Do yourself a favor:
If you’re a regular coffee drinker, or if you’re a good host, or if you don’t drink coffee regularly because you think it’s bitter and gross…buy yourself a French Press. You can find a decent one for $25-50. It’s worth it.
Lots of people ask us why we make coffee in this contraption rather than a standard drip coffee maker.
The answer is pretty simple…it’s better in every way. The flavor, the temperature, the amount of waste, and the fun of pressing that little plunger down when it’s ready.
French Pressed coffee is far superior to drip coffee any day of the week. But why?
Well, for starters; it’s all part of a more advanced process. To get a French Press to really work properly, you’ve got to have a course grind on your coffee. Most coffee that is already ground in the grocery store is too finely ground for this process. If the coffee is too finely ground, it won’t filter through the french press and you’ll have nasty bits of sludge in your java. That means you’ll have to have whole beans which are in most cases, much fresher and you’ll be grinding them yourself.
A burr grinder would be best. Burr is a type of grinder…less expensive grinders don’t actually grind, they chop. You can find burr grinders starting around $30.
The next benefit is that you’ll be providing the water heat rather than the drip coffee maker heating up the water for you. Believe it or not this is a huge deal when it comes to coffee flavor extraction. Coffee tastes best when it’s flavor has been extracted between 190-200 degrees Fahrenheit. You can either bring water on the stove to a boil, or use one of these little electric kettles that we use.
This one was $15:
I typically bring the water to a boil and then let it sit for a couple of minutes dropping down to a little below 200 degrees. Then I’ll add it to the coffee grinds. The big difference in the process here as compared with a drip coffee maker is that all the coffee is being extracted evenly.
In a drip coffee maker there is a filter basket that holds all of your coffee. The drip maker heats up water and drips it directly through the center of the coffee filter basket. This ends up over extracting all of the coffee in the center of the filter, and completely under extracting the coffee towards the outer edges of the basket. Essentially, you’ve got burnt coffee and raw coffee in the same filter.
After the coffee drips through the filter basket and into the coffee pot, it is now sitting on a heating pad. This heating pad is really hot and is further burning your coffee drip by drip. This is what results in the bitter flavor that people have come to know and expect when drinking coffee.
In the French Press, once the water has been added, a quick stir will give every coffee grind the same attention so that it can extract flavor evenly.
Pop the top back onto the press and you’ve got about 4 minutes of brew time.
After your 4 minutes is up, you can push down on the plunger to filter out all the grinds and you’ve got the best home-brew of coffee around.
Many coffees claim that they have notes of fruit or chocolate or nutty flavors to them and usually you would never ever taste this. The French Press is the machine you need to experience those more subtle flavors without them being burnt away in a drip machine.
Gitcha some.
37 Comments
One of the many reasons I look forward to Monday nights. Good coffee, good food, good guys, and butt pinching.
I need to invest in a good burr grinder and a french press.
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I love french press coffee and have impressed others with the flavor of coffee it can make. I always tell them that it’s not me, this is how coffee is supposed to taste. Great article and awesome pictures.
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I love both the French Press and the AeroPress for excellent homebrew!
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We already grind our own beans (Starbucks is just better fresh ground), but we do use an automatic coffee maker. My beloved attempted to bring me back an authentic French press on one of his trips overseas, but it got broken in transport….time to start looking for another one, I guess.
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I agree, French-press coffee is the best.
The problem with this is that I don’t have a French press or a grinder. Therefore, I don’t have whole coffee beans either.
I’m not about to drop $100ish for a great cup of java, although I’d love to.
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Thank you for the reminder Ryan… I have a very nice Bodum still packed away somewhere and I forgot all about it… I do grind my own coffee too, but didn’t know about burr grinders, I will have to invest in one as soon as I can =D…
I can’t believe it’s been weeks since I’ve been by to read your blog… amazing how distracting a new relationship can be **blush**… as always you write with wit, humour and a good dose of knowledge… thank you for being the wonderful you that you are !!!
Blessings, ~Shannon
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Thanks! That tutorial makes me want to go out a buy a french press and develop a liking for coffee.
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I need to get a new french press. I was making some at work one morning when all of a sudden, *crack*.
I mourned for about 30 seconds.
No coffee the rest of the day made me bitter.
If I get a new press, I can quit going to Starbucks.
-Chris
Weather Moose
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It’s the BEST cup of coffee you’ll ever have! My husband and I l-o-v-e our coffee, we used to just use a coffee maker until his dad gave us a French press. We use it every day now and will not go back to a machine.
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i bought both a coffee pot with a thermal carafe and a french press. no matter how strong i like my coffee, i just can’t do it in the press. i’m sorry… it’s just not for me. besides, the thermal carafe does a fabulous job of keeping my joe hot without burning it. however, the press is BY FAR the best thing i ever introduced to my tea habit!
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Hooray for the French Press. I don’t like coffee any other way!
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Coffee, ek. I was going to put drink a cup of coffee on my list of goals but then changed my mind.
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Thanks Ryan!I’ve always been a little perplexed by the french press contraption, but now thanks to you, the mystery is solved! I’ll have to try it soon!
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The other REALLY great thing about the french press is that the oil in the coffee is retained (as opposed to being caught in the paper filter of a typical coffee maker)–which seriously adds to the complexity and depth of flavor.
