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The French press is one of the simplest coffee appliances to operate and is quite popular in Europe and the United States. However, most Chinese people think of it as "for making tea." In fact, the coffee flavor it brews is not inferior to Pour over(V60) coffee, and it can brew more than 2 people's coffee at a time. Therefore, for those who want to make coffee easily at home, Front Street will first recommend the French press. So what kind of coffee beans are suitable for using a French press? Today Front Street gives suggestions.
Introduction to French Press French Press
Originated from France, it consists of a cylindrical container and a lid. There is a metal filter in the middle of the lid that can be pulled up and down to separate coffee grounds and coffee liquid to control extraction. The principle of the French press is the same as making tea. After soaking the coffee powder in hot water for a certain period of time, insert the piston downward to filter the coffee liquid. Although brewing coffee with a French press is really convenient, some friends still reported to Front Street that the taste of the coffee they brewed with a French press was always unsatisfactory.
Suggestions on usage parameters of French press
Usually when we look at the instructions for using the French press, it is generally recommended to use coarse grinding. Front Street recommends choosing a Chinese No. 20 standard sieve with a 70% sieving rate, which is the size of coarse sugar.
Coarse grinding not only improves the error tolerance of the extraction process, but also reduces the extremely fine powder caused by grinding. The metal filter of the French press is generally between 80-300 microns, and the filter holes are large enough to be visible to the naked eye, so fine powder can easily pass through and enter the coffee liquid and become turbid. Of course, if you want to pursue more layers of flavor, you can also use fine grinding. Remember to reduce the soaking time accordingly to avoid over-extraction.
Time is a parameter that can be freely adjusted in the French Press. Without the artificial stirring factor, soaking time is one of the keys to the extraction rate. Under the same conditions, generally speaking, the longer the extraction time, the richer the taste will be. However, it is also easier to over-extract, resulting in bitterness, astringency, and woody taste. With coarse grinding, Front Street recommends soaking medium-light roasted coffee for about 4 minutes. Medium-dark roasted coffee is easier to extract bitterness, so steep it for 3 minutes and 30 seconds. This time can fully release the positive flavor substances and avoid the bitter feeling caused by soaking for too long.
Since the French press fills the water directly at once, the extraction temperature will slowly drop over time, so the water temperature needs to be slightly higher than that of hand brewing. If you brew medium-light roasted sour coffee, you can use 92 to 94°C. For medium-dark roasted bitter coffee, it is recommended to use 89 to 90°C. In autumn and winter, the room temperature is lower. We can preheat the French press with boiling water to reduce the heat dissipation during extraction.
Of course, adjusting the concentration of coffee is inseparable from the ratio of powder to water. Front Street generally recommends brewing with a powder to water ratio of 1:16. For example, if you use 15 grams of coffee, you should pour 240ml of water. The concentration of coffee brewed with this powder to water ratio will be about 1.1-1.2%, which is a very comfortable concentration range. If a friend likes something richer, you can also use the 1:15 ratio.
What kind of coffee beans are suitable for brewing in a French press?
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 can bring more weight to the coffee, and the flavor tends to be rich and balanced, so it is more suitable for coffee that is roasted above medium.
For friends who don’t like sour taste, we recommend Front Street Golden Mandheling, Front Street Queen’s Manor, Front Street Bird of Paradise, and Front Street Cymbidium, which are medium-dark roasted coffees with dark chocolate, nuts, and caramel flavors; if you can tolerate a little sour taste, you can try medium-roasted coffees with obvious fruity aromas such as Front Street Strawberry Candy, Front Street Mozart, and Front Street Xizhao, which will allow you to easily make delicious French press coffee.
Finally, Front Street needs to emphasize that the metal filter of the French press will absorb and accumulate the oil released by the coffee after long-term use. The residue on the filter and pressure rod will oxidize and deteriorate, thus affecting subsequent use. Therefore, we must remember to clean up the French press in time after using it. When cleaning the French press, all metal parts need to be disassembled. Both the container and the parts need to be washed with detergent, dried completely, and then put away.
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
