The French press was invented in the early 1900s by Italian designer Attilio Calimani. However, it was not until the 1950s that the French press became popular in France and the rest of Europe. The design was later improved by Danish designer Erik Nielsen in the 1970s with the addition of a double screen filter system, which helped to produce a cleaner cup of coffee.
Since then, the French press has established itself as a standard in homes and coffee shops all over the world thanks to its easy-to-follow brewing method that yields a rich, flavorful cup of coffee. Overall, the French press is a time-honored coffee machine that is still a favourite among coffee drinkers today. The flavour profile and detailed instructions are described in more detail below.
What is the flavour Profile of a French Press?
French press coffee is renowned for its powerful scent and rich, full-bodied flavour. The direct contact of the coffee grinds with the water, which allows for better extraction of the coffee's natural oils and flavours, gives it a strong, distinctive taste.
The French press often yields a coffee that is bolder, with a thicker texture and a more robust flavour profile, compared to other brewing techniques, like a drip coffee machine or a pour over. It is the ideal choice for those who prefer a powerful, robust coffee with a smooth body and little bitterness.
Overall, the smooth, velvety texture and the nuanced, rich flavour profile of French press coffee make it a favourite among coffee connoisseurs.
How do you make a French Press?
Here are the instructions for using a French press coffee maker:
Fill the French press with hot water and let it sit for a minute to warm up. Then, empty the water.
Measure out the coffee beans and grind them to a coarse consistency. You’ll need about 1-2 tablespoons of coffee for every 4 ounces of water. Your coffee should be ground slightly coarser than a filter grind. Each granule should be distinctly visible to the naked eye. Refer to the picture for added clarity on grind size.
8oz French – 15-20g or 3-4tbls coffee – 300mL water to fill line (1 cup)
40oz French – 30-45g or 6-9tbls coffee – 750mL water to 1st fill line (3 cups)
40oz French – 40-60g or 8-12tbls coffee – 1000mL water to 2nd fill line (4 cups)
Place the coffee grounds in the French press.
Pour hot water over the coffee grounds, filling the press to just below the rim. Let the coffee steep for 4 minutes. It is recommended to use water that is just off the boil, around 200°F, to ensure optimal extraction of the coffee flavor.
Slowly press down on the plunger to separate the coffee grounds from the liquid.
Pour the coffee into your cup and enjoy!
Why would a cafe want to offer French Press instead of filter brewed coffee?
A cafe may choose to offer French press coffee instead of filter brewed coffee for several reasons:
Flavour profile: Compared to other brewing techniques, French press coffee has a distinctive, rich, and full-bodied flavour. By providing a French press option, a café may highlight the distinctive qualities of its coffee beans and attract clients who like a stronger, more potent cup of joe.
Greater control over brewing conditions: The French press gives the barista more power over the brewing procedure, including the water temperature, steeping time, and coffee-to-water ratio, which can lead to a more reliable and superior cup of coffee.
Aesthetic appeal: The French press has a timeless, classic style that can give a cafe's drink menu a touch of refinement. The cafe may convey to clients that it values coffee and is dedicated to delivering a high-quality coffee experience by giving a French press option.
Greater adaptability: The French press is a versatile option for a cafe's drink menu because it can be used to brew a number of coffee varieties, from light and delicate to bold and robust.
Overall, providing a French press option can help a cafe stand out from competing businesses and draw in patrons searching for a distinctive and high-quality coffee experience.
Coffee Storage: 5 Ways to Keep your Beans Fresh
Need to overhaul your coffee storage etiquette?
There's information out there about how to store your coffee, but not all of it is well advised. Poor coffee storage can lead to flat, uninspiring, and downright stale coffee. You may be committing some coffee storage faux-pas lately, and you don’t even realize it!
When you buy great coffee, you have a duty to keep it fresh and use it up in a timely manner to honour its innate qualities. Don’t forget that coffee is a food item, too. Just like bread, coffee goes stale. Just as you wouldn’t eat stale bread, you shouldn’t drink stale coffee. Fratello coffee bags are dosed at 340 grams for a reason–to encourage you to buy only what you need.
How long do coffee beans last?
Ideally, you will use up all your coffee within 3-4 weeks of the roast date. Don’t buy coffee in huge quantities if you’re a household of 1 and you only drink 1 cup a day. Buy enough coffee to last you 1 week, 2 weeks maximum. If you’re a family of 5 and you all drink 2-3 cups a day, it might make sense to buy it in quantities of 2 lbs, but otherwise, you should never need more than 340 grams at a time. Try to get familiar with your needs, and go from there.
Understanding the things that affect coffee freshness can help you keep your coffee tasting great. Below are the 3 main enemies of coffee.
Keep Coffee Away from:
Light.
