If you’re a coffee lover then you definitely want to make sure you have the best possible cup of coffee, right? One of the best things that you can do is get a French press and learn to make the perfect cup of coffee with this super simple machine. But just what is it and how is it going to work?
What does it take for you to get that perfect cup? How do you make it strong enough for your taste buds? And of course, how does a French press work for coffee? It’s all a whole lot easier than you might think, and we’re going to take a closer look here.
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What is a French Press Coffee Maker?
A French press is a type of specialty coffee maker that produces coffee without electricity and with more manual work from you.
This press was actually the very first coffee press ever invented and though it’s unclear where it was actually created, it was patented by a man named Attilio Calimani in 1929. Of course, that doesn’t mean the French press coffee maker that you see today in the store is exactly what it was back then.
It’s changed quite a bit over nearly a decade from then to now. And of course, as it’s spread across the world it’s continued to be changed, tweaked and adapted.
Today, this coffee maker is actually quite simple. It’s made with a cylinder that actually looks similar to a tall, thin pitcher. You’ll usually find it made with glass, plastic or stainless steel and then it has a lid that features a plunger. The lid is generally made of the same material as the rest of the pitcher while the plunger is made with stainless steel wire or a type of nylon mesh.
The pieces are designed to be simple because that’s the way they always were when this invention was first made and that’s not something that has changed over the years.
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Why Does French Press Coffee Taste Better?
If you’ve been told that you absolutely have to try French press coffee then you’re probably wondering what the big deal is, right?
You’re probably wondering just why does this type of coffee taste better? Or maybe you’ve already tried it for yourself and you know it tastes better but you’re not sure why.
The secret is in the brewing. It’s all about the way that the French press actually brews your coffee, which is entirely different from the way that a standard coffee maker will brew.
With a French press, you don’t have the paper filter that you do with a standard coffee maker. That filter strips out a lot of the oils that are necessary to make your coffee taste the best. In a French press, there is no paper filter to do so. Also, a French press steeps the grounds in the hot water. This means that the flavor is being absorbed into the water even more.
On the other hand, a standard coffee maker runs water through the grounds once, and then it’s done. As a result, the French press coffee is going to taste closer to what it’s actually supposed to taste like rather than like a weaker, stripped-down version.
How to Use a French Press for Coffee & How Do French Press Coffee Makers Work??
The process of making that cup of coffee with your French press is actually quite simple. Whether you have a large French press or a smaller one, all you have to do is pour in your favorite grounds, add boiling water and let it steep in a similar way to if you were making your favorite tea.
After about 2-4 minutes (depending on the strength you want) you can press down the plunger, trap the grounds at the bottom and then pour your cup of coffee.
You want to make sure that you pour out your cup quickly and that you also empty the rest of the coffee out of the press as quickly as possible because the grounds remain in the bottom. If they’re left there for too long with the coffee that you’re planning to drink they can actually flavor the coffee to be even more bitter or even astringent. As a result, you could end up with something you don’t really want to drink. Removing the coffee quickly retains the pure flavor that you’re looking for and keeps it tasting great.
How Do You Make French Press Coffee Stronger?
Okay, so you’re loving your French press or you’re loving the idea of a French press, but you’re not sure it’s going to be strong enough for you. If you’re the type of person who loves a good, strong cup of coffee you’re definitely going to love the way a French press does it. You’re already going to have something stronger than you would with a standard coffee maker. But if that’s still not strong enough never fear. There are a few things that you can do to improve the strength of the coffee you’re drinking.
One thing you can do is make sure you’re using the best quality coffee. If you really want the best you should buy whole beans and grind just enough to brew what you want immediately before doing just that. This will give you higher quality and higher flavor punch. You should also create a finer grind to get even more saturation and make sure you’re getting as much of the flavor out of the grounds as possible. Finally, adding a little more coffee to your press when you’re ready to brew could give you a slightly stronger flavor profile. You could try any of these or any combination of them to try and get the best flavor profile.
How Many Scoops of Coffee Should I Put in a French Press?
The total number of scoops that you should use in your French press is going to vary slightly because of your own personal preference.
