In this video, Tim shows you how to make coffee with a French Press.

When brewing with this method, we recommend using light roasted coffees to prevent getting the bitter roasty flavours that you get from the darker roasted coffees. Following these simple techniques will help you consistently produce a delicious cup of coffee.

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat your French press by pouring hot water into it. Discard this water right before you start brewing.

2. Using a pair of scales, measure your coffee. The rule of thumb is 65 – 70 grams per 1 litre of water. The dose will vary according to your taste and the coffee used.

3. Grind the coffee. We recommend to use a coarseness of the grind similar to filter ground or slightly finer to make sure you extract enough. A coarse grind will lead to sour and weak coffees and will not necessarily prevent sediments to get in to your cup. This is because fine particles (fines)  are produced during the grinding process regardless of the grind setting.

4. Again by using your scales, place the french press containing the ground coffee on the scales. Then, tare the scale so it reads zero and measure1 litre (963 grams at seal level) of boiling water. It is important to ensure all the ground coffee is wet. A good way to do this is to pour half of the water first, then stir a little, then pour the rest of the water. Do not put the lid / plunger on top until after step 6.

5. Let the coffee steep between 4 and 5 minutes.

6. Very close to when the brew time has expired, using a spoon, gently push all the ground coffee so it falls to the bottom of the French press and stir 3-5 times making sure all the grounds are stirred. Then remove the the pale floating foam from the surface – this results in a cleaner tasting cup.

7. After removing the foam place the lid and the plunger on the french press and  plunge away. It should be nice and easy to press down.

8. Wait 1-5 minutes before you pour the coffee in to your cup or dispense to a thermos. Believe me, this makes the coffee a lot cleaner in taste as sediments will settle to the bottom of the french press. Make sure you stop poring when you see grounds and sediments appearing.

9. Let the coffee cool to a comfortable drinking temperature and enjoy! And don’t forget to clean the french press after use. All parts need to be spotless for the best results.

Have a look at our Youtube channel to learn more about coffee.