Coffee fanatics unite! French press Coffee! (Instructions below)

As Promised a follow up to my last coffee post. Below I will teach you guys and gals my favorite brew method the french press.

Why the french press?
1. The depth of flavor is amazing.
2. You get the natural oils out of your bean that are absorbed by paper filters
3. Higher caffeine content... Need I say more?

Please also know my process for brewing is slightly different than what most purists will do. I have a few minor alterations that I find produce a better cup if you don't like my methods follow another guide.

Also you do not need all the equipment I use! I compare and take notes on different coffee so I like to remove as many variables as I can for tastings. You can "eyeball" most of this and still get a very good cup of coffee.

Step 1. Get your water heating up!
Use distilled water! You when you go over to a friends house and their water taste different than yours at home? Well guess what water taste different everywhere and this influences the taste of your coffee! Even if you like your water do you want the local water to influence the taste of your brew?

Step 2. Grind your beans and measure them out! For this extraction I am shooting for a 1:10 ratio of grounds to water so I measure out just about 30g, or 2 tbsp if you don't have a scale.

For your average morning cup just consult your french presses package for the recommended amount of grounds to use. Then adjust the measurement to your liking in future cups.

My large kitchen scale is less accurate for measurements under 40g so I am using my Espresso scale here so I get the right measurements.

Step 3. Put the grounds into the Press, put on the larger scale and tare it so I can measure how much hot water is being added.

This step can be skipped if you don't care about consistency between your brews and to be frank I just eyeball it most mornings when all I want is the caffeine before work.

Step 4. Check your water! Your goal is to aim for 200-205F (94-96C). If your water is too hot you will find yourself extracting some of the more bitter components of your bean.

Step 5. (Sorry no picture for this part yet) Add double the weight of the grounds worth of water over your grounds then stir with a wooden spoon or chopstick. This will produce the "Bloom", this is the gasses (primarily CO2) being released that are trapped in the bean during roasting.

I like to think of this as a preinfusion of water and only stir lightly to make sure all my grounds get wet.

Step 6. 30 seconds after step 5 add the remainder of the water. Since I added a little over 30g of grounds I wanted 300g of water to get my 1:10 ratio.

Step 7. The second stir, stirring at this stage causes a second "bloom" of gasses to be released since the grounds have been softened by the first infusion of water.

Step 8. Wait three and a half minutes and depress the plunger slightly, then pull the plunger back up and wait another 30 seconds.

I find letting the grounds naturally fall to the bottom produces a cleaner cup of coffee.

Look at that! The grounds going unaided where they belong... The bottom of the press.

Step 8. Depress the plunger and pour immediately! Please note you do not want your coffee sitting in the press as it will continue to brew causing over extraction.

If you find it is too difficult to press down the plunger your grinds are too fine, If the plunger goes straight down with no resistance they are too course. Adjust your grind accordingly and eventually you will find what works best with your equipment.

Step 9. Enjoy some delicious coffee!

Here is a picture of the hand grinder that I use and some good beans.

Coffee Bros Brazil Ethiopia
Brew Method: French Press
Roast: Medium
Acidity: High
Caffeine content: Medium
Notes: Nutty (More walnut than hazelnut), Caramel, Elderberry, with undertones of raspberry.
Rating: 7/10 - Very good but I prefer African coffee's to be single origin over blends due to the intricacy of the floral notes that are overtaken by South American beans.

City Girl Honduras
Brew Method: French Press
Roast: Medium
Acidity: Medium Low
Caffeine content: Medium High
Notes: Maple, Fiji apple, Cane Sugar, with undertones Black Currants.
Rating: 9/10 - This is the best coffee I have had from Honduras to date.

Thanks for checking my post!