Coffee Press

A coffee press is actually a coffee brewing device made popular by the French and thus is also known as French press. A coffee press/ French press consists of a narrow cylindrical jug normally made of glass or transparent plastic is equipped with a lid and a plunger which fits tightly in the cylinder and which has a fine wire or nylon mesh acting as a filter. Coffee is brewed by placing the coffee and water together, leaving to brew for a few minutes, and then depressing the plunger to separate the coffee at the bottom of the jug.

Since in a coffee press, the coffee grounds are in direct contact with the brewing water, coffee brewed captures more of the coffee's original flavour, which would have been trapped in a traditional drip brew machine's paper filters. French pressed coffee is usually stronger and thicker and has more sediment than drip-brewed coffee. For the same reason, French pressed coffee should be served immediately so as to not become bitter from over-extraction. A typical 8-cup French press is considered expired after 20 minutes.

A coffee press is more portable and self contained than other coffee makers. Travel mug versions also exist which is made up of tough plastic instead of the more common glass, and have a sealed lid with a closable drinking hole. Some coffee press versions are also suitable for mountaineers or backpackers.

How to Prepare Coffee in a Coffee Press:

This is a very simple process and does not take much time. Just follow the following steps.

Step 1: Put in Coffee Grounds: Add ground coffee to the pot. For a standard 8 cup French Press (which holds 32 ounces of water), I recommend using between 8-10 tablespoons of coffee.

Step 2: Set Timer: Set your timer to 4 minutes (brew time may vary; this is just a standard time which you may follow). The time will vary depending on how fine your coffee is ground. Remember, finer grinding will extract faster and require less brew time. If your coffee turns out bitter, try less time. If it ends up weak, increase the brew time by 30 seconds.

Step 3: Add Hot Water: Add boiled water to the coffee press. Remember, water should be just off the boil, around 195° - 205° F. Pour in water until it reaches about 1-2 inches below the rim. You must also start the timer just before you start pouring the boiled water.

Step 4: Stir: After adding the hot water inside the pot, take a plastic spoon or wooden chopstick and stir the coffee until all of the grounds are mixed in. I would recommend against using metal spoons for stirring, since the glass carafe may chip or break and cause a real mess. (And also, a plastic spoon comes much cheaper). If your beans are fresh, you'll most likely notice light brown colored foam on the top of your coffee. This is called ‘crema’ and is a sign of good, fresh coffee beans. Discard the spoon, and then carefully place the lid and plunger assembly back on top of the pot. Do not push the plunger down yet! The filter screen should rest just above the coffee.

Step 5: Wait: Just wait; don’t do anything for 4 minutes or so.

Step 6: Push Down the Filter Screen: After your timer goes off, slowly and carefully push down the plunger assembly until it reaches the bottom. You should notice some mild resistance when you push down. If it is extremely hard to push down, then your coffee is most likely ground too fine. If there's no resistance at all, odds are that your coffee is ground too coarse. Just be careful not to push too hard if it gets stuck or the carafe may shatter and you'll make a major mess in your cubicle/kitchen.

Now, just clean up your mug and enjoy your coffee. I recommend drinking your coffee immediately after brewing.