Fresh Off the Boat

While I have expounded on the importance of fresh roasted coffee, I haven’t spent a lot of time talking about the importance of getting freshly harvested coffees. It’s true that in its raw form, coffee is far more shelf stable than once it is roasted, but even the green beans lose flavor over time. Sometimes this is a good thing, mellowing out imperfections or improving the mix of flavors. That is even more evident when you are able to chart the change over time. That is why I am so excited that I have just got my greedy little hands on the newest harvest of one of my favorite coffees, a high-quality bean grown in Zimbabwe. I have been roasting beans from Leopard Forest farm for more than a year now, with much success. The growers, who import the coffee themselves, are devoted to sustainable agriculture and working with the local community. They also make damn good coffee.

French Press

From our ongoing series on brewing techniques, we bring you THE FRENCH PRESS.

The French press allows for some improvisation by giving the user total control over the time, temperature and, to some extent, the grinding level. Unlike in the drip method, in a French press, you are steeping the grounds; all the water is in contact with the coffee during brewing, usually around 4 minutes. Some people like to steep longer or shorter, use slightly finer or courser grounds. Such choices are largely a matter of personal taste and require experimentation. The finer the grounds, the more sediment you will have in your cup. However, by depressing the plunger slowly, you can minimize that. The screens on most French presses allow for only the finest of grounds to filter through, but slight larger pieces can escape around the edges if you push down fast enough to produce air bubbles. In terms of choosing grind level, the flavor rules I laid out above are even more relevant here. The finer you go the brighter and more citrusy will be the brew, while a course grind will begin to blunt those flavors, but yield more body.

Brewing with a French press requires a little more coffee than drip. For example, for one liter of water, I would use 57 grams or 8 scoops, to brew drip coffee. By comparison, for one liter of water in a French press, I would use 65 grams or 9-10 scoops of coffee. It is essential to use enough coffee or you will end up with weak, under-flavored coffee. Using very fresh coffee, ie. beans roasted within a few days, will release a lot of CO₂ when the hot water hits it, so be prepared to stir the resulting froth down a bit and keep adding water gradually until you hit the fill point. With really fresh beans, it may help to cut down on how much the brew froths up by grinding the beans 10 to 15 minutes before adding water. You may also want to warm up the press before adding the coffee or water as the water will cool once mixed with the grounds themselves. Once the press is warmed up, dump out the water you were using to warm it up (you can pour it into your carafe if you will be using one), add the grounds, then start pouring your hot water over the grounds. As always, the water should be between 195-205 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir the mix, and keep adding water as the froth settles. Remember to leave enough head room to insert the plunger, which should keep a little more of the heat in. Start the clock as soon as the grounds are thoroughly wetted. Steep time should be around 4 minutes.

At the sound of the bell, start pushing down on the plunger. As mentioned above, depressing the plunger slowly is key to keeping grounds out of your cup. This can take 30 seconds or more. Once the plunger is down, little brewing is occurring, but I still like to transfer the coffee to a separate, preheated carafe.