French Press Coffee is the BEST

I live in the land of perfect coffee beans.  When I lived in Scotland, it was quickly clear to me the best scotch never leaves Scotland.  That which does is a thousand times more expensive than in the pubs it haunts in Scotland too.  The coffee sold in the stores here is not on the shelves anywhere else in my experience.  That may change with the new trade agreements recently agreed to internationally.

The day the coffee maker died was the day I began using the French Press coffee carafe we received from the local grocer as a gift for our patronage.   I took it out of the box, added fresh ground coffee and poured in boiling hot water.   I took the pot and a cup to my desk and at some point pushed the plunger to the bottom.  The coffee was as good as any I had brewed with the drip method I have used for decades.

I experimented with various beans and ground coffee and found some I liked and others that had me appreciate what I liked.  One day my wife Clara read an article on how to prepare the perfect pot of French Press coffee.  She doesn’t drink coffee and so began her experiments with me as the taster.   I was impressed with the results.  Some of the brands I found disappointing were suddenly quite charming.  She explained her method to me and I use it whenever I brew coffee now.

I thought someone on YouTube would have done a video on the complete how to produce the perfect pot of French Press coffee. When you do a search, you will find dozens, if not hundreds of videos on how to make French Press coffee.  NONE of them uses the methodology my wife shared with me.  I did learn a number of things from all the videos however.

An interesting point about coffee here is when I skip a day or two, or wait until late morning to have a cup of coffee I do not suffer from any headache.  In the US if I missed my morning coffee or waited until after 9am it guaranteed a severe headache.  I attributed it to caffeine coffee withdrawal. It made no difference whether I drank store bought,  Peets,  a specialty blend from Lunds or coffee anywhere in the USA, if I didn’t get some by 9am I suffered.  My belief it was caffeine withdrawal changed when replacing the coffee with a Coke or other caffeine drink did not solve the headache issue.   When I return from a two-week trip into the USA I have discovered it takes two or three days for the headache to disappear and drinking my favorite Colombian brew here does not dent the ache. Only time seems to have any effect.

How I make coffee with a French Press.

Pick a coffee you enjoy.  The suggestion is you need a coarse ground version.  I have used every kind, including an espresso blend and all of them work great with our method.  I do not use a coffee cup filter with the plunger either.   The one time I did the taste of paper was evident to me and added too much complication.

The quality of the water will make a huge difference.   The water here in Medellin is as delicious as I remember it on board the submarines I served.  We made perfect water.  If your water is a chemical concoction out of the tap, you may want to consider buying some distilled water to taste the difference it makes with coffee.

The temperature of the water is another factor.  Suggested almost universally, the water should be 200 degrees Fahrenheit when you add it to the French Press cylinder.  I boil the water here, which gave me pause to this precaution.  However, at sea level water boils at 212 and for every 500 feet above sea level it boils a degree sooner.   I live in the perfect place to prepare coffee!  We live at just over 6000 feet according to Google Earth street view.   Water boils here at 200 degrees.  

The amount of coffee you place in the cylinder is to your taste.  The common recipe is one tablespoon for every six to eight ounces of water.  I cover the blades of the grinder plus a little more for my usual measure.  I pour it out of the bag of ground coffee into the grinders cap for approximately the same amount if I am not grinding the coffee fresh.  Experimenting is fun and the better the water the less coffee grounds you will need for the same effect is my experience.

Pour enough 200-degree water to cover the grounds to have them wet.  Stir to insure the entire grounds blend in the water and wait at least two minutes.  I stir either with a long stainless steel spoon or with a wooden spoon.  I cannot taste any difference and as long as you don’t go unconscious stirring with a metal spoon I can’t see you breaking the carafe.  

Pour water to the top or the amount of coffee you want to drink and stir.  Wait another two minutes and you may consider pushing the plunger to the bottom.  I have waited as long as 45 minutes.  I make the coffee and finish my morning routine including taking a shower.  Somewhere between 30 and 45 minutes the grounds, usually all settle to the bottom of the cylinder and pushing the plunger is resistance free.

If the coffee is bitter, my opinion is it is not because it was in the water too long but you need to find a different brand of coffee.  Another way to modify the taste is add some flavor.  I add a little cocoa or a dash or so of cinnamon.   I may add stevia with either of them to sweeten the coffee without adding calories.  I also like adding a few drops of vanilla with the grounds too and there are other flavors you may want to consider.  Be adventurous and who knows you may find a world famous concoction in your kitchen.