Quarantine Drinks V.9: French Press

Hello hello hello,

Last week we had a fan (I can call you that, right? Never had fans before!) request a demo on how to make a latte in a french press. Give the usual caveats (can't make espresso without an espresso machine, so can you really make a latte using a french press? Or is that just semantics?), we took a swing at this one. An iced "latte" is somewhat easier - just make milk cold brew (see this blog post for how to do that https://cafedemitasse.com/blogs/news/iced-minty-cubano-home). 

But a hot latte is more difficult. You need to find a way to extract the coffee quickly (more quickly than an overnight steep that you'd use for cold brew) without making it a watery milky drink. We tried just using hot milk to brew. That was ok. But we found it lacking. The best method was to bloom the coffee with hot water (faking espresso basically) and then adding the hot milk to it and steeping it. But first, a quick primer on how to brew on a French Press. This is by no means the only way, but the way we like it best:

French Press Brew Method:

We use the same ratio with hot brew: 25g of coffee to 350g of water.

- The trick here here is to bloom the coffee for 30 seconds to a minute before you add the rest of the hot water. We bloom using 50g of hot water and then using a paddle to make sure all the coffee grounds are saturated. Gently. Don't over agitate this. (pro-tip: the biggest problem I see with French Press is people either steep too long over over-agitate the coffee before ramming the filter down agitating it even further.) 

- Then pour the rest of water in slowly. Don't cap it yet.

- At the 1:30 minute mark, you probably see a crust of coffee forming at the top.Take your paddle and break this crust up GENTLY. Then cap it. Push the press down to the surface. 

- At 2:30, pour the coffee out. That's right, you're not pressing. Just pour it out and let the filter do it's thing. 

French Press Latte:

- Start this the same way. Bloom your 25g of coffee with 50g of hot water. 

- After 30 seconds to a minute, add warm milk to this instead of water. 

- At the 1:30 minute mark, you probably see a crust of coffee forming at the top.Take your paddle and break this crust up GENTLY. Then cap it. Push the press down to the surface. 

- At 2:30, pour the latte out. That's right, you're not pressing. Just pour it out and let the filter do it's thing. 

And there you have it! French Press Latte. What's that you say? You wanted a mocha? 

Fine. 

Take your latte, throw it into a protein shaker. Add a tablespoon of chocolate powder and shake it up. It'll froth real nicely, too. Bam. French Press Mocha at home. 

Sometimes, the basics hit the spot. 

- Bobby