Preparing coffee in the French Press

WHAT IS FRENCH PRESS COFFEE LIKE?

It is designed for all those coffee lovers who want to indulge in good coffee in a larger volume. French press coffee is one of the alternative methods of coffee preparation. It is filtered coffee because thecoffee grounds are filtered during the preparation process and you only have pure, delicious coffee in your cup.

It is thepurity of the coffee that is not as clear as, for example, the coffee brewed in a Hario V60. The metal filter at the end of the plunger, which ensures just the separation of the log from the coffee, has a higher permeability than the paper filter in the aforementioned dripper. This is why the coffee from the French Press has a certain texture, as the small, almost dusty particles of coffee get into the coffee through the metal filter.

This may suit coffeedrinkers who are looking for that texture in their coffee. The French Press may appeal to those of you who are used to the Czech coffee classic called "turek". Working with the French Press is basically quite simple, perhaps just a step longer than in the preparation of that "turk". But coffee from French Press is (unlike "turk") a big leap more tasty and especially healthier!

WHY NOT DRINK A "TURKA" AND USE A FRENCH PRESS TO MAKE COFFEE

You can read about the manyhealth benefits ofcoffee besides its enticing aroma and especially its taste in ourother articles. For example, how it helps regulate theoveractivated HPA axis or how it prevents cancer. At the same time, its positive effects are conditioned by the correct dosage. This is individual according to everyone's ability to metabolize caffeine.

Another condition for healthy coffee drinking is the correct preparation, where it is recommended to limit the extraction time . If you leave the coffee grounds in hot water for too long - as is the case with theCzech "turk" - you will extract substances that are not very good for human health, rather the opposite.

The ideal coffee extraction time when using French Press is 4 minutes. If you leave the coffee to infuse longer, the coffee will become bitter and substances that are not healthy will start to infuse into the coffee, as is the case with the Czech version of Turkish coffee. After pressing the plunger and thus separating the coffee grounds at the bottom of the French Press, immediately transfer the coffee into cups or another container. This will end the extraction.

FRENCH PRESS - PREPARATION

Like any alternative coffee preparation method, the French Press needs a degree ofcoarseness. For the French press, a really coarse grind is required , like a sugar crystal. If the coffee beans were ground finer, the coffee would not be good as a result - over-extracted and the fine grind would make filtration a problem.

You will need:

• Roasted coffee
• French Press
• Akettle of hot water
• Along spoon / stirrer
• Scale
• Grinder
• Stopwatch

FRENCH PRESS: COFFEE QUANTITY

In our recipe, we base the basic ratio of coffee and water for this technique on 1:16, i.e. 6g of coffee per 100 ml of water. You can keep this recipe when making a larger or smaller French Press. If you prepare, say, a half-litre French Press use 30 g of coffee. However, you can adjust this ratio according to your taste. Do you find the coffee weak? Do you need it stronger? You can adjust the ratio of coffee to water to, for example, 1:14.

FRENCH PRESS: HOW LONG TO STEEP

For making coffee in a French press, an extraction time of up to 5 minutes is ideal. However, you can also adjust this time to suit your tastes. Depending on your brewing technique and the coarseness of the grind you choose, you can even extract French Press for longer. For example, as per the recipe of the famous "coffee guru" James Hofman.

He prepares it with 30 grams of medium coarse ground coffee and 500 grams of water and has stretched the extraction time to almost 10 minutes. Halfway through the time, he broke the coffee crust at the surface and let the coffee sit naturally to the bottom. He eventually set the metal filter on the plunger of the French Press just barely at the surface of the coffee, like a sieve for when pouring the finished coffee into the cup. This method is strikingly reminiscent of the cupping technique.

WHAT KIND OF COFFEE FOR THE FRENCH PRESS?

French Press is one of the filter coffee preparation methods, so it will be advisable to use filter roasted coffee. In general, longer coffee residence time in water, which is what the French Press encourages, leads to higher extraction. Darker roasted coffee, because of its ability to extract more easily, will need a shorter leaching time than lighter roasted coffee. So choose thecoffee you like to prepare and adjust the brewing recipe accordingly.