Last Updated on February 3, 2023 by Pinpoint 250
Known by many names worldwide, the French press is likely one of the oldest brewing systems that uses a filter. In this post, we’ll share with you how to brew coffee with the French Press.
I say “likely” because no one is quite sure when the method came to be—or where, for that matter. Some sources say people used the French press in France as early as the 1850s. Before filters, people boiled their coffee grounds with water in one pot.
Folklore has it that, one day, a Frenchman realized that his water was boiling. But he had forgotten to add the coffee. When he poured the coffee in, all the grounds were floating on top of the water, rendering it undrinkable. The crafty Frenchman found a metal screen. Placed it on top of the pot, and pushed it down with a stick to trap the coffee. Et voilà, he had made a French press!
The coffee tasted delicious, probably because it wasn’t boiled and burned; The Frenchman never looked back. A 2014 New York Times article lends credence to this story—at least in terms of the period.
The report says that in March 1852, a metalsmith and a merchant from Paris. Got a joint patent for a device that used the same basic ideas as the French press.
The patent said the filter was a pierced tin with flannel on both sides. This filter was on a rod that the user pushed into a cylinder-shaped container. Sounds familiar, huh? Even so, the press became popular in Europe in the 20th century.
Some sources say that the first “official” patent for French press came out in 1929. When Italian designer Attilio Calimani filed his invention for an “apparatus for preparing infusions, especially for making coffee.” Faliero Bondanini, who was also Italian. Improved the design and got a patent for his own “coffee filter pot” in the 1950s.
He started making the device. When big kitchenware companies like Bodum began to sell it; it became trendy all over Europe. However, it took even longer for the press to gain popularity in the United States.
Coffee With French Press/A Household Word
Today, you can find French presses almost anywhere that sells kitchen items. They come in different sizes and materials, like glass and plastic. Although the French press has been tweaked here and there over the years. Modern devices employ the same admirably simple design: pour, wait, press, and enjoy. Because of this, the method is great for people who are just starting or want to make coffee more simply.
The French press requires no special skills or kettles. Generally speaking, you can go about the rest of your morning while the coffee brews. The French press is also one of the most versatile coffee devices.
You can make cold brew and tea in it. You can even froth milk for café au lait or hot cocoa. If you prefer a device that can be used in multiple ways in the kitchen, strongly consider the French press. The one downside is that it’s relatively difficult to clean. But that’s no reason not to clean the plunger after each use. To avoid a buildup of coffee grounds and oils, take the plunger apart and wash it well.
Coffee With French Press/How Does it Work?
Because the (usually metal, usually mesh) filter does not trap all of the grounds; it’s important to drink or serve the coffee relatively quickly—the fines in your cup will continue to extract. The longer the coffee sits, the more you risk an over-extracted cup. However, fines aren’t all bad.
They make the cup feel heavier and more velvety in the mouth, which is very different from methods that use paper filters but adds to the unique French press flavor many people like. The French press method produces a uniquely tasting cup, period.
French press coffee is usually bolder and more affluent than other coffees, bringing out the beans’ darker qualities, such as chocolaty, earthy, or floral notes. Much of this is because a French press filter allows the essential oils in the coffee to remain in the brew—there is no paper filter to trap them.
Since the French press tends to bring out more robust flavors, I suggest using roasts that bring out the qualities of the bean instead of the roast.
Coffee With French Press/Cold Brew
You might not know that cold brew is easy to make at home, and various devices are available to help you do it.
I’ve included the most basic method, which uses a French press, and one for the clever because its design lends itself to the task.
Cold brew is the ultimate “set it and forget it” method. It’s economical to make it at home, too. Cold brew is very forgiving, so even less-expensive blends can turn into wow-factor beverages.
Also, a typical batch can last for one to two weeks if you keep it in the fridge in an airtight container.
Even cold water can extract flavor from the coffee. Extraction with cold water takes much longer than extraction with hot water—sometimes as long as 12 to 15 hours.
It will be worthwhile, though. The long-brewing times tend to bring out sweet, rich flavors in the coffee, and there is little perceived acidity.
