Making Coffee With a French Press

How to Make Coffee With a French Press

When it comes to coffee, most Americans just go to Starbucks or some other coffee shop to buy their brew, while others use a drip coffee maker at home to get the job done. Then there are those of us that must have espresso, americano, or cappuccino - so we use the espresso machine at home.

That covers probably 85 to 90 percent of the folks out there (my estimate). That only leaves fifteen percent - or less - of U.S. coffee drinkers using the french press. That seems unusual for a device that was invented in France in the 1850's, and patented in Italy in 1929. Not only has this device been around for a long time, but it makes some of the best coffee you will ever taste - I'm serious!

One of the pastors at my church told me that coffee from the french press was awesome several months ago. Since I have a coffee blog and my job is to inform you about coffee, I decided I had to get a press and try it out. The thing that kept me from getting one over the years is that I thought it would be hard to use - quite the opposite is true - it is very easy to use, and not really that messy. So much for my complaints...

I started searching for a local solution to my need for a low-cost french press. I quickly found out that the local Walmart didn't have one in stock (according to the website). I did find several listed online that were available at the local Target stores. I targeted the Brazil, which is made by Bodum. This pot is a 8-cup unit. Note: these are 4 ounce coffee cups, so this particular model brews 32 ounces of high-quality coffee - just enough for my wife and myself to have a good cup in the morning...nice! I got out of Target for $19.99 plus tax - not bad for a great coffee maker.

Ok, so now to the preparation. I took the unit home, washed it up, set up my video equipment and proceeded to make my first french press coffee. Yes, you are watching me brew my first pot! Here are the steps I followed:

1. Heat up 34 ounces of water to between 195° to 205° Fahrenheit.
2. Add 1 heaping Tablespoon of Coarse ground coffee per cup to the pot (8 Tbsp).
3. Pour in the water - stop filling at about one-half inch from the top of the pot.
4. Stir with a plastic or wood spoon - remember, THE POT IS GLASS.
   
5. Let the coffee steep for 4 minutes.
6. Stir the coffee at the end of the 4 minutes, remove the spoon.
7. Carefully put in the plunger unit.
8. Press down slowly - take 10 seconds or so to do this - you will be rewarded with few, if any, grounds in your coffee.
   
9. Once you reach bottom, you are done. Pour up a cup and enjoy!
10. Suggestion - pour remaining coffee into a heat-resistant container to keep from over-brewing your remaining coffee.
11. Rinse out coffee pot and dry for next time.

That's it. Here is the video to show you how simple it is to make awesome french press coffee.

May your next cup be the best!