Coffee is becoming more and more popular, and there are various brewing methods. However, when you are busy, you may not have enough time to have a cup of hand brew, and you may not have much time to have a cup of Italian. In this case, using a lazy pot to have a cup of coffee may be a good choice! Compared with French press coffee and Pour over(V60) coffee, the coffee extracted by the French press retains rich oils and has a thicker and rounder taste, but it has less oil than Italian coffee.
Speaking of coffee's crema, you may immediately think of the layer of "foam" on the espresso, also known as "Crema". If the espresso does not have that layer of crema, it may be said to be an unsuccessful cup of espresso. Indeed, espresso is perfect when it has that layer of crema. The oil of espresso is mainly composed of carbon dioxide and insoluble oil of coffee powder.
Roasted coffee beans will contain carbon dioxide and other gases inside. When a modern Italian semi-automatic coffee machine extracts coffee, a 9 bar pressure is generated to "squeeze" the coffee powder. Because the pressure of carbon dioxide in the coffee powder is too high, the water becomes supersaturated with carbon dioxide, so the carbon dioxide cannot be released and is directly integrated into the coffee liquid. During this process, the fat in the coffee will be emulsified, and the fat will be wrapped in carbon dioxide. Since it is lighter than water, everything will gradually stratify, and golden yellow oil will appear on the surface, which is very beautiful.
The French press is indeed the most convenient household coffee pot, and it is also the brewing method that best preserves the flavor of coffee (it can easily reveal the good flavor of coffee and also expose the shortcomings of coffee), so it has higher requirements for the quality and freshness of coffee. The French press is also the easiest method we have to replicate the same coffee. With the same French press, the same coffee beans, the same water temperature, the same water volume, and the same brewing time, different people can almost replicate the same cup of coffee. This is something that brewing methods such as hand brewing and siphoning cannot achieve, so it is also the most recommended method for novices to learn.
French Press: Also known as French Press, French Press, Tea Maker, also called Lazy Pot, it is a simple brewing utensil that originated in France around 1850 and is composed of a heat-resistant glass bottle (or transparent plastic) and a metal filter with a pressure rod. At first, it was mostly used for brewing black tea, so some people also call it a tea brewing device.
The French press is the simplest to operate among all coffee brewing equipment. At the same time, the extraction rate is also the brewing method closest to the coffee cup measurement. It can bring out the oil components, aroma, essence and other flavor elements in the coffee to the fullest. It has a smooth, sweet and rich taste. It is a very good choice of coffee equipment. Therefore it is loved by most people.
The French press is indeed the most convenient household coffee pot, and it is also the brewing method that best preserves the flavor of coffee (it can easily reveal the good flavor of coffee and also expose the shortcomings of coffee), so it has higher requirements for the quality and freshness of coffee. The French press is also the easiest method we have to replicate the same coffee. With the same French press, the same coffee beans, the same water temperature, the same water volume, and the same brewing time, different people can almost replicate the same cup of coffee. This is something that brewing methods such as hand brewing and siphoning cannot achieve, so it is also the most recommended method for novices to learn.
No matter which method is used, the choice of coffee beans is extremely important. After choosing a coffee bean, many customers ask Front Street whether it is suitable for brewing in a French press. Theoretically, the French press is suitable for all coffee beans that can be used for hand brewing, but considering that its extraction principle is static immersion extraction, the oil brings more thickness to the coffee, and the flavor tends to be rich and balanced, so it is more suitable for coffee with medium or higher roasting, such as dark chocolate, nuts, and caramel flavors. Therefore, if you are new to using a French press, you should buy medium-dark roasted single-origin coffees such as Front Street PWN Gold Mandheling, Front Street Queen’s Manor, and Front Street Blue Mountain.
If you use lightly roasted, acidic coffee for extraction, the floral and fruity notes in the coffee will be easily obscured, and the rich flavor levels will not be highlighted. For those who want to drink fruity aroma, they should first choose medium-roast coffee with high sweetness and low acidity, such as Front Street Strawberry Candy, Front Street Blackberry, and Front Street Mozart.
Let’s take a look at the simplest way to make French press coffee:
We use a two-person French press to make coffee for two people. The usual ratio of powder to water is 1:14-18. Some French press pots have a water volume scale, and some do not. We can just use a gram scale to measure. If there is a scale on the French press, you need to pour water first and then pour the coffee powder in, so that the powder-to-water ratio can be accurate.