You want to make sure the coffee that you’re brewing fits your own likes and dislikes as far as how strong it is. The general rule, however, is approximately 3 tablespoons of coffee to 1 cup of water.
This will give you a good cup that’s not too strong but also not too weak, but you may need to play around with it a little bit.
If you’re the type who really likes a strong cup of coffee it might require a little more than 3 tablespoons of coffee. If you have a really fine or really strong ground coffee you may want to lower the amount that you use for each cup of water.
It’s really going to come down to a little trial and error to find the perfect combination that you’re going to want to drink all day long. From there, you can adjust a little based on the other people you make coffee for or different types of coffee that you try.
How to Use a French Press for One Cup of Coffee…
For some people, the idea of French press coffee sounds great, but the idea of going to all that trouble in order to do it … not so much. Luckily, it’s not as difficult as most people seem to think. Even if you’re only brewing a single cup of coffee for yourself you’re going to have no problem getting it done quickly and making sure that your cup tastes exactly the same every single time. What’s really great is the ratio of coffee to water can be pared up or down to fit what you’re looking for.
If you’re looking for a standard 12-ounce cup of coffee you’re going to need approximately 1 ½ cups of hot water. If you follow the standard ratio of 3 tablespoons to 1 cup you’re going to need 4 ½ tablespoons of coffee to go with that 1 ½ cups of water. Of course, that’s going to vary slightly based on the strength that you’re looking for in your coffee. If you’re looking for a really strong cup you might want to up the amount of coffee you add. If you want it a little weaker you could decrease the amount of coffee.
Should You Filter French Press Coffee?
There are many people who believe that putting a filter in a French press coffee maker really destroys the benefits of this type of coffee. You’re going to change up the flavor profile somewhat, but this type of filter actually works differently than the one that’s in a standard coffee maker.
That’s because the filter on this machine goes on after you’ve put the water and the grounds in. Rather than filter the water through the grounds it still does all of the brewing processes in the same way. The difference is when you go to pour the coffee out.
With this type of filter, you’re going to filter the coffee after it’s been brewed and before it gets into your cup. So it’s still steeping in the grounds like normal but those grounds are filtered out before you end up drinking them.
That means you’re still going to get the flavor that you’re looking for and you’re going to get rid of that little bit of grittiness that can definitely get around the filter that’s built into your plunger. That means you’re getting a win-win if you opt for this addition but it’s not a necessity and it takes away from some of the authenticity.
Best French Press Coffee Makers
If you’ve decided that a French press coffee maker is the way to go, but you’re just not quite sure which one to get there’s no need to worry.
We’ve figured it out for you. After going through plenty of different options and evaluating the different features that they each have we’ve come up with one that we just know you’re going to love and that we know you’re going to get the absolute best results from. That’s the whole point after all, right? You want to make sure that you have a coffee maker that is top of the line (but maybe not top of the budget).
1- French Press Coffee Maker (8 cup, 34 oz)
With 4 Level Filtration System, 304 Grade Stainless Steel, Heat Resistant Borosilicate Glass by Cafe Du Chateau .double stainless steel screen filters on a durable plunger supported by a spring-loaded base plate to seal the edges, LIFETIME REPLACEMENT GUARANTEE – If anything happens to your original Café Du Chateau french press coffee maker or accessories, no need to buy another. We will send you a replacement for FREE.
2- KONA French Press Coffee Maker
KONA French Press Coffee Maker With Reusable Stainless Steel Filter, Large Comfortable Handle & Glass Protecting Durable Black Shell. SIMPLY THE PUREST WAY ~ extract & brew any loose leaf tea or whole bean coffee’s essential oils into a single glass carafe. Will turn any ordinary coffee into a gourmet coffee treat guaranteed or your money back
3- Large French Press Coffee Maker – Vacuum Insulated
Professional grade in every way. This brewer is tough, durable, and rust-proof. Unlike glass, it won’t break when you drop it (but your floor might need some attention). Your search for coffee that makes you smile every time ends here .
We’re not happy until you are. Our total satisfaction promise covers all our products (partly why we had nearly 10,000 positive reviews last year).
