National Coffee Day & New French Press Methodology!

Saturday, September 29 is National Coffee Day and to celebrate we've added brewing guides to the website; that's right, we're dropping some knowledge. 

For today, let's start with a brewing method everyone has probably seen or used, the French Press.

Everyone knows how to use a French Press, right? Grind coarse, wait 4 minutes, plunge, and enjoy a gritty cup? Unfortunately, this is not the best way to brew coffee with a French Press, not even close.

The problem is the grind size. You should grind medium-fine if you have a great grinder, and medium if you have an entry-level grinder for French Press.

With immersion methods like French Press, all the water just sits in contact with the grounds, which means that as time goes on, less and less flavor gets extracted because the water gets more and more saturated with coffee flavor. Therefore, you have to grind finer for immersion brewing than you do drip/pour-over because the water is less efficient at extracting flavor.

But you could also brew for a longer time. As explained above, the more times passes, the more saturated the water becomes with coffee flavor. So, your coffee does not become over extracted and bitter if you let it sit for too long in a French Press. If your coffee tastes bitter using our suggested recipe, it's likely that the coffee was roasted too dark. With a well developed light roast, the coffee just gets sweeter and richer the longer you let it brew for in a French Press. Give it a try - you'll be amazed!

Got any questions about brewing? Send us an email and we'll do our best to help!