In Praise of the French Press
When the world shut down in March, one of the things I missed the most was my coffee shop ritual. In Newark, I missed the anticipation of the Little Goat Coffee Roaster Co. barista calling my name to serve a cappuccino in a green porcelain cup. In Greenville, I longed to browse the elaborate tea menu of Brew HaHa! and sink into the green velvet couch with a hot mug of Oolong. Across the state line, in Pennsylvania, I missed pushing open the door of Philter Coffee in Kennett Square and sit by the window, sipping the foam of a hot craft chocolate.
When the world shut down, I found myself in my kitchen, with nothing more than a 12-ounce French press and a carton of milk. As it turns out, that’s all I needed to conjure the spirits of my favorite coffee shops and kickstart a new caffeinated routine.
A French press is nothing more than a glass or metal carafe with a filter attached to a removable wand. While there are many ways to make coffee at home, a French press offers many advantages: it’s small, inexpensive (you can find a simple model for $15), and versatile. During the quarantine, I’ve been using mine to prepare consistently delicious cups of coffee, tea, and more. Here’s how you can too.
Let’s start with coffee. For the best flavor, make sure you grind the coffee beans prior to brewing. As Olivia Brinton, co-founder of Little Goat, explained on the company’s Instagram in April, “inconsistently ground coffee is still better than pre-ground coffee.”
To make coffee in a French press, grind a handful of coffee beans using the coarse setting of your grinder, preferably a burr one. For one cup, place 15 g (about 2 tablespoons) of ground coffee in your press and cover with 1 cup of boiling water. Put the wand partially in place, making sure the filter doesn’t touch the water. Let the coffee brew for 4 minutes and slowly push the wand down the liquid. Pour into a cup, cool down for a couple of minutes, and enjoy.
If you miss that delicious milk froth on your coffee drink, clean the carafe and fill it with 1/3 cup of hot, but not scalding, milk (if you have a glass carafe, you could fill it with cold milk and microwave it for 45 seconds.) Place the wand into the glass and move it up and down vigorously to aerate the milk, being careful to not burn yourself. Pour the foam over a freshly brewed cup of coffee for a homemade café au lait.
The French press is a useful accessory for tea drinkers as well. Loose tea leaves need ample space to release their flavor and a 12-oz will offer plenty of it to steep a single cup. Check out Brandywine Tea Company for a robust selection of teas, available both at Brew HaHa! Delaware cafés and online at brandywinecoffeeroasters.com. I’m partial to the Gongfu Black, which will release its delicate honey notes after 5 minutes of steeping in 195ºF water.
Making a good cup of hot chocolate at home can be tricky, unless you like finding bits of chocolate at the bottom of your cup (I don’t) and don’t mind constant stirring (I do.) French press to the rescue! For a rich beverage with a satisfying foam, place ¼ cup of drinking chocolate mix (I like Dick Taylor’s 72% Belize drinking chocolate mix available at Philter Coffee) in the carafe and add ½ cup of hot milk. Bring the wand up and down to melt the chocolate evenly. The drink will be thick, so expect resistance as you agitate. Pour into a cup and enjoy.
It will be a while before we can comfortably sit at a coffee shop again. Until then, I’ll take my drinks to-go and trust my French press to comfort me with black coffee, hot tea, airy foams, and rich hot chocolate. Maybe you’ll find new uses for your press, too.
