French Press Tutorial

Sometimes people ask me how to make coffee, and the answer is a lot simpler than one might expect from an acknowledged addict. I've fiddled with various ways of making coffee, and the French press is now my favorite because it's cheap, doesn't take up any space, and makes a great cup of black coffee.

When you drink black coffee, the freshness of your coffee beans becomes exponentially more important than if you're going to add cream and/or sugar to your brew. Grinding the coffee correctly is also important. The best description I've heard for what French press coffee should be like is this: fine enough that it's like sand you can comfortably stand on, but not as fine as the powdery sand that makes you feel like you're really on a tropical paradise.

For my 80z. French press, I use two to three heaping tablespoons of ground coffee, depending on mood and beans. Remember to rinse your press pot with hot water before you put the coffee in.

Next, fill the pot with hot water. How hot? 180 degrees or so. Just kidding, who measures? I know I don't. I let the water come to a boil, take it off the heat, swirl it until the boiling stops, and pour the water into the pot in a thin stream. It's not perfect, but it's a lot easier than having to take out a thermometer.

This next step I didn't do until recently, but I think it's important because I noticed the coffee looks really different. Stir with a spoon or chopstick. See how a light layer of foam forms on top of the coffee? That's called blooming. If your beans are fresh, when you start stirring you'll hear a slight fizz or whoosh, sort of like the sound of a can of soda being opened. Then the beans will rise a little, and foam will appear.

Now, you wait. Three minutes, to be precise. Put the lid on your pot and adjust the mesh presser so it's hovering above the coffee. You want the lid on to retain heat, but if you let the metal part touch the coffee it'll cool everything down a little. It's not a huge deal, but since this is a tutorial...

When three minutes are up, press the mesh strainer to the bottom of your press pot. You should have to exert a little force to press the coffee down. It shouldn't feel like arm wrestling, but if you're able to slam the strainer down in a second or two your coffee is too coarse. The exact amount of force you exert should be about how hard you would need to press on a bathroom scale with your palm for it to reat 10-15 lbs. But again, when it's 8 a.m. it's more important to get the coffee into your system than to quibble over details.

Pour the coffee out of the press pot, and you should have a rich, clean cup of black coffee with a very fine layer of powdery sediment when you reach the bottom. Bottoms up!