French Press
French press is a full immersion brew method. That means ground coffee infuses in the same receptacle as the water.
The technology of the French Press method dates back to the 1800’s in France, where a metalsmith and merchant patented a device for “filtering coffee by means of a piston.” This came to be known as the cafetière britain. In 1929, an Italian designer named Attilio Calimani patented a version with a seal around the plunger disks to keep them flush with the receptacle, and make plunging more efficient. This design spread and introduced further iterations of the patent adopted by different brands across Europe and North America.
We like this method for its rich design history, it’s simplicity, and that it leads to slightly more forgiving and balanced extractions without much thought. It’s easy. The metal filter lets heavier solubles and oils into the cup, yielding more texture and a full body, but reducing some of the nuance and flavour clarity you can yield from a paper brew method. Be careful to decant your french press when you have completed your brew - the coffee particles still in contact with water could continue to extract, causing bitterness in the cup.
What you’ll need
| Our whole coffee beans |
| A grinder |
| Tablespoon or scale |
| A kettle |
| Measuring cup or scale |
| French-Press |
| Timer |
Available in our shop
 | Hario Stovetop Pourover Kettle (1.2L) |
|---|---|
 | Hario Drip Scale |
 | AWS Scale |
Quick Tips!
Taste too thin or watery for your liking? Try grinding finer or extending the total infusion time. Taste too syrupy or bitter for you? Try grinding coarser or shortening the brew time.
Step 1
Measure 750 ml of water, put it in the kettle and bring it to a boil. Measure 48g (6 tablespoons) of whole beans and grind them to the consistency of raw sugar.
Step 2
Put ground coffee into the base of the french press.
Step 3
Pre-infuse. Start a timer counting up. Pour in about half of your brew water, just off boil, to coat the coffee bed. Place the lid on top without pressing the plunger down. Count up to 2:30 mins.
Step 4
Complete the pour. At 2:30 minutes, pour the rest of water continuously until all brew water has been used. Stir the coffee bed North, South, East and West, with one stroke in each direction.
Step 5
Place plunger on top of receptacle and wait until counter reaches 5:00 minutes. Plunge slowly (about 15-20 seconds)
Step 6
Decant into mugs or another receptacle, or your coffee will keep brewing. Enjoy