French Press

Getting Started

French press (or ‘plunger’ as it has long been known in Australia) is a wonderful and very easy way of making coffee at home, particularly for guests since the recipe is completely scalable from 1 cup right up to 8-10 cups depending on the size of your french press. The french press, due it being a full immersion brewing method with a long steeping time, produces a thick and full-bodied cup which many drinkers find more pleasant under milk than other pour-over style filter brewers.

You will need:

• A Bodum French Press
• A set of pocket scales
• An electric or hand grinder
• An electric kettle
• 19g of fresh, well-roasted filter coffee

Preparation

Boil fresh water in an electric or stove-top kettle. If using a Bonvita Electric kettle, set the temperature at 99ºC.

Seriously hot water is one of the most important elements of a great french press coffee, you want the water to be at a rolling boil before adding it immediately to the coffee.

Prepare and grind 19g of filter coffee to a coarse setting. The texture should be similar to flakes of rock salt. Add the ground coffee to your empty french press.

Brew

Quickly but carefully add 300g of boiling water to the french press (it will be almost completely full).

Stir the slurry gently so all grounds are completely saturated.

Put the lid on top of the french press, but don’t plunge, and let it brew for 4 minutes.

Scoop and serve

After four minutes has passed, remove the lid and scoop the layer of brown foam and coffee grounds that are left on the surface of the french press.

Replace the lid, plunge gently and pour immediately into cups or another vessel for serving.

Notes and cautions

If you cannot plunge the french press gently with two fingers, stop immediately. Some glass vessels can crack and break under high pressure. This is normally a sign that your grind is too fine and needs to be coarser.

If you are after a stronger brew, try adding more coffee (say 22g instead of 19g) until you find a sweet spot that suits your tastes.

For a more floral and ‘lighter’ brew, try shortening your brew time to 3:30 or 3:45.