The oxidation and degradation of the coffee molecules. The same processes that turn hot coffee into gross coffee, if left to sit too long. Slow down when coffee brews with cold water.
Solubles In Coffee Dissolve at Different Rates
Don’t forget that the solubles in coffee dissolve at different rates, and the ones that make the coffee taste too bitter dissolve last.
That’s why over-extracted coffee—the kind that has spent too much time with hot water— tends to taste bitter. With cold brew, because the water takes so long to dissolve the solubles, many bitter compounds are not dissolved, even after 12 to 15 hours of brewing.
Because not all coffee molecules dissolve in cold water, more coffee is needed to make up for it. I use both cold brews, which concentrate on having a brew ratio of about 1:6, which is a much higher concentration of coffee than any hot brew method. However, you can dilute the concentrate to your liking.
Adding water allows you to adjust the strength of your brew. Cold brewing often brings out a different flavor profile than hot brewing. I once had a cold brew that tasted like a delicious, ripe tomato—something I’d never experienced before in hot-brewed coffee.
The Eight-Minute French Press Method
Most coffee guides will tell you that to make French press coffee, you should pour water over the grounds and let them sit for four to five minutes. We used to make it that way, too. However, we’ve found that highly coarse grounds and longer steep times (up to eight minutes) produce a more even, delicate cup.
Because of this, we have included specs for both the eight-minute and five-minute methods here—shorter brewing times do have an early-morning appeal, after all.
The eight-minute method works best with a very coarse grind. Start with the coarsest setting on your grinder that still produces a consistent grind.
Base Specs
Grind: extra coarse (39 on Baratza Virtuoso)
Brew ratio: 1:14.
Water temperature: off-boil
Total brewing time: 8 minutes
Ingredients
makes 400 grams (13.5 fluid ounces)
28.5 grams fresh whole coffee (14 cup + 2 teaspoons)
400 grams (13.5 fluid ounces) of water, plus more as needed.
Method
1. Pour the water into a kettle and set it over medium-high heat.
Bring the water to a boil.
2. While the water heats, set a timer for 8 minutes but don’t start it yet. Grind the coffee to an extra coarse size, transfer it to the brewing chamber of a French press, and gently shake the chamber to level the grounds.
Set it on a kitchen scale and zero the scale.
3. When the water starts to boil, remove the kettle from the heat. Start the timer quickly, but carefully add the water to the French press until the scale reads 400 grams.
4. After 30 to 45 seconds have elapsed on the timer, gently stir the water with a spoon until most of the grounds start to sink to the bottom (there will still be a froth with some grounds at the top). Place the plunger over the vessel, but do not depress it.
5. When the timer sounds, slowly and gently depress the plunger. It’s essential to do this carefully. Forcefully pushing the plunger will result in unwanted agitation, and you’ll risk ruining your balanced cup by unleashing the bitter, astringent flavors still in the bean.
6. Serve immediately or transfer to a separate carafe. Use any extra hot water to rinse the device. Enjoy!
Brewing Tips
Most of the methods in this section call for a stopwatch. For this method (and the Five-Minute French Press Method), it’s easier to set a timer and wait for it to sound. One of the best things about using a French press is that it’s quick and easy to make coffee for multiple people.
But remember, there is still sediment in your brew, and the bulk of it has sunk to the bottom. If you serve multiple people by filling each cup one at a time, the first cup will contain minimal sediment, and the last cup will have a lot—and it won’t necessarily taste that good. To avoid this, pour each cup in waves to distribute the sediment evenly.
The Five-Minute French Press Method
In our home experiments, we found that limiting the brewing time for this method to four minutes or less made it too difficult to achieve a balanced cup. It’s often not enough time for the water to fully penetrate the coarse grounds and extract delicious flavors. If you tighten the grind, it’s too easy for the water to penetrate, which leads to a bitter, filmy brew (no matter what
anyone else says, you do not need to resign yourself to bitter, filmy coffee when using a French press!). We settled on five minutes. Aside from the time involved, the main difference between the eight-minute and shorter methods is that it requires further agitation to extract correctly. Also, due to the shorter brewing time, you do not need as coarse of a grind as in the eight-minute method.
