French press

The French press goes by various names around the world. In New Zealand, Australia and South Africa the whole apparatus is known as a coffee plunger and coffee brewed in it as plunger coffee. Its French name is cafetière à piston. In the UK, the Netherlands, and Ireland the device is known as a cafetière, the French word for a coffee maker or pot.

A French press typically consists of a narrow cylindrical beaker usually made of glass or clear plastic, equipped with a lid and a "plunger", made of metal or plastic, which fits tightly in the cylinder and which has a fine wire or nylon mesh acting as a filter. The simplicity of the mechanism and its potential for attractive after-dinner presentation has led to a variety of more-or-less aesthetic designs.

Coffee is brewed by placing the coffee and water together, leaving it to brew for a few minutes, and then depressing the plunger to trap the coffee grounds at the bottom of the beaker. The French press is a filterless brewing method.

Preparation; French Grind

A French press requires coffee of a coarser grind than does a drip brew coffee filter, as finer grounds will seep through the press filter and into the coffee.

Because the coffee grounds remain in direct contact with the brewing water and the grounds are filtered from the water via a mesh instead of a paper filter, coffee brewed with the French press captures more of the coffee's flavor and essential oils, which would become trapped in a traditional drip brew machine's paper filters. French pressed coffee is usually stronger and thicker and has more sediment than drip-brewed coffee. Because the used grounds remain in the drink after brewing, French pressed coffee left to stand can become bitter. "A typical 8-cup French press is considered expired after 20 minutes."