French Press Coffee How-to

I thought I'd make my inaugural coffee post about the French Press. As of a couple of weeks ago, my family's old French Press broke (after two decades of service to us RIP) and we used it as an excuse to purchase a new, pretty, 8 cup copper one from Bodum.

Bodum is a Swiss-based, Danish-born kitchenware company known for its timeless design. I've been eyeing this copper French Press at Whole Foods for quite a while now, so I was excited to finally get my hands on it. Needless to say, it looks just as beautiful in person, as it does in photos.

I've tried almost every coffee making method under the sun (Keurig, Moka Pots, Chemex, espresso machines, drip coffee, etc.) and, at the end of the day, this is probably my favorite way to make a good cup of black coffee. I suspect that this partially has to do with the fact that, unlike most other methods where the hot water simply "passes through the grounds," with a French Press, the hot water sits with the coffee grounds for a slightly prolonged period of time, thus producing a fuller bodied and more intense cup of coffee. Never mind the fact that the coffee geek in me finds something satisfying about pressing the plunger knob down after an impatient 5 minute wait.

If you're new to coffee and are looking to get started, look no further.

French Press How-To:

1. Place the French Press on a stable, flat surface and pull the plunger-filter top off.
2. Place the coffee grounds* at the bottom of the carafe. I use about 1 rounded scoop ** of coffee for every 2 + Ɛ cups of water. For reference, I use 3 rounded scoops of coffee when I plan on filling up the 8-cup French Press all the way to the top. Experiment a bit, and find what works for you.   
3. Add the hot water to the carafe. You shouldn't use boiling water, but rather, hot water that's at a slightly lower temperature than boiling. I usually boil water with my kettle and let it cool off a minute or two, before adding it to the carafe.
4. Place the filter-plunger component back, until the filter is hovering above the water level. 
5.  Wait 4-7 minutes (depending on how strong you like your coffee). Then press the plunger knob down and enjoy!

* For an optimal cup of coffee, use freshly ground coffee beans.

** I use the Hay clip with spoon for measuring out my coffee scoops. I think it's a pretty standard coffee scoop size though, so any generic coffee scooper should be fine.