Ahh…coffee. Better yet, perfect coffee. I have to admit, while I am picky about coffee, at times I will drink just about any hot, black beverage to get my fix. But good coffee is a pleasure on the same level as chocolate, peanut butter and sour cherry pie.
You can buy a great cup of coffee, but how do you make one yourself?
I love my French press. It takes up no space in my kitchen (space, both counter and cupboard is at a premium) and it makes awesome coffee. And a French press allows you to make coffee strong enough to stand up on its own without being bitter.
I have an eight cup Bodum French Press I picked up for almost nothing at a discount store (Ross or Marshall’s or something). Keep in mind when you are selecting the proper size, all the manufactures consider a cup to be six ounces. That is just ridiculous. Who drinks only six ounces of coffee? Make sure to get one big enough to fill your favorite mug.
Here is my process to make a 16 ounce mug’s worth of black gold:
Three level coffee scoops of whole beans. A coffee scoop is equal to two teaspoons. I usually use Starbucks Breakfast Blend. I like Dunkin Donuts, too. Trader Joe’s has a few good, very inexpensive type of whole bean coffee.
Grind for about 14 seconds. Stop to shake it up at least once in the middle. Or shake while grinding if you are really coordinated. DO NOT over grind. Too fine of a grind will clog the screen and give you muddy coffee. If you would rather start with pre-ground coffee, your best bet would be to buy whole bean and have them grind it for you at the store to the correct grind for a French press.
Pour the ground coffee into the press. Please take the plunger out first. Just sayin.
Heat water to 200 degrees. This is just under boiling. You will get the best results with the correct temperature water. I have an electric tea kettle with temperature settings. I love it. My daughter tests the temperature with a cooking thermometer. If you have neither, bring the water to a boil, take it off the heat, and wait about 30 seconds before you pour it over the grounds in the French press. Make sure to use the correct amount of hot water. Measure in a Pyrex cup or mark the correct level on your press in advance.
Put the plunger into the press; press down until it barely touches the floating grounds. You can even leave a little gap between the coffee and the screen on the plunger.
Set a timer for four minutes. This is important. Too little time and you won’t get all the good flavor out of your coffee. Too much time and it will start to get bitter. You can certainly adjust the time to your taste. I found four minutes is perfect for me.
Press the plunger down gently. Pour the liquid black gold into your mug. Add sugar and/or cream if you must. Enjoy.
Live on the edge just once and try this coffee black. You will be amazed. You may not choose to drink it this way, but you will understand immediately why this is one of the best methods for coffee-making.
Here are a few links I found to other processes. Some are a little too anal for me, but I am sure the more exact you are in your process, the better the results. I have not tried the recipe for a large batch of Iced Coffee yet. If you do, please let me know what you think.
French press coffee from Freakonomics
French Press Brewing Guide by Tom Wendelboe
Iced Coffee from The Pioneer Woman blog
Oh, no. I spent so much time on this blog that my coffee is cold now. Guess I need to go back for a second round. Never, ever microwave cold coffee. Yuck.
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