Brewers · Gear
French press
Total immersion: the coffee rests in the water and a plunger with mesh separates it. Round body and almost nothing to learn.
- Indicative price
- €20–45
- Capacity
- 350 ml–1 l
- Grind
- Coarse
The French press is a glass or steel pitcher with a plunger with a metal mesh. The thick ground coffee is soaked for a few minutes and, at the end, the mesh goes down and separates the pots from the drink.
It is a method of immersion: all the coffee is in contact with all the water at the same time, so it is very repeatable. The usual proportion is 30 g coffee per 500 g water at 93-100 ° C, for 4 minutes. If you break the crust at 4 minutes, remove the foam and wait 5-8 minutes before you go down the plunger alone to the surface, the cup comes out much cleaner.
- In favour: cheap, simple and without paper filters.
- In favor: round body and intense taste.
- In favour: it also serves to foam milk or make cold brew.
- Against: leave some fine pose in the cup.
- Against: the glass is fragile and the coffee is cold fast.
When buying, see that the mesh fits the walls well and can be disassembled to clean it. The double-wall steel keeps the heat better than the glass. There are models from 350 ml to 1 l per 20-45 €.
Cheapest alternative: a glass jar and a fine strainer do the same work.
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