Understanding Your French Press and How To Use It
The simple French press has more nuance and depth than most realise. Its straightforward immersion brewing process does not require building pressure like an Aeropress, or the pouring techniques of a conical dripper. Yet, it can produce delicious coffee.
All you need to know is how to use the French press properly.
Understand the components
Carafe or Beaker
Made from glass or stainless steel or sometimes plastic, used for brewing.
Handle and Frame
Made from stainless or plastic. The carafe sits within the frame.
Plunger Top, Plunger Stick, and Lid
These are interconnected pieces that sit in or on the carafe.
The lid sits firmly on the carafe. Some lids may have openings for pouring that need to be aligned to the carafe spout.
The plunger top is used to push the plunger stick (or rod) down at the end of the brewing process.
The plunger stick has a threaded end that allows the filter system to be attached to the stick.
Filter System – Plates and Screens
The spiral plate is at the top of the filter system. It helps keep the filter screens in place especially at the edges near the carafe walls.
The filter screens hold the coffee grounds back, in the carafe, when pouring out the coffee. These screens are directly under the spiral plate. Some systems have multiple filter screens.
The cross plate is at the bottom of the filter system and keeps everything together on the plunger stick once assembled.
Keep it clean
Coffee grounds and oils tend to cling to the inside of the French press. There are 2 approaches to keeping it clean: the quick clean and the deep clean. But first…
…Remove the Grounds
This step is always required before cleaning the French Press. You can use a spoon or a spatula to scoop out the used grounds and dispose of them in the trash or compost. It’s not always possible to scoop out every last ground, but you want to be as thorough as possible before starting the wash process. Coffee grounds can clog your plumbing and drains.
Quick Clean
Keeping the French press clean
Fill the carafe with warm water.
Add a few drops of liquid dishwashing soap.
Place the plunger and lid onto the carafe.
Hold the French press securely then move the plunger up and down repeatedly.
After several plunges, drop out the soapy water and rinse off the carafe and plunger.
Fill the carafe with clean water, place the plunger and lid back on and then move the plunger up and down repeatedly for several cycles.
Drop out the water, give the carafe and plunger and lid a final rinse, and allow them to dry.
Deep Clean
Disassemble the plunger assembly, separating the plates and filters.
Wash each part separately, including the carafe, with liquid dishwashing soap and a sponge.
Rinse and confirm that any oily build-up has been removed.
Once clean, let the parts dry.
Once dry, reassemble the French press.
Match the volume of the coffee to the mug
French presses come in a range of sizes. The sizes are often described in cups. There are 1 cup, 2 cups, 3 cups, etc. French presses. Cups are lower in volume than mugs making it important to know the actual volume of coffee you want.
There are 2 ways of determining your required amount:
By Volume: Fill up your frequently used mug or cup with water, to the volume you’d want for your coffee. Pour out that water into a measuring jug and note the volume it reaches. That’s the volume of water you want to aim for when brewing.
By Weight: Place your frequently used mug or cup on a scale and zero the scale. Fill it with water up to your preferred amount, and then note the weight of the water. Use that weight of water when brewing.
Don’t fill up to the top if you intend to add milk to your coffee. Leave some space to add milk. Also, remember that a little bit of water gets left behind with the wet grounds in the carafe, so you can also account for that amount if you want to.
Adapt the water amount if you change to a different mug or cup. Also, remember to adjust your coffee dose as well to maintain the ratio you prefer.
A quick side discussion on ratios and doses:
Understanding coffee brewing ratios and dosing is fundamental to improving your home brewing and enjoyment of the coffee you make.
Ratios are brewing recipes. It describes the amount of ground coffee and water being brewed. And if that ratio tastes good to you then that is typically the ratio you’ll work with when brewing.
For example, if you like to drink your coffee black, you might choose a 1:18 ratio for your French press brew. If you want 250g of coffee in your mug after brewing, you would likely try 250g of water with 14g (13.89g to be precise) of coffee in the press.
If you find that a bit weak, you can adjust to 1:17 i.e. 250g of water with 14.7g of ground coffee.
If you wanted to try it with milk, you might cut back the water and also try a stronger ratio like 1:15. So your recipe might be 230g of water with 15.3g of ground coffee.
The equation is WATER AMOUNT ÷ RATIO NUMBER e.g. 230 ÷ 15 = 15.3
Be prepared before brewing
The timeline for a French press brew looks like this – lots of prep, quick actions, wait for 4 minutes, quick actions again, drink coffee.
In those quick action moments, searching for a spoon or your mug will likely throw off the brew timing. It will not likely be a disaster, but for the sake of a good brew, it’s better to be prepared.
Set out all the required utensils, scales or measuring cups, mugs, and anything else you need before you start brewing.
Reduce heat loss during brewing
The French press brew time is typically 4 minutes or longer. That means the brew will lose heat to the carafe or the air as it sits. The heat loss can affect the extraction and results, but the worst part is that the coffee will be cold when it comes time to drink it.
At the start of your brewing process, pre-heat the French press carafe and your mug by pouring hot water from the kettle into them. Let that sit and heat up while you prepare everything else for brewing, such as re-boiling the kettle, measuring out the coffee grounds, getting the utensils out, or preparing your timer.
After a couple of minutes, the carafe should be warm, and you can dump out the water to start your brewing process. Remember to also dump out the water from the mug before you pour your coffee.
Another thing to consider is the milk. If you take your coffee with milk and want a hot cup of coffee, then it is a good idea to warm up the milk before adding it to the brewed coffee.
Lidding, Plunging, and Pouring
During the brew time, it’s important to minimise heat loss. Placing the French press lid onto the carafe during the 4-minute brew time will help reduce the heat loss. When placing the lid onto the carafe, don’t push the plunger down into the brew. You want the filter assembly to sit just about the brewing coffee.
When it comes time to plunge, press down on the top gently with even pressure all the way down but stop just above the bed of coffee at the bottom of the carafe. You want to avoid fast and jerky movements to avoid grounds escaping up the sides of the filter.
When pouring, make sure your lid opening is aligned to the carafe pouring spout, then pour the coffee slowly into the mug. Don’t pour all the liquid into the mug, leave some behind. The goal is to pour in a way that leaves the majority of the fine sediment in the carafe.
The French press offers more than just a basic cup of coffee. Applying knowledge and technique can produce dynamic and exciting coffee experiences.
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