What is a French Press / Cafetière and how to use it?

Good afternoon Coffee Lovers, following the news most of the South-East has been plunged into Tier 4 and with that we're stuck at home, it got us thinking maybe it's time to visit a question that comes up quite often with us and we touched on briefly in a previous blog. What is a French Press?

Quite simply put, we believe a French Press is the best way to enjoy our coffee. It takes maybe a little more time than using a machine, but you'll get the best out of our coffee and the time and effort put into preparing it makes each cup just that extra bit enjoyable.

A French Press, otherwise commonly known as a Cafetière, is a method of brewing coffee, using a plunger to steep your coffee, opposed to running it through a filter paper. So, without further ado, here are our five steps towards making the perfect coffee with your Cafetière.

Step One - preparation

You need a couple of things to brew a coffee using the French Press method. Aside from coffee of course, you will need a grinder and a Cafetière. Cafetières can be bought for as cheap as £7.00 and range up to £20.00, depending on quality, look and design. Grinders are from the £20.00 mark and again can vary. When you buy from us though, you simply need to select your choice of grind, namely French Press, and it will be perfectly ground for you ready to go fresh out of the pack, or you can buy whole beans from us and grind yourself as desired.

Step Two - water & grind

Next, heat up enough water for your Cafetière as appropriate, you want to make sure it is just off the boil, about 90c if possible. Whilst doing this, you will want to grind your coffee or alternatively you can pour fresh from our pre-prepared French Press grind packs. The grind should be quite coarse, almost like a fine gravel, so the steeping process can work its magic. Add it to the bottom of the Cafetière.

Step Three - pour and put the lid on

Now, rapidly pour your hot water into the Cafetière and put the lid on top. Don't plunge it just yet. It should foam slightly once you've poured the water in.

Step Four - wait, but how long?

Now you wait. How long depends on how strong you want the coffee and how dark the roast is. Typically, our darker roasts extract the coffee goodness faster than lighter roasts, so allow four minutes for a dark roast and five minutes for a light roast. However, this is a little trial and error, so do experiment times to perfect your coffee.

Step Five - plunge, slowly

You've been so patient, now here's the fun part - the plunge! Press slowly and steadily down with the plunger to near the bottom. Do this carefully to avoid sediment making its way through to the plunger. Try not to compact the grinds at the bottom, as this makes the taste a little bitter.

Step Six - pour and enjoy

Pour carefully into your mug of choice, add milk as desired and enjoy! Leave a little at the bottom, again to avoid the sediment.

We hope that inspires you budding coffee aficionados how to brew the perfect coffee and can make home life during these odd times a little more enjoyable. We'll be looking soon at supplying Cafetières and grinders on our site, but in the meantime, you should find one at your local supermarket or online easily enough. You don't need to worry about the grind - we take care of that for you, just select French Press when you pick up your pack and you're good to go!