With the help of a good french press, brewing coffee at home couldn’t get any better. However, that’s not the only thing a french press can do. Sit tight and learn to make the most out of your french press!

 

Brewing The Ideal Mug of Coffee

When touching upon the idea of a french press, coffee is often the first idea to occur in our heads. That is why we’ll start by tackling the two kinds of coffee you can make with a french press.

 

Hot Brew Coffee

Starting with the more common method of making coffee: it couldn’t get any easier. Before you brew your coffee, though, you must acquire the perfect grinds that suit your taste best. Now, you must ensure your french press is thoroughly cleaned; it’s easy to miss a few crevices.

Pro tip: Pour boiling water into your french press and swirl it around. Once the carafe has gotten hot, you can discard the water and start the coffee-making process. If done correctly, it should help keep your coffee warm for longer and can even improve the taste.

For reference, you’ll need about five tablespoons of ground coffee to make 2 cups of coffee.

After getting the coffee in, you’ll need to gingerly pour scalding hot water over the coffee to steep it. Once the carafe is filled about halfway with the water you’ll use, you need to stir it. Allow it to sit for 30 seconds before pouring the rest of the water—then steep it for 4 minutes.

Once you’ve steeped it for long enough, you’ll need to (slowly and very carefully) push the grinds down to the bottom. This ensures that the coffee won’t spill over the brim if you push down too hard and fast. It also helps keep the finer grinds from getting through the mesh, making for a smoother coffee overall.

 

Cold Brew Coffee

People often forget the sheer existence of cold brew coffee, and it doesn’t make sense with how good it is. Drinking cold brew is an amazing experience but with a lot less effort to actually make. Cold brew takes quite some time before it’s ready to drink, but is it really worth it? 

Make one now and decide for yourself! Start by filling your carafe with your beautiful grinds, and instead of pouring in scalding water, use cold water. Or even room-temperature water—as long as it’s not anywhere near hot. Once your carafe is properly filled, store it in the fridge overnight. When you wake up, you’ll have the perfect cup of cold brew coffee—ready to enjoy! The way cold brew coffee is processed gives the drink a less acidic and more fruity taste.

 

Making Things It Wasn’t Initially Designed For

You can use the french press for other food items as well! 

 

Whipped Cream/Cold Foam

Coffee itself can get boring, so why not top it off with whipped cream or cold foam?

To make whipped cream, you start by adding heavy cream into the carafe until it’s half full. For added flavor, you can also put in sugar as well as any flavor extract you’d like. Once you’ve added all the necessities, you pump the strainer until it reaches the desired texture.

To make cold foam, you basically do the same process but with skim milk instead of heavy cream.

 

And that’s about it for coffee-related items, but you can get even more creative with it. From infusing items such as lemons and cucumbers to even basil and mint—do what your mind tells you to do! Just a heads up: you can fruit-infused water as well.