Have you ever noticed how coffee bags are always opaque? This is by design. Light, particularly UV exposure, causes photodegradation in coffee. This causes the breakdown of chemical compounds, leading to less aromatic coffee. Keep your beans in the bag they came in or place them in an opaque container for optimal coffee storage.
Air.
When coffee is exposed to air, it oxidizes, and oxygen is what causes all foods to go bad. Never leave a bag of beans open where the air can get to it. Always close your coffee bag, and try to get as much air out of the bag as possible before closing. In addition, never grind a whole bag of coffee beans upon purchase. Only grind what you need, immediately before brewing.
Moisture.
Moisture can not only introduce new, unsavoury flavours to your coffee, but it can also cause the beans to mould and the oils to go rancid quicker. While it may seem like a good idea to refrigerate or freeze your coffee, this is where moisture can be introduced. We don’t recommend freezing or refrigerating as a means of coffee storage. In addition, a humid kitchen will cause your beans to go south, so make sure your coffee is stored in a cool, dry place.
We’ll debunk some coffee storage myths and show you some new ways to keep your coffee fresh. Let’s make stale coffee a thing of the past!
Top 5 coffee storage tips:
Don’t grind all your coffee at once.
When you’re purchasing coffee at a coffee shop or online, there is usually the option to have all your beans ground at once. While you may not have the means to grind it at home, don’t rely on this forever. Get yourself a quality burr grinder for home, and grind whatever you need, right before you need it. Grinding all your coffee at once brings in the enemy of air. More surface area means more air attacking your coffee, and it will begin to stale immediately.
Don’t freeze your coffee.
We don’t recommend freezing your coffee, and we especially don’t recommend refrigerating it. Freezing your coffee not only alters the chemical compounds (ie. flavours) in your coffee and dries up the oils, but it introduces moisture, one of the key enemies of coffee. What happens when you freeze your coffee is that condensation accumulates around the jar. As soon as you take it out of the fridge and open the container or jar, the condensation rushes in, introducing moisture. While freezing your coffee is a common piece of advice, we don’t recommend it as a means of coffee storage.
Keep your coffee out of direct light.
Coffee bags are opaque for a reason–to keep light out, a major coffee enemy. The best container to store your beans in? The bag they came in! While it may be tempting to store your beans in a glass mason jar on the counter, this will quickly lead to flavour degradation. The same goes for storing beans in the hopper of your grinder. It may look nice as a way to display them, but it isn’t proper coffee storage. Avoid leaving beans in your hopper, and if you must, leave a small amount. If you’re going to buy a container for your coffee beans, make sure the container is opaque (black is best) and has an air-tight seal.
Keep coffee away from heat sources.
Avoid leaving your beans near heat sources, such as on top of the fridge or next to the stove. This is an improper means of coffee storage, and it will quickly degrade your beans. This goes for brewed coffee as well. While it may seem nice to have a hot pot of coffee all morning, this is going to singe all those delicate flavour notes in your coffee.
Learn to accept when your coffee is stale.
Once your coffee has gone stale, learn to accept it. There’s nothing you can do to bring back stale coffee. Don’t try to add fancy flavour syrups to it to bring it back to life. It’s time to move on, and vow to change up your future coffee storage habits. The only thing you can do with stale coffee beans is grind them up and use them for compost.
A Fresh Start
While you may have been committing some coffee storage no-no’s, it’s never too late to change your ways. Fratello Coffee is sourced meticulously, and roasted carefully. We want you to get the best out of our coffee, and taste the difference. Want to learn more about how to perfect your home brew? Check out these useful tips about buying and using coffee!
Colombia | Cup of Excellence
I have just returned from Pereira Colombia after judging the 2009 Colombia Cup of Excellence competition. Although tired, I'm thrilled about this experience. It is so exciting going through the cupping process and seeing the award ceremony's on the final day.
The Cup of Excellence competition is the most thorough and competitive screening process a coffee farm will put their coffee through. The goal of COE is to bring out the best coffee a current region has to offer in the current crop year. After the competition is over, the COE award is given to the top farmers who represent the best coffees that this region has to offer. These coffees are then put in front of the world on an on-line auction which rewards these farmers for their focused attention to improving quality coffee, and puts a spot light on this region show-casing their excellence.
Stage one Involves the submission from the farmers current crop of coffee. Of the 512,000 families growing coffee in Colombia, only 374 submissions were sent in this year, which was relatively low do to the fact that Colombia's crop forecast is 30-40% lower than the year before.
All of these coffees are cupped and analyzed in Colombia by local cuppers. All coffee scoring an 84 or higher (out of 100) move on to the second National Cupping jury. The National Cupping Jury is chosen from the pool of local cuppers. They are chosen for their cupping skills in the first stage.