Base Specs
Grind: coarse (34 on Baratza Virtuoso)
Brew ratio: 1:6 Water
Temperature: off boil
Total brewing time: 5 minutes
Ingredients
400 grams (13.5 fluid ounces), 25 grams (14 cups + 12 teaspoons) of fresh whole coffee, 400 grams (13.5 fluid ounces) of water, plus more as needed.
Method
1. Pour the water into a kettle and set it over medium-high heat. Bring the water to a boil.
2. While the water heats, set a timer for 5 minutes, but don’t start it yet. Grind the coffee to a coarse size, transfer it to the brewing chamber of a French press, and gently shake the chamber to level the grounds. Set it on a kitchen scale and zero the scale.
3. When the water just starts to boil, remove the kettle from the heat. Start the timer and carefully pour the water into the French press until the scale reads 400 grams.
4. After 1 minute has elapsed on the timer, gently stir the water in a circle with a spoon about 10 times. Place the plunger over the vessel, but do not depress it.
5. When the timer sounds, slowly and gently depress the plunger. It’s essential to do this carefully. Forcefully pushing the plunger will result in unwanted agitation, and you’ll risk ruining your balanced cup by unleashing the bitter, astringent flavors still in the bean.
6. Serve immediately or transfer to a separate carafe. Use any extra hot water to rinse the device. Enjoy!
Brewing Tips
If you’d like to see how different brewing methods can change the taste of the same coffee beans, compare your French press coffee with a cup of coffee brewed with any pour-over method. Even once you depress the plunger of a French press, the grounds at the bottom of the container will continue to extract, so make sure to remove the coffee from the device as soon as it’s done brewing.
The French Press Cold Brew Method
Cold brewing is one of the easiest ways to make a great cup of coffee. This method combines a traditional approach with a unique French press technique we picked up from James Hoffmann, author of The World Atlas of Coffee and 2007 World Barista Champion (although he used it for a hot brew, not a cold brew).
If you don’t have a French press, this method can also be done in any old jar with a lid. Instead of pouring the concentrate through the French press screen, gently and carefully pour it through a paper or cloth filter. A batch of cold-brew concentrate can make upward of five cups after dilution. Depending on the size of your vessel, you can make even more with the ratios listed below.
Base Specs
Grind: medium coarse (25 on Baratza Virtuoso) Brew ratio: 1:6 Water temperature: cold (from the fridge or from a tap) Total brewing time: 12 hours
Ingredients
600 grams (20.3 fluid ounces) of concentrate
96 grams (1 cup) of whole, fresh coffee
600 grams (20.3 fluid ounces) of cold water
Method
1. Grind the coffee to a medium-coarse size, add it to the brewing chamber of a French press, and gently shake it to level the grounds. Add the water. Insert the plunger, but do not depress it all the way. The mesh filter should just rest on the ground, keeping it submerged. Transfer the French press to the refrigerator and let the coffee brew for 12 hours.
2. Remove the French press from the refrigerator and remove the lid.
Stir three times, just until the crust starts to sink. Set it aside for 5 to 10 minutes to allow most of the tiny coffee particles to sink to the bottom of the vessel.
Then insert the plunger, but only depress it in some ways. Plunge it just enough so the mesh filter rests gently on the coffee. It’s untraditional, but pushing the plunger will agitate your perfect cold brew and stir up all the tiny particles you patiently waited to sink to the bottom. The goal is to keep them from extracting any further in the filtered cold brew!
Gently pour the cold brew concentrate into a separate container. To enjoy, dilute with fresh, cold water using a 1:1 ratio or to taste.
Refrigerate in an airtight container for 1 to 2 weeks.
Coffee With French Press/Final Words
For a fun experiment, make a batch of cold brew and taste it side-by-side with the same coffee you brew with hot water. Some coffee professionals dismiss the French press, perhaps because it makes it harder to produce more delicate flavors.
Others believe the French press is one of the purest ways to make coffee, as it’s the closest to the cupping method, a highly disciplined process that coffee professionals use to taste new coffee.
