Brewing Coffee for the Malas

Sometimes you just cannot tahan making a filter cone, bukan? Or maybe you haven’t invested in precision scales yet. You can brew coffee with just a couple of cups, though it might get a little messy. A French press (or cafetière) is probably the easiest way to make decent coffee with the least fuss. Watch the video for a quick rundown of how I brew coffee when I’m out and about.

Important Points From the Video

• Grind the beans at the café – Yes, I know, grinding at the café is often frowned upon. But if you’re drinking the coffee within a week, it’s absolutely fine. Plus, the grinder at the café is probably way better than yours, and definitely better than hand grinding.
• Start with a 1:10 ratio – If you don’t have scales, just eyeball it: coffee should be about 1/10th the volume of the water you plan to use. Add hot water and start your timer!
• We're trying to extract 18 to 22% of the ground coffee into the water.
• If you don't have a timer, wait a while and then pour out a little of the coffee to taste. Do not press the plunger! If the coffee tastes:
  • Dilute, green, acrid—it is under-extracted. Wait a bit longer!
  • Sweet, flavourful, good body—well done! You just achieved coffee Nirvana without scales or a stopwatch.
  • Bitter, bland, ashy—it's over-extracted. Go directly to jail, do not pass Go, drink your bitter coffee with sugar and ruminate on how you can do better next time.
• Adjust to taste – If the coffee is well-extracted but too intense, dilute it with hot water. Some like their coffee weaker, some stronger. This is not the same as under- or over-extraction. It’s just personal preference.
  

• When should you press down the plunger?
  Good question! You don’t actually have to plunge. Keeping the filter at the top of the French press as you pour out the coffee reduces the amount of sediment in your cup. However, I prefer to plunge and simply avoid drinking the last sip.
  

  I like to lower the plunger just to the top of the bloom at the start of brewing. This keeps all the coffee grounds fully immersed in water. When you do plunge, it separates the grounds from most of the water, effectively stopping extraction. That’s why it’s best to plunge when you feel the coffee has extracted to your liking.

  You can also use the plunger to agitate the coffee and speed up extraction, but this introduces new variables. If you choose to agitate, make sure your final movement is lifting the filter out of the liquid so the water remains in contact with the coffee.