Making coffee in a coffee press leads to more vibrant, fuller flavoured coffee. However, while delicious, coffee press coffee is not convenient nor straightforward to make. There are many caveats along the way to that cup of Joe.
Grind your coffee beans yourself. And when you do, make sure they aren’t exceptional grounds. The powder will both clog your coffee press filter and end up in your cup. While some sediment is normal, ending up with sludge is not only most definitely not tasty, but not healthy.
Once you get your beans to the right consistency, start your kettle and bring water just to a boil.
Pour a little of the hot water in the coffee press to preheat it, swirl the water, and then dump it out. It will help the press maintain consistent temperature throughout the brewing.
Pour your coffee grounds into the coffee press and fill with water, leaving an approximately one-half inch from the pouring spout. Stir the grounds with whatever utensil is handy (I like chopsticks), and then top off the carafe back to within a one-half inch of the spout.
Put the lid on the coffee press and depress the plunger just until it rests on top of the grounds. It helps all of the grounds to release their flavour. Most lids have a slotted opening for filtering the coffee as it’s poured. Make sure this opening is not over the pouring spout, to hold in as much heat as possible.
At this point, the coffee is brewing and should be left alone. However, I like to set a towel around or over the coffee press to help hold in some extra heat.
Leave the press alone for approximately 4-6 minutes, depending on how strong you want your brew.
Grip the press by the handle firmly, while setting your other hand on top of the plunger, and then let just the weight of your hand press it down. If the plunger won’t move, pull it up and try again. If it still won’t move, pull the lid off, stir the grounds, and try again. It should move fairly quickly.
Once the plunger has reached the bottom of the coffee press, you’re ready to pour. Coffee-pressed coffee is much stronger in flavour and caffeine content than coffee made in a machine. Consider this when flavouring.