So choose Coffee Gator with confidence and look forward to the coffee experience of a lifetime
4- GROSCHE Madrid French Press Coffee Maker
GROSCHE Madrid French Press Coffee Maker, Tea Press Coffee Press 1.0L / 34 oz quality Pyrex France glass, stainless steel coffee filter. The best French Press for tea with gorgeous attractive design.
[PREMIUM QUALITY FRENCH PRESS COFFEE AND TEA MAKER] that features fine-crafted chrome housing and Pyrex France Borosilicate glass beaker carafe and 18/8 Heavy gauge rod and french press filter. PYREX French Press Glass is top quality.
Best Coffee Brands for French Press
Once you have the best coffee maker you need the best coffee for the French press. It doesn’t matter how amazing the machine that you have actually is if you put bad (or even just subpar) coffee in it. That’s why we’ve also done research on the best coffee that you could possibly use based on factors like grind and flavor quality. If you’re looking to get the absolute best cup every single time.
You’re definitely going to want to try out our favorite brands.
Two Volcanoes Ground Coffee
Dark Roast Espresso Blend – 2 lb bag – Guatemala Delicious Gourmet Coffee. Great for French Press.
Get The Kick, Enjoy The Smoothness! GREAT TASTING PREMIUM GOURMET COFFEE GUARANTEED – Organically cultivated, processed, and packed in origin, all in Guatemala, guarantees the highest quality and best possible taste ever.
Koffee Kult Dark Roast Coffee Beans
- Dark roast whole coffee beans, Fresh without oil on beans not stale with oil from sitting on the shelf.
- 100% arabica specialty coffee from Colombia, Guatemala, and Sumatra.
- Koffee Kult is a family-owned and operated artisan coffee roaster, not a distributor, we roast our coffee, on our machines. You can visit our state of the art roasters that are environmentally friendly in person
Stone Street Coffee Cold Brew Reserve Colombian
- 1 LB RESEALABLE BAG: Our 3-Layer natural kraft + foil resealable bag ensures top-quality freshness for your coffee!
- COLD BREW RESERVE: Artfully crafted to make delicious cold/iced coffee.
- Cold-brew requires special attention to the bean’s origin & quality, grind size, & roast level.
- COFFEE ORIGIN: 100% Arabica – Single Origin Colombian Supremo (only the best!)
Bulletproof French Kick Ground Coffee
Premium Dark Roast Gourmet Organic Beans, Rainforest Alliance Certified, Perfect for Keto Diet, Upgraded Clean Coffee (12 Ounces)
DECAFFEINATED: The same great taste as our regular Original blend without the caffeine. Decaf Upgraded Coffee is produced using Swiss Water Process, which is a non-solvent method for decaffeinating the beans for a clean tasting cup.
Peet’s Coffee Major Dickason’s Blend
LIGHT, MEDIUM & DARK ROAST: Brew a pot of Peet’s ground or whole bean coffee in a blend & roast perfect for your tastes. Light roast coffees are mild & smooth, medium roast coffees are smooth & aromatic, while dark roast coffees are smoky & full-bodied.
French Press Advantages and Disadvantages
When it comes down to it, you’re going to have some great advantages and disadvantages to the French press and they are going to make it entirely up to you what you like best.
Advantages
- No electricity required
- Coffee steeps in water to provide truer flavor
- No filter to strip oils out of the grounds
- You have complete control over brewing time
- You can brew different types of coffee including cold brew and tea
Disadvantages
- You have to watch the coffee maker or set a timer to ensure you ‘stop’ brewing at just the right time.
- Coffee grounds could end up in the cup of coffee that you pour out if you don’t have a filter.
- Cleaning up the coffee grounds can be more difficult.
Conclusion
If you’re interested in the perfect cup of coffee (and who isn’t?) then you’re definitely going to want to invest in a high-quality French press for yourself. This coffee maker is going to provide you with an excellent cup every time you want it and it’s going to make sure that you never want to buy a standard coffee maker again. Even better, there’s no reason for you too.
With our top pick for the best French press coffee maker and the best brand of coffee, you’re going to be enjoying coffee a whole lot more than ever.
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