Many of us need to start the day with a great cup of tasty coffee. One of the best ways to get a very flavorful cup of coffee today is to use a French press.
Using a French press to brew your coffee may take longer than a Keurig or – shudder – instant coffee – but good French press coffee is nearly always worth waiting for.
The French press has been known for decades to be one of the best ways to brew strong, flavorful java. The French press was invented by Attilio Calimani in 1930. The French press also is known as a coffee plunger or coffee press.
If you are making coffee with a French press, there are some very simple tips you should use to get the best results:
- Keep your French press clean: Who would use a dirty coffee filter with a drip coffee machine? Gross! If you make coffee in a dirty French press, it will produce very bitter and nasty coffee. We always clean our French press after every use, so it is ready to make delicious coffee every time.
- Choose the proper coffee: The most vital part of your coffee experience is the coffee itself. All serious coffee drinkers should grind their own coffee with a good burr grinder right before they drink it. If you grind the coffee hours before use, it already starts to lose some of the more flavorful notes. You should also strongly consider purchasing single origin coffee, or single estate coffee. If you buy coffee from a single estate, you know that the coffee beans are all of the same quality and variety. Serious coffee drinkers know that the best coffee beans only can be obtained from single estate coffee sources.
- Stir properly: Using the French press with your single estate coffee or single origin coffee is simple. Pour the grounds and 1/3 of that amount of piping hot water into the press. Commence stirring for 30 seconds, and add the rest of the hot water. Some coffee masters recommend stirring in your French press with a wood spoon so you don’t break it.
- Let it steep: We know we all want things in a hurry today. And we also know that you want your coffee fast. But the very best things in life often come with a wait. The best steeping time for coffee from a French press is four minutes. But you can also steep it from three to six minutes. However, you should not let it steep for more than six minutes or it will be very bitter coffee.
- Plunge: Now you just need to press the plunger down. Make sure you press it to the very bottom of the French press. Then pour and enjoy! But remember that you need to enjoy your French press coffee immediately; letting it sit there will make it very bitter.
Enjoy a great cup of coffee today with the best single estate coffee with a French press, and you will never want any other kind of coffee.