A Pressing Engagement with a Coffee Bean:
How to Use a French Press
In Gwangju, in the year 2002, a revolution took place. Before that year, the only coffee that could be bought locally was hazelnut. As delicious as it is, for well traveled espresso drinkers it was like every car on every street in Gwangju was a Tico. And then, in 2002, the first espresso coffee-shops opened in advance of the influx of international World Cup soccer fans. Now, Gwangju coffee drinkers are gaining greater awareness of where to find the best coffee, and the best brewing methods. One of those ways to brew your own coffee involves using a French press, or ‘plunger’.
When using a French press the first thing a coffee drinker has to do is to make sure the coffee beans are ground fairly coarsely. Whole coffee beans can be ground by hand using a burr grinder. Some coffee shops will grind your coffee beans for you in their electric machines.
If your French press cylinder is made of glass, the second thing to do is pour some boiling water inside and let it stand for a minute or so. This pre-heats the cylinder so it maintains its warmth, although it’s always best to drink coffee made in a French press straight away, as it will become more bitter after about 20 minutes.
Next, pour out the water and replace it with two or three teaspoons of ground coffee grains per person. Pour the still hot water over the ground coffee, and place the round press and lid over the top of the water and the cylinder. It is best not to use boiling water, but rather use water ‘just off the boil’, which is a little cooler, but still quite hot.
The following step in the process is to just wait for another minute or two. This is called letting the coffee ‘steep’ in the hot water. The water works to release the coffee beans’ oils. In other methods of brewing these oils are lost. Filter methods catch the oils in paper, and percolators overcook and burn the oils. These oils give your fresh cup of coffee a rich, creamy coffee flavour.
The final thing to do is slowly, gently push down the middle plunger handle. The thin metal filter works to force the coffee beans down into the water and make sure you drink the water and not the coffee grounds.
Finally, you are ready to drink a fresh, hot cup of the best coffee in Gwangju! Pour out a cup for someone else first, and smile as you share together in the ongoing revolution of coffee drinking.
A process essay, by Julian Warmington. 6.5.2009
