Common Mistakes When Using French Press

I am one of the people that can’t start their days without making myself a coffee using French press. For years, I have been trying to make every coffee I make better than the previous ones with my French press. Although it is my favorite brewing method, I can make some mistakes too sometimes. In this article, we will talk about some common mistakes when using the French press.

Using a French Press is perhaps one of the best ways to make a coffee thanks to the simplicity of it. You don’t need to know everything about preparing coffee, you just add coffee grounds and water, wait, and press them. However, if you want everything to be flawless, you should avoid the mistakes that we have given below. If you make these mistakes and think that old habits die hard, don’t worry, because if you love coffee enough and dedicated to brewing perfect coffees, you will get the best result you want as long as you avoid making these coffee mistakes

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10 Common French Press Mistakes

1. Your Coffee Beans Are Too Fine

   One thing that you should consider when preparing coffee press besides what coffee to use for French press is the grind sizes of your coffee grounds. The filter on your French press is designed to catch coffee grounds and prevent them from seeping into the cup. However, this filter is not fine enough if you grind your coffee beans too finely. To get satisfying results, we suggest you grinding your coffee beans coarsely, that is, in the size of sea salt or kosher salt. If you grind your coffee coarsely, you can drink your coffee free from unpleasant grinds that float on your cup.

2. Your Water Is Too Hot

   Being an integral part of preparing coffees, water is important in making French press coffees as well. If you are wondering how to french press coffee, one of the suggestions that we can give you is that don’t heat your water too much. You wouldn’t want boiling water in your coffee preparation process if you are using a French press because you may burn your coffee grounds. So what is an optimal water temperature for French Press? You will get the perfect results if you use water that is 202 degrees Fahrenheit, which is ten degrees below boiling. If you can’t set your kettle’s degree to 202 degrees Fahrenheit, there is an easy solution. Just wait 30 seconds after your water is boiled.

3. Your Coffee to Water Ratio Is Wrong

   Measuring coffee and water is not only important in other brewing methods but also in the French press. However, you may not have enough time to measure your coffee or water every time you make coffee. If you want to know the best way to use French press you should pay attention to the ratios. But what exactly are the ratios? It is advisable to use a 15:1 ratio when using a French press. For example, if you are using 600ml of water, you need to add 40 grams of coffee. However, you can make changes in this ratio if you want your coffee to be weaker or stronger.

4. You Are Brewing Your Coffee for Too Long

   If you don’t know how to use a coffee press well enough, you may make mistakes like brewing your coffee for too long. If you think that brewing coffee for too long results in a stronger taste, you are wrong. Brewing the coffee too long may cause some bitter taste instead of a stronger coffee, which in turn could ruin your daily coffee need. If you want to get the perfect results in your coffee, you should brew your coffee for four minutes.

5. You Are Leaving the Coffee in the French Press After Plunging

   You should always pour all the coffee out after you finished brewing, otherwise, you will get a bitter and over-extracted coffee because it will keep brewing. It is important to at least transfer it into a different cup if you are not drinking it right away. Another solution might be preparing the exact amount of coffee you’re going to drink.

6. You Aren’t Heating the French Press in Advance

   You may think this is redundant to mention but believe me, small details create huge differences. Pre-heating your French press before making a coffee helps you to ensure having a consistent heat in the brewing process. Believe us, you will notice some differences in the taste of your coffee.

7. You Are Not Letting Your Coffee Bloom

   Another thing that you should pay attention to in learning how to use a french press is blooming your coffees. Although it may sound ridiculous, you will notice the difference. To bloom your coffee grounds, put them in the bottom of the carafe and pour some water on them. After this, swirl the coffee around and wait for 30 seconds. It is an easy but easily forgettable process when making a french press coffee.

8. You Are Not Cleaning Your French Press

   Although it seems redundant, it is really important to clean your French press. If you are not cleaning it, you are making a mistake and this could be the reason for your bad coffee. Make sure that you are cleaning your French press with hot, soapy water at the end of the day. Don’t forget to clean your filter where most of the coffee grounds may stick.

9. Are You Selecting the Right Beans?

   Almost every coffee lover has a favorite coffee bean type that they use all the time. However, have you ever wondered if is it the right bean? Of course, you can pick any bean you want, but you will get the best results if you use medium or dark roast coffee beans. However, don’t limit yourself to one coffee brand or one coffee bean type. Don’t be afraid of trying new tastes!

10. You Are Using Poor Quality Water

    Water, which is an integral part of the coffee, plays an important role in the French press too. Therefore, using tap water or poor quality water may change the taste of your coffee adversely. Besides that, using soft or hard water affects the taste of your coffee too. For example, if you use soft or distilled water, it may lead to a bitter taste because they have no minerals in them. On the other hand, if you use hard water, you will get a strong brew with high levels of caffeine because of the ions it includes such as magnesium and calcium.

Wrapping Up

Although it may seem easy, preparing a cup of coffee with a French press can be hard sometimes. However, if you try not to make these mistakes, you will get the perfect results from your French press. In this article, we tried to give you the most common mistakes according to our research and observations, but, if you think you are making a mistake when you prepare your coffee, please write it in the comments so that we can help you.