At the origins of the “French Press”
A little history ! The ancestor of the French press was created in the 19th century by two French inventors (Mayer and Delforge) before being perfected and patented in 1924 by another Frenchman, Marcel-Pierre Paquet. In the middle of post-war France, American soldiers discovered the French press coffee maker. It is to them that we owe this name “ French Press ”, which still sticks to the skin of the French press all over the world. During the 20th century, the French Press established itself as a kitchen essential for its discreet design and ease of use. Since the extraction of coffee aromas by long infusion is manual, the French press is one of the gentle methods, “slow coffee”. The prolonged contact of the coffee with water allows you to obtain a high caffeine content in the cup and a coffee halfway between espresso and filter coffee.
The advantages of the French press coffee maker
1. Ease of use
Among the different methods of preparing coffee, slow coffee using a French press is one of the simplest options. Simply mix ground coffee with hot water, wait a few minutes, then slowly press the plunger down to separate the grounds from the brewed coffee. Estimated preparation time? 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Full control over the process
With the French Press, you have absolute control over the preparation of your cup. It's up to you to adjust the quantity of coffee, the size of the grind, the infusion time and the water temperature according to your tastes.
3. With the French press, no aromas left behind
Among the many types of coffee makers available, it's no surprise that the French Press is a favored option for baristas . Indeed, slow coffee is a method known to coffee lovers, because the gentle extraction ensures that none of the essential oils and aromas of the coffee are lost. The result in the cup, dense and distinctive, rarely disappoints.
4. An economical solution
Less is more. French presses are obviously very economical compared to many sophisticated coffee machines . But this is also the case among other gentle method solutions such as V60 or Chemex: the French Press in fact uses a permanent filter, generally made of metal, which avoids having to regularly repurchase paper filters. Finally, this method of brewing coffee does not need electricity, making it ideal for use while camping, traveling, or in places where access to electricity is limited.
5. An easy-to-maintain coffee maker
Another advantage of the French Press, the “cleaning” stage lasts the time of an anecdote. Easy to disassemble, the French press is often an assembly of removable parts which can be washed by hand quickly and without much difficulty.
