French Press Basics
Kicking off the brewing 'master class' with a bang, this time we are going to learn how to use a French press. This coffee maker is basically part one of manual brewing for amateurs. It's simple to use, doesn't require much knowledge and is possibly one of the cheapest coffee makers you can get online. The best part about the French press is that it does not need any filters or dripper to get your cup ready. All you need is coarsely ground coffee, a French press and patience. Lots and lots of patience.
Out there on YouTube, there are literally hundreds of different methods to brew coffee in French Press. None of them is a 'wrong' method per se, it's just that all people have their version of a good cup of coffee. So now before we start with how to brew, let's look at the variables. Firstly, you need a medium-coarse grind, something that resembles a sand-like consistency. Take a deeper dive into the science part of coffee and you'll realise that it does make sense to have a coarse grind for a coffee maker with a simple mesh filter. Do remember that due to the coarse grind, you can expect to have a bitter residue at the bottom of your cup. Now don't go around making a bad face, just discard the last sip.
French press produces a slightly acidic cup with a not-so-clean finish and a heavy body. So now that we have a brief idea about the kind of brew we'll be brewing, let's just dive right into the procedure. For starters get approximately 15g medium-coarse coffee in the French press. If you do not have a weighing scale, take around 2-3 tablespoons of coffee for brewing. To make sure that you do not ruin the characteristic notes of your bean, make sure that you do not use boiling water. The key is to bring the water near boil and then let it cool for a few seconds. For the brew ratio, you can use anything between 1:10 to 1:15. I personally use a 1:13 ratio as it produces just the right kind of cup for me, one with minimal acidity. But as I said earlier, you should keep on experimenting till you find your sweet spot.
The French press is ideal for black coffee consumers and is probably the easiest way to brew a cup of coffee. But if you prefer milk with your coffee, this is certainly not the one for you as it produces a watery brew.
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