French Press Coffee Brewer Review

This week, after a quick trip to Ikea, I decided to try a French Press for the first time. I’ve always heard great things about this coffee brewer, especially from The Coffee Master James Hoffmann.

Curious about how the taste compares to other devices, I decided to buy one and give it a try. In this review, we’ll find out if it was a worthwhile purchase.

What is a French Press?

A French Press, also known as a press pot or plunger pot, is a simple and popular coffee brewing device. It consists of a cylindrical glass or stainless steel container, a lid with a plunger, and a metal or plastic mesh filter. Here’s how it works:

1. Add Coffee Grounds: Coarsely ground coffee is placed into the bottom of the French Press.

2. Add Hot Water: Hot water (just below boiling) is poured over the coffee grounds.

3. Steep: The coffee and water mixture is allowed to steep for about 4 minutes, allowing the flavors to extract.

4. Press: The plunger is slowly pressed down, separating the coffee grounds from the liquid by forcing them to the bottom with the mesh filter.

5. Serve: The brewed coffee is poured out, ready to be enjoyed.

The French Press is favored for its ability to produce a rich, full-bodied coffee with a robust flavor profile, as the method allows the natural oils and fine particles from the coffee grounds to remain in the brew.

How does it compare to other coffee brewers?

The French Press offers a different experience compared to what most people usually drink these days. In my experience, it produces a brew that is less thick and flavorful than espresso or coffee made with a Moka pot.

Beautifully design French Press from Ikea without plastic parts

My own experience

As I’m still new to using the French Press, I’m not sure if others feel the same way. To me, the coffee tastes less extracted, resulting in a milder flavor with less clarity and body.

I also noticed some sediment at the bottom of my cup. While this tool is supposed to provide a rich body, I wasn’t able to achieve that in my brews although it definitely got some texture due to fine particles.

Is it easy to use?

French style coffee press filled with hot coffee on a white window sill inside a house in Sweden. Close-up shot with selective focus of a person with tattoos pouring coffee into a cup.

I think I owe myself to try one more time to see if I can improve on my technics but overall, my experience with a Moka was more intuitive and easier to produce a great cup of coffee.

With a French Press, you need to preheat the glass, remove the top particles, and wait a considerable amount of time before enjoying your coffee.

While it’s not the most difficult process, I find the Moka pot to be more straightforward and ergonomically simpler.

How hard is it to clean?

Cleaning it is quite easy since all the parts can be removed and disassembled. My only concern was the spring, which is supposed to adapt to the size of the glass but scratched the wall, creating a noticeable hiss.

I believe this issue is specific to the model I got from IKEA, as other French Presses I’ve tried have been completely smooth when pushing or pulling.

The Pros

What I appreciate most about the French Press is the patience required to enjoy the lengthy brewing process, resulting in something worthwhile.

Additionally, it’s very convenient for producing a large quantity of coffee, making it easy to brew enough for four people in one go.

You can probably extract the coffee at lower temperature which can be a good thing according to your preference.

Overall, it’s easier to clean than a Moka pot, though the mesh filter can pose some issues and may need replacement eventually.

The Cons

The downside for me is that the taste isn’t as bold, sharp or flavorful as what I get from a Moka pot, which suits my preferences better.

As I’m still new to the technique, I’m not sure I’ve fully experienced the richness and oils in the coffee yet. Perhaps the French Press is more forgiving than the Moka since the process involves fewer steps.

This initial experience felt like tasting a filter coffee without the cleanliness. I owe it to myself to give it another try and work on improving the overall process.

Second try

This time, I ground 10 grams of coffee for 120 ml of water, maintaining a 1:12 ratio. I preheated the French press by pouring hot water into it beforehand and then let the ground coffee steep in near-boiling water for 5 minutes after a gentle stir.

The coffee was much more interesting than my first attempt, with better balance and overall flavor. However, it still didn’t provide the impressive experience I get from using the Moka pot. It felt more like a richer version of clean drip coffee.

Third try

On my third attempt, I managed to fix the spring to smooth the piston movement, which now feels much better, though still not as smooth as a cheap 6 euro French Press from Action.

This time, I preheated the brewer and poured water as close to 100°C as possible. I believe I detected some extraction of burnt particles.

I’ve also noticed that as the coffee cools down, it becomes easier to distinguish its specific flavors.

I still need to try drip coffee through a V60 for comparison, and then I think I’ll have a good understanding of this brewer.

Update 14/08/24

After using it for a while, I can confidently say that this brewing method is a reliable way to achieve a great, well-balanced cup of coffee.

The coffee will have more body, clarity, and less acidity overall, resulting in a balanced flavor. While it may not be my preferred method for highlighting exceptional beans, it’s certainly a dependable approach.

Important note

Immersion brewing leads to higher caffeine extraction compared to quicker methods like espresso. As a result, techniques like the French Press tend to extract more caffeine, especially when the coffee grounds are steeped in water for an extended period.

Verdict

7.9 out of 10.

So far, the French Press has not left a strong impression on me. Compared to my first experience with a Moka pot, the taste of the coffee was definitely underwhelming.

However, I recognize that this may be influenced by my personal taste or technique, and I need to put in more effort to achieve better results. Nonetheless, the IKEA model I purchased does the job, although its mechanics are not the most precise or smooth I’ve encountered.

The design was clean and natural; however, I’m grateful there’s no plastic involved in holding boiling water. I still need to experiment more and see how it performs over time.