Coffee-Direct Brewing Guides – The Cafetière, or French Press

A cafetière, or French Press, is an infusion brewer that consists of three main components - a carafe/pot, plunger and lid. Unlike filter brewers or Moka pots (where water passes through the grounds), cafetière coffee is created by allowing the coffee grounds and the water to steep together in the pot. The plunger then drives a mesh filter through the brewing water, pushing small insoluble particles to the bottom of the pot.

Why Brew with a Cafetière?

There are lots of benefits in choosing cafetière brews: steeping coffee helps produce a more uniform extraction, and the process allows a little oil and small particles to flow through, creating a vibrant body and texture; you have a higher level of control over how strong or weak you prepare your coffee; in terms of ease and affordability, there is no need for additional equipment, such as paper filters or cloths.

How to Brew Coffee in a Cafetière

1. Boil a kettle of fresh water, ideally with a low mineral content
2. Put your ground coffee in the cafetière and pour in the water. For greater precision, consider placing the cafetière on some weighing scales and aiming for your preferred ration of coffee to water. Pour quite quickly and get all of the ground coffee wet
3. Leave the coffee to steep for four minutes, during which time you will notice the coffee floating to the top. After four minutes, use a spoon to stir this coffee that has risen to the top, which should cause most of it to fall to the bottom of the cafetière.
4. Some foam and floating coffee grounds will remain at the top, so you can use a spoon to scoop these off and discard them
5. You can then wait another five minutes for the coffee to slightly cool. By leaving the brewed coffee in the cafetière for longer, more of the coffee and fine particles will sink to the bottom, improving the flavour even more. Place the plunger in the top of the beaker and push down the plunger with a smooth, firm motion. Be careful not to hurry this, as it can cause grounds to escape the mesh into your coffee.

Brewing Tip: many people recommend pouring out the entire cafetière of coffee once the brew is done, in order to prevent the grounds from continuing to steep and begin to overextract. However, if you follow the above guide, the coffee should not continue to brew or add negative flavours to the finished drink.

What Makes the Perfect Cafetière Coffee?

Grind Size
While we do sell pre-ground coffee specifically for use with a cafetière at Coffee-Direct, you might prefer to grind your own beans. When brewing with a cafetière, you will want to aim for a grind size, or coarseness, that is similar to the size of sea salt, and it is recommended to experiment with variations on size to find the perfect level of coarseness for your coffee.

Coffee to Water Ratio
Small changes in how coffee is brewed can have a big impact in taste, and one of the biggest variables is how much water you use. Being consistent with a ground coffee to water ration that suits your tastes will result in perfect coffees every time. We recommend, as a general rule, 6-8g of ground coffee to every 125ml of water, but experimenting to find your ideal ratio is the best way to go.

Extraction
Another way to manage the strength and overall flavour of a cafetière brewed coffee is to change the level of extraction. As ground coffee is steeped in a cafetière, the water is slowly taking more and more out of the coffee, so that the drink becomes stronger as it brews. By balancing the extraction time, you can ensure a coffee that is full of delicious flavours, without any unwanted bitterness.