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A French Press, also known as a press pot, is a French coffee or tea brewing device the cafetière. Its operation is simple and the coffee it produces is rich and flavourful, albeit strong.
A French Press consists of a narrow cylinder usually made of glass or clear plastic, equipped with a lid and a "plunger" which fits tightly in the cylinder and which has a fine wire or nylon mesh acting as a filter.
In order to brew coffee the lid and plunger are removed and the desired amount of coffee grounds are put in the base of the cylinder along with sufficient hot water to almost fill the cylinder, allowing the liquid and solids to mix (A). After replacing the lid and plunger one waits 3 to 5 minutes while the infusion is made. When the coffee has achieved the desired strength the plunger is pressed down, thus separating the coffee grounds at the bottom of the pot (B) whilst the drink is retained above the filter (C). At this point the coffee can be served.
Because the coffee grounds are in direct contact with the brewing water, coffee brewed with the French Press captures more of the coffee's flavour and essential oils, which often become trapped in a traditional drip brew machine's paper filters. Thus, to coffee purists, it is one of the preferred brewing methods. However, it is also usually stronger and thicker and has more sediment than drip-brewed coffee. Because the used grounds remain in partial contact with the drink after brewing, coffee made this way should be served immediately so as to not become bitter from over-extraction.
Coffee for use in a French Press should be of a consistent, coarse grind. The use of a burr mill grinder gives a more consistent grind than the whirling blade variety. The ground coffee should be more coarse than that used for a drip brew coffee filter, and far coarser than that used for espresso.
In Australia the whole apparatus is known as a plunger and coffee brewed in it is known as plunger coffee.
In France it's called a cafetière à piston.
In the UK the device is known as a cafetière (the French word for "coffee pot"), perhaps from the La Cafetière brand name.
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