by Leah Capitini

Created on: May 23, 2008

The French press is a wonderful method of brewing excellent coffee with consistency. For this reason, many coffee shops will "cup" coffee using the press. Every barista has their own favorite technique of preparing a French press, and many will defend it to the end. The press is very easy to experiment with, and so long as you have the basic steps down, brewing a "bad" French press is not easy.

That being said, the most important component of having an excellent cup of coffee is the freshness of your beans. It doesn't matter if you managed to score a half-pound of Jamaican Blue Mountain that had been sitting on the shelf of your local coffee supplier (though rarely is Blue Mountain coffee left in plain view!), if the coffee has not been roasted in the last week, or very carefully sealed-preferably vacuum-sealed-the coffee just will not bloom. More on that later.

The second component is a good home grinder. There is no argument that a burr grinder will give you the most consistent grind of bean, which is very important in brewing coffee to ensure even extraction of flavor from every grind particle. If you have to grind your coffee at your supplier, your safest best is to buy only enough coffee for the next day or two. Make sure it is carefully sealed. You might notice a one-way release valve on many aluminum bags of coffee. These valves prevent the bags from bloating as the coffee is degassing, that is, losing its freshness as carbon dioxide is released from the roasted beans. Ground coffee will degas at an accelerated rate.. The loss of gases will diminish your bloom.

This is normally where connoisseurs will detail the mineral components of your tap water that will destroy the flavor of your coffee. Honestly, as long as your water is not terribly hard or polluted, a simple Brita water filter will make for an adequate source of water. No need to waste packaging by using bottled water if your tap water is potable.

Finally, your press. Personally I am a fan of Bialetti and Bodum. Bodum has fairly inexpensive presses in a full range of sizes, from the short two-cup press and upwards of twelve cups. (Remember that a "cup" in the world of coffee is a meager 4 liquid ounces, called a "tasse.") Bodum is also very easy to find replacement parts for. The glass carafes that cause so much woe are easily replaces, at anywhere from one-quarter to one-third the price of the full French press set. Filters are also readily available.

For the purposes of this tutorial, I will assume

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