How to use a French Press to make coffee

French Press is a wonderful thing. It's cheap, easy and makes wonderful coffee. It's my preferred coffee maker. It produces coffee that is (mostly) mechanically filtered, and rich in taste and flavor.

Here's how you can make the coffee in it.

Step 1: open the French press and pour in some hot water to pre-heat it. Ditch the water.

Step 2: add coffee.

Step 3: pour in enough water to cover it and let it "bloom" for a bit.

Step 4: pour water almost to the top and stir.

Step 5: close the French Press, with the plunger up high. Let it brew for 4 minutes.

Step 6: depress the plunger gently and slowly. Pour coffee out of the French Press and enjoy (don't forget to clean the press)

Regarding coffee: it's best if it's ground freshly and coarsely. I usually put 1 heaping teaspoon per dL of water, I know how much coffee I like. If you have a scale and want to weigh your coffee, I've heard weight ratios between 1:10 and 1:20 used. How much you use should probably vary according to the coffee bean used, coarseness of the grind, your tastes and other factors. Experiment! It's delicious :)

I recommend freshly-roasted beans from your local coffee shop... if you have these sorts of establishment nearby, or if you're willing to order online - these will give you the best taste.

If you're stuck without a grinder (or don't intend to get one at this moment), get yourself a coffee ground to French Press coarseness. Or, failing that, filter coffee coarseness. Supermarket brands are typically below independent coffee roasters when it comes to quality.

Out of cheap Croatian pre-ground brands, I've had relatively good results with Franck's 100% Arabica. It's just slightly more expensive than most cheap coffees, and produces a tastier brew than other coffees near its' price point. However, some grounds do pass through the mesh filter...

Besides making coffee, French Press is a very versatile tool that can be used for other things as well: making tea, foaming milk, draining stuff etc. For those of you asking where to get the French Press: if you're in Croatia (where this item is relatively unknown at homes), check out Muller or IKEA. Otherwise, you might want to consider ordering online.