Dancing Mule Coffee Company

French Press has become one of the primary ways of brewing coffee at home and is definitely one of the simplest. A French Press the immersion method of brewing coffee, created in the late 1800′s in France. As the story goes a gentleman was making himself coffee and boiled some water, to which he intended to add the grounds. Once the water had boiled and the fire was dying he realized he had never added the coffee and since he didn’t want to waste more fuel to create another fire he added the water to his coffee grounds, let them sit for a few moments and then drained off the resulting liquid. He was quite surprised to find that this cup tasted better and had more clarity than by the usual method and the idea was born.

Many customers will ask how they should be brewing coffee in their homes and which method is the best to use. Using a French Press will produce a rich, full bodied cup of coffee, and the setup is less expensive than a lot of brewing methods.  It’s also a fairly simple process, requiring only a few items and taking no more than 10 minutes at the very most. 

Here are our recommended brew parameters for a French Press – 
What you will need:
French Press
A quality coffee grinder preferably a burr grinder.
Water Kettle (or hot water from a coffee brewer)
Tablespoon measure (or a gram scale)
Timer
Fresh-roasted, PT’s coffee from Dancing Mule Coffee Company.
Filtered, but not distilled, water

Step 1 – Measure out one rounded tablespoon of coffee (6.25 grams) for every 4 ounces of water.  Your typical 4 cup French Press will hold about 16 ounces of water.

Step 2 – Boil the filtered water in the kettle and set it off to the side.  It will need to sit about 45 seconds before it is ready to pour over the coffee.

Step 3 – Grind the coffee on a coarse setting so that the grounds are just large enough to be filtered by the screen of the plunger.

Step 4 – After the water kettle has sat for about 45 seconds and reached a temperature of 195-200 degrees F, aggressively pour the water over the coffee grounds in the Press and start the timer.  You want the Press to be a little below full.

Step 5 – After the coffee has brewed for one minute, stir or swirl the coffee.  The stirring helps to evenly saturate the grounds.

Step 6 – Carefully put the lid onto the press while allowing the plunger to rest just under the surface of the coffee.

Step 7 – When the coffee has brewed for a full four minutes, slowly press the plunger down.

Step 8 – Pour and serve!

*French Press Brewing Guide provided by PT’s Coffee – PT’s Coffee, French Press Brewers, and Solis burr grinders are available for purchase at Dancing Mule Coffee Company