine particles and you will end up with a 'muddy' brew. Also, too many fine particles will result in the coffee being over extracted and bitter.
Note: press pots will have either a nylon or a metal filter. In general, a metal filter requires a coarser grind than a nylon filter.
4. Heap - When it's time to heap in the fresh coffee, be generous. It is always easier to dilute your brew than to make it stronger. As a guide, you should allow 1 rounded tablespoon per cup.
Finely ground coffee has more surface area in contact with the water. As mentioned in step 3, the filter on a French press requires coffee to be coarsely ground. This means you will need to use more of the coarsely ground coffee to extract the same full flavour that you would normally get from a smaller portion of finely ground coffee... in short, be generous!
5. Pour & Stir - Having boiled the water at step 2, it is now slightly cooled from boiling point - perfect for good extraction of coffee flavour and aroma. When you pour the water into the press, be sure to cover all the grounds. Be careful not to overfill the press pot.
At this point, we recommend that you give the coffee about 5 stirs to make sure all the grounds are wet. During stirring, the coffee will rise to the top of the pot.
6. Brew - Pop the lid on and let steep for approximately 2-3 minutes for a small pot, or 4 minutes for a large pot.
7. Press - When the coffee has finished brewing, you need to carefully plunge the press filter down through the coffee. Be slow, steady, and keep the rod upright. If you tilt the rod, or press too quickly you might ruin your brew by letting grounds escape from beneath the filter, or by overflowing the pot. If you do happen to press too fast and the pot overflows, be careful not to scald yourself.
8. Serve - Holding the lid, pour carefully from the French press into pre-warmed coffee cups. Enjoy!
© 2007 AGRO Cafe coffee is Fair Trade and roasted in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Certified Organic by PACS. 16-326
AGRO Cafe Inc. Coffee & Roasting House
Agricultural Growers Resource Organisation
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