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Dan - you could have a cup of coffee while eating a piece of fruit and knock out two goals at once
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Sometimes we just need people like you to remind us of the little important things in life that make it better.
When my husband and I were in Charleston S.C. on vacation right after we were married we went into a dessert/coffee house and this is what they brought to the table to brew our coffee. As I remember now, it was (as you have brought it back to my attention) the best coffee I had ever tasted. But why did I not go and get a F. Press myself? I have no earthy, flippin idea. But I think I will now.
Thanks Ryan.
Now I must go get me a cup of coffee. Pronto.
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I can smell that wonderful aroma from here!
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Well, i am thoroughly convinced! Hubby would be in coffee heaven with his Brazillian blend if i brought one of these little beauties home!
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Hah, that’s the gift I mentioned a few weeks ago on your site (I got as a gift but I don’t drink coffee so I’ll use it for guests)…lol! I’ve never even heard of a coffee press, but apparently that was a great gift!
Can it be used for loose tea I wonder….??
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Now I am wondering if I have ever actually had really *good* coffee.
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You and my hubbie would get along quite well. He has all of the coffee gadgets in our kitchen. His favorite part? Plunging the coffee.
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i keep hearing about cold pressing. ?? have you?
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If it’s the BEST coffee, then shouldn’t we be serving it at church. Let’s see, we’ll need to make at least 75 cups on Sat. night and probably about 260 cups on Sunday. I wonder if we’d have time to get it all done.
All together, how much was that in gadgets again?
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This is awesome… Ryan, you know, you make coffee like Australian’s do? I watch an old TV series on DVD from Australia where they use the water boiler and coffee press on the show. I keep telling my husband we need a coffee press. I bet it would work great for loose leaf herbal tea as well.
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My first comment here…..
how did you know of my extreme addiction to coffee….? I had to de-lurk.
I just zoomed over to amazon to put together some goodies. Just for the heck of it-what type of coffees are your favorites? By the way, your photos are better than real life. fyi.
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I bought a french press about 15 years ago. Somehow it got stuck in the back of a cupboard. I’m getting it out tonight! Thanks for the reminder!
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I love my french press but am in too big of a hurry to use it! You know, sometimes you need a cup of coffee to make a cup of coffee!
Now that I’ve had my first cup, I’ll get my press out and use it!
Thanks also for the detailed instructions, I had forgotten how to use mine!
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You’re right about how much better the coffee tastes in a french press. We have a big one for the house, and a little one for camping trips. For everyday use, we still use our coffeemaker because it brews into a HUGE stainless steel carafe and keeps my coffee warm all day. I loathe cold coffee and with 2 little kids keeping me busy, I can at least get a hot cup throughout the day.
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Dude, as a fellow French-Presser, I completely agree with you. I’ve had my French Press now for 2 years and I can’t imagine what I used to drink before it. I sure know it wasn’t as good as it is now!
The only thing I would add to complete the French Press experience is the importance of quality beans. Most beans are over-roasted to maintain a longer shelf-life. If you can, find a local roaster who knows how to roast beans properly. If roasted right, a good pound of coffee beans is recommended to be consumed within 7-14 days.
There used to be a place in Ft Wayne called Old Crown. Now those guys knew how to roast their beans! If you’re looking for something you can get by mail-order, check out http://www.storyville.com. Their beans are expensive but you need to at least try it once. They’re still one of my favorite roasts to drink!
As you can see, I love talking about coffee as much as you do. Which is why this comment has stretched on to the length of a full blog post.
Dude, I wish we were closer so we could grab coffee together.
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Oh, and aside from their amazing coffee, Storyville Coffee has some beautiful photography on their site. You would appreciate it. Also check out their videos here:
http://www.storyville.com/lowband/coffee-video-the_truth.html
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For the past year or so, I’ve heard people talking about french presses, and how they love them. To be honest, I didn’t even have a clue what it was. After looking in the stores, I had no idea why in the world this was a popular idea! It just seemed messy and way too inconvenient compared to my drip coffeemaker. (Even a couple weeks ago while Christmas shopping, I scoffed! lol)
But after reading your post about this, I have to say I am so excited to get one! Stupid Kohl’s doesn’t carry them so I can’t put that nagging gift card to use, but being a huge coffee lover, it is my new obsession! Thanks for sharing!
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An absolute MUST for camping trips: I was the envy of the campsite each morning as I brewed up my coffee.
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Do you think you could just come and sit at starbucks while I’m working? My answer to questions on a french press usually involves the words “ehhhh” and “too much work”.
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I agree completely. Coffee has not been experienced until it is experienced through a French Press. Entirely different beverage altogether and worth every extra ounce of energy put forth.
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We love our French Press, even though we don’t use is very often anymore. The coffee is uncontested, absolutely the best! I need to find a bigger one, because ours just doesn’t make enough. We drink waaaay too much coffee.
~Brea
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I find it kinda funky that a whole blog post is dedicated to making coffee like this, when it’s THE standard in the UK. You don’t even need to spend as much as all that on the press (or “cafetiere” as we call it) and almost all pre-ground coffee is suited to it.
Wow, I guess we win for coffee.
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Have you had coffee through a clover machine? BEST ever. In cincy, go to Rohs st cafe. delish.
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