How to use a French Press?

I recently bought a little French Press from Ikea and decided to try making my own coffee. Any tips/recommendations/warnings? 

I used their instructions.

Basically 2 Tbs of grounds for a mug, 190°F water poured in, wait 4 minutes. Then take 20 to 30 seconds to plunge.

The press is also good at frothing milk. 2% milk microwaved to 150°F or so, then use the plunger with a rapid movement to froth the milk.

Don't rinse your press out in a sink with a garbage disposal.

Grind your own beans, and give them a coarse ground.  There's a correlation between the type of grind, and how long the beans should 'soak' in the hot water.

I use a small scale and generally do the following 

grind 25 grams of fresh coffee beans

dump the grounds in first

start your stopwatch or timer and add  just enough water to soak the grounds

wait thirty seconds, then add water until you reach 32oz

wait 4 minutes before gently pushing the plunger down at which point it is ready to be served

I use water just off boil a few minutes 

sleepyhead the buffalo said:

Don't rinse your press out in a sink with a garbage disposal.

I have heard this about coffee grounds and disposals enough times that there has to be some sort of truth to that, but I've been dumping my coffee grounds down the Waste King for nigh-on 30 years at this point and not once have I ever had anything slow or stop the drain....

In reply to MrSmokey :

Between adding the 32oz of water (depending on the size) and setting the 4 minute timer, I do the following:

Stir the mixture gently 4-5 times with a wooden spoon.

In reply to RustBeltSherpa :

I've done that too, I just never take the time ... and never sure if it does anything for the coffee lol

I've actually heard that you're supposed to use coffee grounds in disposals as a mild abrasive cleaning.

But I don't own a disposal, so I'll shut up.

Take MrSmokey's advice and do the "bloom" first with just a little water.  When you brew coffee, there are hundreds of compounds that you're pulling out of the grind.  Some you want, others you don't.  

1 - Make the coffee stronger than you normally would.  If you like it weaker, add a little hot water to your mug after you pour the coffee.  The reason is that if you brew the coffee weak it will dissolve more of the things you don't want.  Things like Pectin, Lignin, and cellulose.  Brewing it strong saturates the water with more of the better things so there is no room left for dissolving the bad stuff.  Think of it like this.  Say you're making sugar syrup and you want the water to be fully saturated with sugar.  If you use too little sugar, you won't get the sweetness you need and it will start dissolving the vessel (ok, only in teeny quantities, but you get the idea).  If you use too much sugar, you'll have undissolved sugar left in the bottom, but the water will be saturated and unable to dissolve anything else.  Using larger ratios of coffee to water just makes things better.  There is of course a point of diminishing return.  My sweet spot in my drip machine is 3 tablespoons per 2 cups of water.  Don't confuse that with 8oz of water... that's cups measured by the pot which is often 5-7oz.  If I don't want it quite that strong I'll do 1T per cup.  Mom makes hers with 2T per cup which I think is delicious, but I don't have that kind of money.

2 - the "bloom" idea MrSmokey suggests amplifies that.  Putting in just a little bit of water makes sure that part of the brew ONLY gets the good stuff because it saturates so quickly.

As you brew, the first things to dissolve are the obvious simple things like the caramelized sugars. Delicious, but no complexity.  The next things you get are caramelized proteins.  Also delicious, and these are what really add to the body and complex flavors.  Third you'll start getting those things like Pectin, Lignin, and cellulose.  Boring, flavor-sucking molecules that should be limited.

the one thing I can say- KISS.  

Yes, experiment with weights and times while you dial in what you like.

Once you are done with that, realize that the coffee you use has a pretty consistent density- so a specific volume at a specific grind will pretty much always be the same mass of coffee.

And water is VERY consistent in density- so a specific volume will always have the same mass.

Which means when you are done, X # of scoops of coffee, grind Y, Water X at temp C (orF), for time T.  Just do it the same every time and you won't need the scales and the time it takes to use them.

I did that for a decade with a French Press at work, and then changed to an AeroPress- because they are easier to clean.

