To press or not to press- a guide to French Press coffee makers
Aug 03 '01
The Bottom Line French Presses are one of the best methods for making coffee. The full bodied flavor and ease of use are sure to please almost anyone.
Your morning coffee ritual can range from simple to a series of complex events. Some choose to grind their own beans, some get coffee from a can (yucky, in my opinion,) some go out for a cup, and some just pour some hot water over tasteless freeze died coffee casualties. If you have ever seen a French Press coffee maker or thought about using one to make your cup of coffee, read on.
A French Press is an easy to use method to make coffee. To use it requires only the press itself, boiling water and coarse ground coffee. A French Press coffee maker normally looks like a beaker with a handle and lid that has a plunger on top. Most are made of transparent glass, but there are decorative ones made of stoneware and there are also stainless steel thermal French Presses, most notably made by Nissan Thermos company. There are a range of sizes, from a 3 cup size (which only makes at most 12 ounces of coffee) to an 18 cup (which is comparable to a large pot of coffee). These cup sizes might vary by manufacturer, so it is best to look for a volume capacity, such as total ounces or liters.
To make coffee using a French Press is a simple process. You put COARSE ground coffee in the bottom of the press, add water that is almost boiling, stir preferrably, wait 4 minutes, put the lid on and press the plunger with the mesh screen to seperate the grounds from the fresh brewed coffee. Coarse ground coffee is neccessary because you don't want to make the coffee super strong, and a coarse grind is appropriate for a full contact brewing method such as this. It is also important because the grounds need to be big enough to be trapped by the plunger, and if you used a finer grind many grounds would end up in your cup, resulting in a last gulp of sludge. Almost boiling water is a neccessity because the right temperature of water will lead to a more flavorful cup. If you boiled water using a microwave and let it sit a few seconds, that would be an appropriate temperature. 4 minutes or so is also a good time because it lets the flavor to be fully brewed. More or less time will affect the flavor. Less time will be underdeveloped and more time will be overbrewed and icky. You should stir the coffee after you pour the water to ensure that all the coffee makes contact with water. Be sure to use a wood or plastic utensil to avoid damage to the French Press.
What are the advantages to using a French Press?
First of all, at a dinner party, making French Press coffee in front of your guests is one heck of a presentation. You can smell the coffee as it steeps and also makes for a good conversation piece. It also makes a high quality cup of coffee, and steaming water can be added if one of your guests finds it to be too strong to their liking. If you don't often make coffee, the price of a French Press for a crowd is comparable to an inexpensive coffee maker and makes better coffee.
Using a French Press allows you to have quick coffee turnover. If you run out of coffee, in another 5 minutes a whole fresh pot will be finished. With a drip coffeemaker, you would still be waiting while with a French Press you would be drinking. This also allows you to quickly make another kind of coffee should your guests prefer, such as a flavored or a decaffienated coffee.
French Presses allow all flavors to come out better. A flavored coffee will taste better and a regular coffee will show it's characteristics more. Decafs, which sometimes taste weaker, will also taste better.
You can make as much or as little without spoiling the flavor. The proportions are consistent so you can make a cup for yourself or 5 and it will taste the same. Some drip coffee makers don't make good single cups of coffee.
Small French Presses are good for travel, so you can have coffee wherever you go.
French Presses are much prettier than an electric monstrosity sitting on your counter. Plus, they use less electricity.
You can also use a French press to make loose leaf tea. There are tea makers that look like French Presses, but you can't use those to make coffee.
What are the disadvantages of using a French Press?
The coffee will get cold if you let it sit. To remedy this, either put a French Press cozy on your press or pour the coffee in a prewarmed vaccum thermos.
Occassional grounds will get into your coffee. They will be small, but you can still pour your coffee through a filter if you don't like them. If you pour through a paper filter some of the bitter oils that some don't like will be caught in the paper.
Breakage is a problem with glass and stoneware carafes. Glass ones are easily replaceable with more well known brands like Bodum. Also, smaller carafes are more durable than large ones. Also remember to only use plastic or wood utensils when using your French Press.
Cleaning can be a nuisance. If you leave grounds sitting for a few days, hello, mold. But if you don't press too vigorously and there is some liquid in the bottom, ground are easily tossed into the trash. You can use a rubber spatuala to get the most out, and then wash.
Guidelines for buying a French Press
If you are unsure you will like French Press coffee, you can buy a small one for under $10 and then move to a larger one if you like it. Buy a press that has a removable glass container, not one that is attatched, because if you break it you won't need to buy a new one all over again, just the glass part. Remember that the smaller the French Press, the more durable it will be. Look for a good flange on the mesh plunger part to keep the most grounds out of the coffee.
If you buy a stoneware one, it will be more expensive and not replaceable, so if you are somewhat clumsy, I would stay away from them. However, some can be painted really pretty and those look especially good on your countertop.
Shop around, because there are frequently sales on French Presses. They also come in many colors to match your decor. Expect to pay around $30 for a simple, large press. Vaccum sealed French Presses by Nissan run around $65 but are well worth it, since the coffee will stay hot for a long time. The drawback to those is that you can't see the process, and they are slightly more difficult to clean.
You can look at French Presses at a number of stores online, including www.bodum.com and in retail stores including Target. The two best known french press makers I can think of are Bodum and Bonjour.
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Member: Lindsay
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