How to make the perfect cafetière coffee
You don’t need much to turn your home into a coffee house with Farrer’s! This is the first in a series of coffee tutorials so you make the perfect coffee at home – whatever your favourite brew method is.
Meet our coffee connoisseur and resident expert in all things coffee, Brian. Follow along as he makes the perfect cafetière coffee (also known as French press). We’ve added all the things you’ll need as well as step by step instructions below so you can enjoy a cup of your favourite coffee alongside him.
In order to make the perfect cafetière coffee you’ll need:
- 18-23g of coarse ground coffee (you’ll need 50-65g of coffee per litre of water)
- Cafetière / French Press
- Hot water (off the boil)
- Your favourite mug and a spoon
HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT CAFETIÈRE COFFEE:
(Image by @sxtcxtc on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/flrcFG0rvZU)
To make a mug (350ml) of cafetière coffee.
- Weigh out between 18-23g of coffee and add it into your cafetière (that’s about 3-4 rounded teaspoons)
- Add 350ml of hot water, just off the boil (93 – 96°C).
- Stir your coffee with a spoon ensuring it’s thoroughly soaked.
- Place the lid back on your cafetière and leave the coffee to soak for 3½ minutes.
- Once brewed, plunge the cafetière slowly. This helps to ensure that no grinds slip through the sides of the mesh.
- Pour your freshly brewed coffee into your favourite mug and enjoy.
Make sure you don’t forget about your coffee! Leaving it for more than 20 minutes will make the coffee taste astringent as the coffee will keep extracting.
LOVE CAFETIÈRE COFFEE? HERE’S ONE OF OUR TOP COFFEE PICKS FOR YOU
FAQ’S:
HOW MANY TEASPOONS OF COFFEE SHOULD I USE PER MUG?
One rounded teaspoon holds about 6 grams of ground coffee. You’ll need between 3-4 teaspoons per mug of coffee you want to brew.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CAFETIÈRE AND FRENCH PRESS?
The Cafetière is a coffee brewing device fitted with a plunger invented by Ugo Paolini and patented by Italian designer Attilio Calimani and Giulio Moneta in 1929. The first coffee presses were manufactured in France out of a clarinet factory (of all places!). The popularised name in North America for this device became ‘French Press’.
It’s called by different names throughout the world, however the coffee press is the same and works in the same way. In the UK and Ireland it’s known as a cafetière and in South Africa, New Zealand and Australia they call it a ‘coffee plunger’.
(Image by @rojekilian on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/N8Vri5rB7Eo)
WHAT GRIND OF COFFEE MAKES THE BEST CAFETIÈRE COFFEE?
The best grind of coffee for use within cafetières is coarsely ground. This is because the particle size needs to be large enough to soak in the coffee and extract without slipping through the mesh in the plunger. If your coffee grinds are too fine they require more force to plunge the cafetière, which inevitably forces coffee grinds round the sides of the mesh and into your drink. Finer grinds over-extract when used in this way and the end result will taste overly bitter.
If you’re interested in buying coffee suited for cafetières make sure you select “Cafetière” grind when you buy from our website.
HOW DOES A CAFETIÈRE WORK?
A cafetière works by immersing coarsely ground coffee in hot water. The plunger separates the coffee grinds and holds them at the bottom of the beaker. This ensures that your drink is free from coffee grinds.