For more knowledge about specialty coffee, please pay attention to: Front Street Coffee (Frontsteet Coffee）
Suzuki Shui of the WBC World Barista Competition once said that the advantage of the French Press is that the production principle is very simple, anyone can get started, and there will be no difference in coffee flavor due to different production techniques. The French press can intuitively express the flavor of the coffee itself without the filter paper affecting the flavor of the coffee.
As the easiest-to-operate brewing appliance, the French Press does not require rigorous water injection techniques or complex variable control, so it is often the first choice for "lazy people" to brew coffee at home. Today, FrontStreet Coffee will tell you about the extraction principle of the French Press and how to choose a good French Press!
French press French Press
The French press, as the name suggests, originated from France. Its structure 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 how we make tea. After soaking the coffee powder in hot water for a certain period of time, insert the piston downward to filter the coffee liquid.
Unlike Pour over(V60) coffee, which contains so many complex influencing parameters, the "one-pour" water filling of the French press is simpler, which also means that there are only 4 factors that affect coffee: powder-to-water ratio, grinding degree, water temperature, and soaking time. Similar to cupping, the extraction is more stable and the flavor of the coffee better reflects the original taste. Because 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 brewing medium-light roasted sour coffee, FrontStreet Coffee recommends soaking at 92-94°C, while medium-dark roasted beans are recommended to be soaked at 89-90°C. In autumn and winter, when the room temperature is low, Front Street will also preheat the French press with boiling water to reduce the heat dissipation during coffee extraction.
Time is an important 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, but 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.
If you ask Front Street whether Pour over(V60) coffee or French press coffee is better, Front Street believes that there is no standard answer, and the one that suits you is the best. If you want to taste coffee with richer and more diverse layers, choose Pour over(V60) coffee; if you want a cup of black coffee with a mellow aroma that is easy to operate, choose a French press.
The historical origin of the French press
According to information reviewed by FrontStreet Coffee, the prototype of the French press came from a coffee brewing vessel designed by two Frenchmen named Mayer and Delforge in 1852. The two added a layer of cloth filter to the metal plate to create what is considered the earliest French press and applied for its patent.
Later, with the spread of the French press, this instrument was improved by Italians Bruno Cassol and Faliero Bondanin in 1935 and 1958 respectively, and became popular again in France and other places. In the 1990s, the French company Bodum officially marketed the French press. It didn't take long for its ease of operation to make it the first choice for people, and the brand gradually became synonymous with this brewing vessel. The French press I purchased from Front Street Street is from this classic brand - Bodum. It is easy to use and not expensive. It can be said that it has a very high cost performance.
After choosing a coffee bean, many customers will ask whether Front Street 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 weight to the coffee, and the flavor tends to be rich and balanced, so it is more suitable for the flavor expression of moderately roasted coffee, such as chocolate, nuts, caramel, fermented wine, cocoa and other aroma types. Take the bean list of FrontStreet Coffee as an example. Front Street Brazilian Queen Manor Coffee, Front Street Colombian Cymbidium Coffee, Front Street Jamaican Blue Mountain No. 1 Coffee, Front Street Indonesian Golden Mandheling Coffee and other beans are very suitable for making French press coffee.
Finally, Front Street thinks it is necessary to remind everyone of some small details when using the French Press. Since the French press has a built-in metal filter, it will absorb and accumulate the oil released from the coffee after long-term use. The residue on the filter and pressure rod can easily lead to oxidation and deterioration, 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
