There’s often nothing better than holding your favourite mug, feeling the warmth of it through your hands and breathing in deeply – the coffee intoxicating as you inhale. We’d go so far as to say this feeling is a human right. What do you think?
When you want a quick brew, one that takes almost no effort even for a small crowd, the cafetiere or French press should be your go-to option. The best thing is, almost every house has one somewhere. So, whether you’re visiting friends post-lockdown or your whole family now wants good coffee twice-a-day, get the cafetiere out and make sure you’re getting the best out of your brew.
This brew method isn’t just great because it’s effortless, it’s great because you don’t have to brew perfectly every time. A cafetiere brew is an ‘immersion brew’, meaning that the coffee isn’t brewed through pressure or gravity but merely by steeping the grounds in hot water, just like tea. Due to the lack of variables affecting the brew like pressure (espresso/Aeropress) and gravity (V60/Chemex) and filter paper thickness, there’s a lot less that can go wrong. So let’s get brewing!
You’ll Need
15g coffee.
A cafetiere.
Weighing scales or a trusty scoop.
A kettle or nearly boiling water c. 95’C.
Your favourite mug.
Brew Guide
Heat 250g/per cup water to almost boiling point (94’C-96’C).
Grind 15g/per cup coffee to a medium/coarse grind (similar to freshly ground peppercorns).
Rinse and preheat your cafetière and mug.
Add the ground coffee.
Add all the water to your coffee.
Stir to make sure all the grounds are saturated and brewing.
Brew for five minute.
*[optional] Most of the grounds will have risen to the top at this point. If you’re sitting for some time, enjoying cup after cup, we’d recommend scraping what we call ‘the crust’ out of the top of the cafetiere – this will avoid any major bitterness from a prolonged steep.
Plunge slowly.
Savour every sip.
Not quite right?
If you’re finding your coffee coming out bitter then adjust your grind to be coarser or if you’re leaving your coffee to continue to steep after the five minutes, try scraping away most of the grounds. If the brew tastes acidic or weak then try making your coffee grind finer or leaving your brew a little longer before pouring.
What coffee should I choose?
As an immersion brew, a considerable amount of small coffee grounds will have effectively dissolved in your brew and will find their way through your cafetiere’s metal mesh. All this means is that your cafetiere coffee ends up with what we refer to as lots of ‘body’ and to some extent will even taste ‘thicker’ than coffees brewed other ways. When brewing with your cafetiere you won’t find delicate and floral flavours jump out at you but if you choose a good ‘house’ coffee then you’re all set. Keep an eye out for medium-roasted or even slightly darker-roasted coffees with notes of chocolate or caramel.
Unsure where to start? Why not try our classic, house coffee – NATIVE