If you’re looking for the best coffee for your french press, look no further! Even newcomers will find this process easy enough that they’ll be able to brew a delicious cup their first time.
As you become more and more familiar with the French press, you won’t just be content with brewing a decent cup. You’ll be looking for something exceptional that meets both your taste and strength preferences.
Did you know you can achieve this seemingly elusive flavor by knowing what ground coffee beans to use? Find out how coarse and fine grinds impact the taste and flavor of your French press coffee, so you can finally create that perfect cup.
How the French Press Compares to Other Brewing Methods
The coffee world’s focus on creating specialty coffee has resulted in the French press being a bit overlooked. These days, coffee lovers prefer using the espresso, Aeropress, and pour-over methods when brewing their coffee. With these techniques, it is generally easier to tweak factors like grind size and extraction time, which greatly impact the way your coffee turns out.
With the French press, most people agree that the combination of coarsely-ground coffee beans and below-boiling-point-temperature is what creates the best brew. Also, give your beans a total of at least three minutes of immersion time, and there’s no way you won’t be happy with your cup. This is an important bit to remember when looking for the best coffee for your french press.
Similar to other coffee methods, variables like temperature and the coarseness or fineness of the grind are not set in stone. You can tweak each of them to alter the taste and strength of your brew in one way or another. Just remember, though, that when you alter one element, you should also consider changing the other two since they very easily affect one another. Getting the perfect grind for your coffee can feel like a balancing act, but once you figure it out, you’ll be just fine!
Why Use Coarse Grinds for French Press?
Not everyone’s going to be on board with buying a burr grinder only to partner it with a French press. Burr grinders are expensive and not something one would normally pair with such a traditional and economical brewing device. Although, if you’re hoping to unlock your French press’ full potential and find the best coffee for your french press, it’s something you should definitely consider doing.
With a high-quality coffee grinder, you can produce consistently ground coffee beans with little effort. Grinds usually range in size from extremely fine to very coarse. Low-quality grinders are known to produce more of the latter, so you may want to stay away from them. When too many very fine grinds are present in your coffee, they can give it a muddy texture and a really bitter taste.
Of course, you won’t find too many fine coffee grinds in coarsely-ground coffee. This means you’ll be more than likely to brew a decent cup of coffee that’s neither cloudy nor too bitter. Again, issues with okay-tasting coffee can be solved with a high-quality grinder, which grinds beans more finely.
Because the French press makes use of immersion, it gives you the opportunity to extract flavor from the beans longer than in others. This is the main reason why coarse grinds are used. They keep the extraction slow and also prevent too much extraction from taking place.
Still, this doesn’t mean you should limit yourself to using coarse grinds. Unlike the pour-over method, the French press gives you more room to experiment with the particle size of the coffee grinds. With this device, you can go for a finer grind because it won’t necessarily lead to the impediment of the water flow. Take note, though, that when you do experiment to find the best coffee for your french press, elements like the brew time and temperature should not be overlooked and be adjusted accordingly.
Why Use Finer Grinds?
While there’s always that fear that finer grinds will turn your cup cloudy and bitter-tasting, current technology can allow you a way around that. With high-end grinders and state-of-the-art French press devices in the mix, you can now fill the gaps that have kept you from enjoying French press coffee with finer coffee grinds.
This time around, you’ll be able to work with consistently fine coffee grinds and instruments with built-in screens that can hold back medium-sized grounds and keep them from getting into your final product.
When you have the right tools, you should have no problem going finer and finer with your coffee grounds. In doing so, you should get a stronger flavor and taste with every cup. If it gets too strong or bitter, though, you can always dial it back and mix in some coarse grounds. In this way, it’ll be easier for you to discover the best coffee for your french press and your perfect blend.
The Best Coffee for Your French Press
Although coarsely-ground coffee beans are a better fit for your French press, in general, you can also bring finer grinds into the picture with the help of the right products.
A high-quality burr grinding machine and a French press with a built-in screen designed to filter medium-sized coffee grinds are the perfect combination to help you enjoy finely-ground coffee beans using this brewing process. Do your research, so you can learn more about the best coffee for your french press that will meet your needs.