Unless you like doing the fiddly bits and process to make coffee.  I don't- I just want the coffee- so I just do the same thing every time.  Which is 3 rounded scoops of whatever the grind I have is, pour over some water, stir (using momentum- not a spoon), fill with water, cap, get cream for mug, put press over mug, press and enjoy.

If you use a particular mug/travel mug, back fill from it to the press carafe and mark a line on the carafe. No need to make more coffee then you need. 

wae said:

sleepyhead the buffalo said:

Don't rinse your press out in a sink with a garbage disposal.

I have heard this about coffee grounds and disposals enough times that there has to be some sort of truth to that, but I've been dumping my coffee grounds down the Waste King for nigh-on 30 years at this point and not once have I ever had anything slow or stop the drain....

It may depend on the variety of disposal you have.  I'm fairly certain the one in the house we're in now is different from our permanent residence.  Also, dunno if it's a US vs Euro thing... everything cleaning related is weaker over here in the EU.

In reply to sleepyhead the buffalo :

I'd say it also depends on the plumbing in the house.  In a house with well designed drains with consistent pitch, shouldn't be a problem. If you have an older house with more... interesting... drain design, then dumping stuff down the sink drain might be a problem.  I had this argument with my ex- a number of times as her kitchen sink was a fair distance from the main drain and barely had enough pitch to drain water, but less anything else she wanted to dump down (like hamburger grease) because "that's what my mother has done for 50 years and never had a problem..."

I have two French press coffee makers... maybe some day I'll actually use them. But if I'm going through that much effort to make coffee vs my auto-drip maker, then I'm making espresso. 

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

KISS.  Three scoops per cup of coffee, add some hot water, swirl, fill, add plunger. Wait 4 min.  Press and enjoy.  That's how i've been using my press for a few decades now.

It's great that people want to be super accurate, but I like it simple, and it just tastes good.  

Fill the '70s era electric kettle with water, then plug it into the wall outlet above the kitchen counter.  Check to make sure it didn't trip the GFCI, because it probably did, and you need to reset the outlet.

Make sure the hopper on your Krups GX5000 burr grinder has enough of your favorite, Black Rifle's AK Espresso blend beans in it.

Go out to the garden and lose track of time, ensuring that by the time you return to the kitchen, the kettle has boiled over and gotten anything you may have left on the counter wet.

Clean up the mess from the boiled over kettle.

Make sure your grinder is set on hopper level 3 and coarseness 6, and push the button.

Bring your press pot to the sink, in a futile attempt to contain the mess from coffee grounds.

Tap on the grinder to knock the loose grounds down.

Remove the grounds hopper from the grinder, and remove its lid.

Accidentally drop the lid on the counter, and get coffee grounds all over the counter.

Empty most of the contents of the grounds hopper into the press pot.

Get the hand held vacuum from the utility room to clean up most of the grounds you've spilled on the counter.  Think to yourself how peculiar the aroma of PB Blaster and coffee ground combo coming from the vacuum is, and remember how you used the vacuum to clean up the inner door panel of the Dodge after soaking the rusted window regulator in PB Blaster months ago.

Pour just enough water from the kettle into the press pot, to saturate the grounds to the point of floating.  Laugh to yourself and shake your head a little about how pretentious you've become by adding the extra step of "blooming" your grounds.  Not only are you using a French press, but you're blooming your grounds, who even are you?  Remember when Folgers was all you needed.  Then remember how SWMBO can never remember the term "blooming" for some reason, and calls it "flowering."  When she makes a press pot, she always asks, "how long do I need to let it flower?"  Laugh to yourself, and leave the grounds to bloom of flower, or whatever.

Tell yourself you've got 5 minutes to kill while the grounds bloom, head to the living room, turn the news on, get the laptop out and catch up on GRM.  Get distracted by some ridiculous engine swap, arguing with the talking heads on the TV, or writing an entirely too long detailed, and personal step-by-step protocol for making press pot coffee and forget that you've had grounds blooming for 10+ minutes.  Be right back...

Fill the press pot almost to the brim with water, so that when you put the plunger lid on, some of it will spill out the spout and make yet another mess.