☆The thickness of French press coffee powder is about the thickness of brown sugar (coarse grinding), and the thickness is relatively uniform. This is related to the extraction and filtration method of the French press. The metal filter has a low density and can easily pass through fine powder. Hot water directly contacts the coffee powder. If the coffee is ground too finely, it will be easily over-extracted.
Equipment needed: French press, hand pour pot, grinder, thermometer, gram scale, timer, fresh coffee beans, coffee cup.
Front Street French Press coffee operation steps:
1. Weigh 20g of fresh coffee beans.
2. Generally, the water temperature of French press can be controlled between 85-95°C, depending on the degree of roasting of the beans. Lightly roasted beans can have a higher water temperature to highlight the aroma, and dark roasted beans can have a lower water temperature to suppress bitterness. This needs to be controlled based on experience and personal preference.
3. Pour the ground coffee powder into the French press.
4. Inject water, you can pour water in even circles similar to hand pouring.
5. Pour in about 300g of hot water, and the ratio of powder to water is about 1:15. As mentioned before, the ratio of French press powder to water is about 1:14-18, which can be adjusted according to personal taste. This French press does not have a scale display, so we use a gram scale to measure the water volume. After pouring in the coffee powder, the gram scale returns to zero, and then weighs the amount of hot water. Although there is a certain error in the weight and volume of hot water and cold water, this error can be ignored under household conditions.
6. Stir.
7. Close the lid, do not press the filter down, and let it sit for 4 minutes. The flavor will be lighter if the time is short, and the flavor will be strong if the time is long, so the time is also set according to personal taste.
8. To filter, press the pressure lever and slowly press down to the bottom of the pot (this action should be slow to prevent fine powder from penetrating the metal filter. End when it is close to the bottom of the pot. Do not wait until the pressure stops).
9. Pour out the coffee and slowly tilt the French press to prevent the coffee powder at the bottom from floating up due to violent shaking and affecting the taste.
10. Enjoy French press coffee.
Does French Press coffee have a lot of fat?
As I said just now, French press coffee has more oil than Pour over(V60) coffee and less oil than espresso coffee, so it is a moderate type.
espresso machine
If you want to extract the oil of coffee, the espresso machine is the most suitable extraction method, because the espresso machine extracts the coffee liquid through fixed high pressure, which is not available in other extraction methods. It extracts the most oil, which is very suitable for latte art. The taste is very mellow. Most of them are extracted with finely ground and deeply blended coffee beans.
moka pot
Friends who have used a Moka pot know that the coffee extracted by the Moka pot has a relatively high bitterness and concentration, and needs to be tasted with water or milk. At the same time, when the Moka pot is extracted from finely ground dark roasted coffee powder, it can also contain rich coffee oils, but not as much as an espresso machine. If we are not budget enough, but want to drink the oils of freshly ground coffee, the Moka pot is undoubtedly a good choice.
French press
If you want to use a French press to extract oil, you must use medium-coarse grinding of dark roasted coffee beans. The oil extracted with a French press will not be much, but the French press is simple and convenient. If you want to drink a cup of coffee with oil quickly and easily, then the French press is a good choice.
You can now buy the above coffee beans online at the Taobao store “FrontStreet Coffee” (前街咖啡). FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou, China, and its Guangzhou retail shop sells coffee beans only. The shop carries dozens of coffee beans from different origins around the world, including carefully selected single-origin beans for V60 pour-over and espresso. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers.
The FrontStreet 2013 Yunnan coffee beans sold in the store come from the Typica variety grown at FrontStreet Coffee’s own plantation in Yunnan. The name comes from the year the brand and the plantation were founded. You can buy these beans from China’s Yunnan origin at the Guangzhou shop and at FrontStreet’s Taobao store.
FrontStreet coffee beans are freshly roasted within 5 days and deliver consistently excellent quality and great value. Orders placed before 17:00 are shipped the same day, and most areas within Guangdong Province receive them the next day.
FrontStreet Coffee Taobao store: https://qianjiecoffee.taobao.com
Or search for “前街咖啡” (FrontStreet Coffee) on Taobao
Important Notice: FrontStreet Coffee has moved to a new address: 315, Donghua East Road, Guangzhou (coffee beans only)
Tel: 020 38364473
