Here's our simple guide for brewing coffee using a french press or cafetière. French press brewing tends to produce a rich, heavy body because it's an immersive brewing method and retains a lot of the natural oils in the coffee. It's a really forgiving and easy way to brew coffee for a group of people.
Yield: 2 cups
Ratio: 1:16 (ish)
What you'll need:
- 30g coarsely ground coffee
- 500g boiled water
- a French press (duh!)
- stirrer/spoon
- scale (optional)
Step 1: Preheat the press
Add some hot water to the press and let it sit for a few minutes while you weigh out your coffee and brewing water.
Step 2: Weigh out your coffee
If you've got a scale, weigh out 30g of coffee. If not, it's about 2 heaped tablespoons-worth. You're going to want it ground pretty coarse (like breadcrumbs). This recipe is for 2 people/cups but adjust that based on how much you need.
Step 3: Immersion
Dump out the preheating water. Then combine the 30g of ground coffee and 500g boiled water in the press, making sure to wet all the grounds. Leave that to sit - I prefer doing all this without the lid to help the brew cool a little faster.
Step 4: Steep & stir
After 4-5 minutes, use your spoon/stirrer to give the mixture a good stir. If a crust has formed on top, be sure to break it up. Then leave it to sit again for 3-4 minutes. You want all the grounds to settle at the bottom.
Step 5: Plunge
Then just add the plunger and gently push down to the bottom. Don't force it at the bottom, otherwise some silt can make its way into the brew.
Step 6: Pour
And enjoy!
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The ratio for this recipe is approx 1:16 which means 1 part coffee to 16 parts water. If it tastes too weak for you, add more coffee! Too strong? Add less!