by: Daryl Plaza

The French press produces a very rich, robust coffee. It is the next best brew to an Espresso. Using medium to coarse coffee grounds which when directly infused using slightly cooled boiling water, will create a great blend of aroma and flavor. The French press method is pre-warming the glass beaker with hot water, adding your preferred amount of coffee in the beaker, then adding some slightly cooled boiling water. The plunger cover is then replaced on the beaker. You should then allow the coffee to steep for about four to six minutes. Then you gently press the plunger lid down allowing it to pass through the suspended coffee. This will separate your finished coffee away from the grounds by pressing all the grounds to the bottom of the pot.

Advantages | Disadvantages of your French press

Advantages: Using this technique gives the richest body of coffee (excluding Espresso). The stop time is less, application of pressure is slight, water is hotter, and the ratio of water to coffee is greater. Grounds in this process (steeping) are just under the boiling point, which means no extra boiling or burning which will save the dark, delightful flavor and coffee aroma - with no bitterness. Also there is no paper filter to take away some of the coffee oils - which will help save your delicate aroma.

Disadvantages: The cooling down of the coffee before the steeping pressure has finished. If your coffee beans are ground too fine, it will be harder to press down the plunger lid because of the increased surface tension. And if you do not use the medium to coarse grind, you may have sediment at the bottom of our cup.

Bonus | Using the French press as a foamer to make froth.

Heat a cup of milk (using non-fat has best results) on the stove or in the microwave. Do not overheat; just heat it enough that you cannot put your finger into it. Pour the milk into a rinsed plunger pot. Pump the plunger in the pot for a few minutes and the milk will expand to three to four times its volume creating froth for your cappuccino and latte.