8 Tips And Tricks For The Best French Press Coffee

Were you looking for the best French Press? Check out this guide to French Presses.

I’ve had some delicious coffee from my french press the past couple weeks, but here’s a few tips and tricks that I’ve picked up along the way to get that perfect tasting cup.

• No matter how coffee is made, great tasting coffee starts with great tasting water. Using a water filter that attaches to a faucet, is a quick and easy way to improve your coffee.
• Use fresh coffee beans that are three to ten days old. Anything younger hasn’t completely matured yet and may taste off. Anything older is starting to go stale and losing flavor.
• A good coffee grinder makes good coffee. Cheaper grinders can produce uneven size grounds, including fine particle sizes that can sneak through the filters and into your cup. Cheap grinders can also produce burnt tasting coffee because the friction of the blades can heat up the grinds so much that they’re singed.
• Leave an inch of space above the waterline for the filter and the press. If you put too much water in and press down too fast, hot water can come squirting out.
• If you like coffee with extra body, stir it as steeps. This gives it a stronger taste and allows less time for the sediment to settle.
• The exact time the coffee needs to steep before the press is pushed down varies depending on the kind of coffee beans. Paying attention to aroma is more important. Initially, there’s the small of a burst of acidity when the oils are shocked by the heat. The smell is replaced by a building of the body before the acidic smell returns. That’s when it should be pressed down or if you’re really good, right before it returns.
• Clean you french press after your done. Baking soda or denture cleaner tablets are two of the most popular ways. Use the baking sods to scrub the parts or soak the parts in the denture cleaner tablets. Rinse when you’re done, making sure that there’s no left over residues from the previous coffee or the cleaning. Take it a step further and use an ultrasonic cleanser once a week. It’ll remove sediment, dirt and oil off what looks like a clean french press.
• If you like iced coffee, try keeping your french press over night in your fridge. Use cold water and the coffee comes out sweet and clean tasting. (More about that in the near future.)

Do you have any other tips or tricks?

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Photo By mhaithaca.

Tagged as: Bodum, Bodum Chambord Coffee Press, French Press, Press Pot