The French Press - Good Place to Start

It can feel like coffee brewing is an exclusive club. There’s a lot of noise and Instagram posts out there about brewing in a fancy (sometimes complicated) brewer, and that can make home brewing feel unattainable. 

But that perception is likely caused by aesthetic social media posts made solely for internet clout.

The pursuit of aesthetics often leads to the French press being overlooked as a good option for home brewing. There are some qualified coffee specialists out there who do criticise French press coffee but their opinions are influenced by experience, knowledge, and taste preferences developed over time. Their criticisms are educational and informative to beginners who want to grow their own knowledge but there’s no denying that the French press is a great place to start your coffee brewing journey.

If you need some convincing, here are my top reasons for starting with the French press and sticking with it while developing brewing experience and knowledge:

Reason 1: The French press is affordable, easy, and forgiving

It is not going to break the bank. Two of my three French presses are straight off the shelves at my local, budget-friendly supermarket. My third French press quite easily could have come from there as well but I bought an equally cheap French press online. I am taking a more-for-less approach.

It can be argued that higher quality and better-insulated carafes are better but I’ve learned how to deal with these cheap presses thanks to reason 3 below.

Also, no disposable filters needed!

As for easy and forgiving… You can start brewing coffee with some pre-ground coffee, a kettle, and a spoon. Easy. And if you make a mistake like adding too much coffee or a little too much water, it is not a disaster. Again, stick with the French press long enough and you will learn how to adapt when you make a mistake. 

Reason 2: Consistency is easy to achieve

If you find a recipe you like, it is easy to make it consistently. The doses, the timing, the pouring… all are repeatable with little effort. 

Reason 3: Experiments with dosing, roast level, grind size, bloom, agitation, brew time, and heat are easier 

Once you have a recipe figured out and you’re comfortable with the process, you can start experimenting. With some research, you can learn about the variables that influence strength and extraction (sour to bitter).

You can easily test the result of changing your recipe based on those variables and learn from experimenting what the result will be. It is one of the most accessible learn-by-doing options in coffee brewing. 

Reason 4: Develop tasting skills while experimenting

Applying a consistent recipe or controlled experimenting in a French press helps you correlate brewing with taste especially to some of the easier taste measures such as strength or extraction. As you develop your palate, you have a foundation to start incorporating tasting for brightness, body, sweetness, flavour, and finish. 

Reason 5: The knowledge and tasting skills more easily attainable and are transferable

Everything you learn via the French press method is transferable. The understanding of the relationship between dose, time, roast, grind size, agitation, and heat, and the understanding of the result of changing any of those aspects in a brew can be applied to other immersion or drip methods.

You may not have the skills the method requires (such as pouring with a gooseneck kettle) but at least you’re not having to learn and apply coffee knowledge while trying to coordinate your hands and eyes while pouring. 

I hope I have convinced you that the French press is a great place to start. Or, if you’re feeling a bit insecure about your plunger, I hope I’ve convinced you that there are advantages to sticking with it.