Leave the pot to steep, tell yourself that it needs 10 minutes, check the time so you can remember, but don't bother to set a timer, you don't need one.

Go back to the garden, arguing with the TV, or learning about something on GRM, and sometime in the next 15-35 minutes, remember that you've got a press pot steeping.

Go back to the kitchen, and press the plunger on the pot, take your time, press the plunger slow enough that you can count to 30 on your way down.

Remember seeing some fella on Youtube who double presses, so when you're about 2/3 down with the plunger, abruptly pull it to the top, to mix the grounds up, and then proceed to slowly press the plunger down all the way, again attempting to count to 30.  Notice you're almost to the bottom by the time you're to 20, so you count 21-30 extra fast.

Pour your coffee into your favorite cup and enjoy.  Realizing that you can't taste any difference by adding the 2nd pressing, and chuckle to yourself about how silly it is that you do that.

SWMBO isn't ready for her coffee yet, but go ahead and pour her a cup, because if there's any left in the pot, you know chances are you'll drink it.

Go back to your news and/or GRM distraction, set your coffee cup on the coffee table, get distracted again, and forget that you've got a cup of coffee.  Think to yourself how you're dragging a little, and could use a shot of caffeine, and remember, "oh yeah, I've got a cup of coffee."  Grab your cup of now warm-ish coffee, and grumble to yourself about it being cold, but the microwave is all the way over there, and you're really into whatever it is you're learning about on GRM, so you drink your warm coffee as-is.

I think that pretty well sums up how to use a press pot.

That much effort!?

It's the easiest cup of coffee to make which doesn't also taste like crap. My kids use our french press and grinder.

Boil water

Grind the beans (and turn off the water)

Put grinds in french press

Wait a minute, then pour the water in the french press

Wait 5 minutes, push plunger down. Enjoy amazing coffee.

if it's a proper French press, make sure the white flag pops up when it's done.

I can and will tell everyone not to dump grounds down the drain because I'm the "one guy" that everyone references. I had to have a bunch of lines snaked because grounds had built up in the pipes. Technically, almost nothing kitchen-waste should be going down there, disposal or no.

Sincerely,
The Guy Who Had to Pay $300 Because He Was Too Lazy to Scoop Out His French Press

P.S.  — Life is too short to measure coffee

Any links to a press that actually keeps the grinds separate from the cup?? Maybe it is my cheap grinder (blade type) but no matter how coarsely I get the grind, the dust always gets through in significant amounts. I ended up pouring through a paper filter, effectively making a complicated pour-over coffee. It worked, but was tedious and more cleanup. 

In reply to tuna55 :

Vs plopping in a filter, some coffee grinds, water and then setting the timer so the coffee is waiting for me when my alarm goes off in the morning?  Yes. Too much effort for not enough reward.

In reply to bigdaddylee82 :

I cannot tell you how much I laughed at this. Thanks for writing it up. This is totally an almost word for description of what would happen if I used a French press. Or what happened just trying to make rice tonight....

Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to tuna55 :

Vs plopping in a filter, some coffee grinds, water and then setting the timer so the coffee is waiting for me when my alarm goes off in the morning?  Yes. Too much effort for not enough reward.

Max seven minutes from "hmm, I want coffee" to having coffee. I grew up in a household like what you describe. For the longest time I just thought I hated coffee.

The press is in the back of the cupboard, got tired of chewing on grounds that it didn't filter out.  Running the coffee through a drip filter seemed like too much work.

Fellow French-presser here... my formula is 4 scoops of coffee, hot water from the instant kettle, sit for 4-1/2 minutes, plunge. 

I have a question for the group though- do you wash your French press? I feel like the obvious answer is berk yes, but I've heard some old-timers talk about never washing their coffee cups saying that the stains add flavor. 

Personally I wash mine out every couple weeks and I use it (and rinse it) every day. 

In reply to porschenut :

I got my press at walmart, it's a bodum something or other, but I never have grounds sneak through the mesh. To fine of a grind maybe?

In reply to Grizz :

Bingo.  Using store-bought pre-ground coffee in a french press is almost certain to leave sediment in your cup.