Although it’s one of the easiest methods to make coffee for more than one cup, French Press is no longer the most chosen route to an immersive cup of coffee. Time to update to the new hybrid in town. What?! (it's actually been around since 2008)
French Press is an immersion method, and time-worn tradition holds that it makes the biggest, sweetest cup. You can see why: It steeps in coarse grind (with fewer "fines"). But the advent of the Clever Dripper made chemists get their hardware and software out. They found the latter made a more immersive cup, without leftover sediment.
All said, note the broad number of barista approaches and heed only one geeky part of this technique: Pour ALL the water at once and don't argue with science. When water is absorbed by the grind, H2O molecules are given an equal chance to absorb the solids. If you are blooming grind, waiting, and following with a second pour, you are not getting all the water absorbed equally.
Baseline French Press recipe
(The World Brewers Cup strictly limits entries to paper- or cloth-filtered brews, ruling out traditional metal mesh French Press extractions on stage. However, this renowned competition-grade standard achieves pristine cup clarity.)
Coffee: 30g [ratio is 1:16.6]
Grind: [fine] 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 [medium — this is not traditional]
Water: 500g at 208°F–212°F (98°C–100°C)
Method:
0:00: Pour 500g of boiling water aggressively over the grounds to ensure full saturation.
4:00: Allow to steep untouched for 4 minutes. A crust of coffee will form at the top.
4:00: Stir the top crust gently with a spoon. Most grounds will sink to the bottom. Scoop off the remaining floating foam and light chaff with two spoons.
5:00 – 10:00: Let the coffee sit undisturbed for 5–7 minutes to allow all fine particles to settle to the bottom.
Serve: Insert the plunger filter just below the liquid surface (do not plunge down to the bottom, which disturbs the sediment). Decant slowly.
