FRENCH PRESS COFFEE MAKER: BASIC CHARACTERISTICS.
The French press coffee maker is also known as a plunger coffee maker. It is an option to make delicious coffee without using electrical cables and even dispensing with a filter.
It is a coffee maker capable of achieving an intense and aromatic coffee. With very simple means as soon as you follow the advice that we will give you in the post.
The French Press coffee maker is not excessively expensive over $50. You will find coffee makers of this type that will do their job well.
There are different sizes that are normally measured in coffee cups that you can get from it.
The normal thing is that they have a size between three and eight cups. But you can find them larger and even smaller.
A LITTLE HISTORY ABOUT THE FRENCH PRESS OR PLUNGER COFFEE MAKER
Italians and French compete for the honor of having invented it. Both are somewhat right and neither is absolutely right.
The first patent for a coffee maker similar to the French press appears in France in 1852. Mayer and Delforgue, French, present a design of this coffee maker somewhat different from that of today. It did not seal the jar completely.
You can find a coffee maker like the current one. We have to wait a few more years for Attilio Calimari and Gulio Moneta to present it. Then it was the year 29 of the 20th century.
To read next–MUELLER FRENCH PRESS REVIEW-2021
Faliero Bondanini who, despite what it may seem from his surname, was not Italian but Swiss.
It was marketed in France in the middle of the last century. So it is known as the Chambord Coffee Maker.
And it is from this Chambord coffee maker that the good French Press Coffee Maker inherits its name.
If you don’t want those with the national egos of our neighbors, call it a plunger coffee maker. And you will save yourself discussions, especially if you share coffee with a French and an Italian.
Actually, it is a sophistication of the first ways to prepare coffees. Just as the grandparents did in pots. Pans, pots, or as in your area the cooking pot is called that was also used to prepare coffee.
WHAT PARTS IS THE FRENCH PRESS MADE OF?
From a transparent jug.
A lid that fits over the jug.
And a plunger with a rod comes out at the top of the jug. Then it finished in a trim that at the same time acts as a small handle. So it is comfortable to press the infusion.
Plunger coffee maker or French Press coffee maker like Bodum 1928-16US4 Chambord French Press Coffee Maker,
WHAT CHARACTERISTICS SHOULD A GOOD PISTON COFFEE MAKER HAVE?
Stick with this, the Boron Silicate pitcher.
Boron Silicate? Said this. It sounds like a chemical product but it is only the most suitable type of glass for these coffee makers.
It is resistant, totally transparent, and it is a material that well cared for will last you over time.
If you want something more resistant there are versions in steel; I’m a classic in this, I prefer glass.
To go-SECURA FRENCH PRESS COFFEE MAKER REVIEW
THE OTHER ESSENTIAL ELEMENT IS THE PLUNGER FILTER.
A good filter will prevent sludge from passing into your coffee. If the filter is bad, it will make it very difficult for you to have good results with the coffee. You make this type of coffee maker.
It must be metallic, firm and robust, and also move delicately along the walls of the glass jug.
I have already told you that for $50. You can find a borosilicate coffee maker with a good filter, and for 50. But you will find very serious French press coffee makers. So do not skimp buying the cheapest one, you will notice it in your coffee.
With minimal protection you can carry it in the suitcase wherever you want, in addition, it is easy to clean.
HOW WOULD A PROFESSIONAL PREPARE GOOD CUPS OF COFFEE WITH THE FRENCH PRESS, SOME BASIC
The plunger coffee maker requires a coarse grind.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1ST THE GRINDING
As always, I recommend that you grind with a mill with conical wheels and not with a blade mill.
Remember that the first does not increase the temperature by friction, and prevents the coffee from leaving its roasting point.
The coarse sand grain size.
Yes, coffee friend, the kind that would start to bother you when walking on the beach.
Be careful if the grind is fine. Or you simply decide to buy ground coffee that will always be designed for a coffee maker. It requires a finer grind of coffee. The filter will let particles pass. You will never get the extraction. Then you need to obtain a good coffee made in a French press.
Keep in mind that in these piston or French coffee makers. The coffee is infused like tea and other infusions, by pouring hot water and submerging the coffee in it.
To infuse the coffee beans in this way, it is necessary that they have a coarse grind. If we used a medium or fine grind, the water would hardly have a contact surface with them.
The result would be a bitter concoction. So we could hardly call coffee, without recognizable flavor, without body, and without any grace.
So be warned, coarse ground for this coffee maker.
2ND QUALITY COFFEE ALWAYS.
Quality coffee, preferably 100% Arabica blends with a good Arabica. And a great Robusta is proportions of 8 or 9 to 1. I feel the eight or nine of Arabica and the rest of Robusta.
3RD WATER IN PERFECT CONDITION.
As most of the coffee that you bring to your cup is water. The water you use must be of high quality.
Avoid water with strong odors or tastes, including alkaline flavors.
Well filtered or mineral water with weak mineralization.
4TH EXTRACTION RATIO
The water-coffee extraction ratio is a simple formula. It is obtained by dividing the grams of water by the grams of coffee that you are going to use.
It is the amount of coffee to use in relation to the amount of water. We are going to use it when we make this coffee infusion.
A common ratio that is widely used is 1:15.
For example 15 grams of ground coffee per 225 grams of water.
For 100 grams of water, use a little less than 10 grams of coffee. Besides, it is easier for you to do the calculation.
There is no correct extraction ratio since the ratio you use must be adapted to your tastes. The type of coffee you use, etc.
It is convenient to start with this ratio that is already well-proven.
Then you can slightly increase the dose of coffee or use less water to adjust the extraction to your liking.
With some tests, you are sure to find the perfect combination for your palate.
5TH WATER TEMPERATURE
Do not use boiling water, the temperature must be around 90 degrees centigrade.
You can check it with a thermometer or wait about 45 seconds for the water temperature to drop. The latter method is less reliable than using a thermometer.
The temperature of the water influences the extraction itself. And the extraction time, which is another variable that you can play with to experiment with the flavors.
6TH EXTRACTION TIME
For a medium roast such as our coffees, 4 minutes can be a good time to achieve a good extraction.
If the roast is dark, a little less time will be better. Even three minutes could arrive, and in the case that in the roast. It is very clear, extending the extraction even one minute may not hurt.
7TH THE EXTRACTION.
Preheat the cup with hot water. If you want to prevent it from getting too cold, you pour in the hot water to extract the coffee. The water from the preheat is discarded to continue the process.
Once you have the preheated cup. Then you can deposit the coarse ground coffee in the bottom of the cup, in the indicated ratio.
Pour the water over the coffee slowly, a gooseneck kettle, like the one. We use a cone or a Chemex that can help you control the flow of the water.
We make a pre-infusion for thirty seconds or 40 seconds, adding twice as much water as the coffee you use.
If you are using 30 grams of coffee for the pre-infusion, you would pour 60 grams of water.
Mix the water and coffee slowly for about 30 seconds, then slowly make the rest of the water.
Conclusion
We have already said that the coffee should spend approximately 4 minutes infusing including the initial thirty or forty seconds.
You can stir the infusion two or three times in a delicate way. So, the water and the coffee mix well in the time. The coffee is submerged in the water.
After four minutes, begin to press the plunger gently until it reaches the bottom. And leave all the coffee at the bottom of the carafe.
You already have the coffee ready to serve from the jug to the cup.
It goes without saying that you do not remove the lid to serve it. So the plunger would stop containing the coffee grounds and they would mix with the coffee you want to serve.