I like espressos (especially mochas) but they take a bit of work to prepare a single cup. With drip brew, I can do very little and get unhealthy amounts of caffeination into my corpse. Also, I pour ungodly amounts of creamer into my coffee. That Mason jar is quite literally half coffee half creamer.
Or a ChemX! Unless I drop the thing it’ll never break down on me. We also love the Aeropress because it never makes a bad cup.
Love a French press but it can be acidic and doesn’t always agree with everyone’s stomach.
Depends which coffee you use in them, getting a good blend it generally turns out very good.
I do believe that the fact remains, the lack of a paper filter + long dwell time = inherently more acidic brew. Scientifically speaking.
You can absolutely use a paper filter in a french press. Just grab a pack of basket filters, they fit most FP sizes pretty well. It makes a far better cup.
Really good to know! I’ve never seen one made that way. I wonder if filters for a percolator pot would work as well.
These kind work great:
This is how it should look:
Note, neither picture is mine, I shameless stole them from the internet.
Check out the French press section in my coffee brewing guide for more details.
Dude this is genius. We kicked the French press years ago in favor for ChemX due to GERD concerns and never really looked back. I genuinely enjoy the pour over process but nice to know about the French press.
I hope you try it and enjoy the results. I don’t do FP very often but when I do it’s always with a basket filter.
You’re not suppressed to use boiling water in a French press, that’s why you’re getting the acidity. Scientifically speaking.
High acidity/sourness comes from under-extracting, not over-extracting. Too high of a brew temp will bring out bitterness, not sourness.
To fix sourness, either use hotter water, finer grind size, or longer contact time with water.
All my coffee is brewed at 195.
Internet says French press is 195-205.
“* French press coffee can be more acidic than filtered coffee because it doesn’t use paper filters that trap acidic compounds.”
https://notnotcoffee.com/blog/does-a-french-press-make-coffee-less-acidic/
There are several other variables as well but the first one listed is the one my previous comment.
“French press brewing allows oils and acids to remain in the coffee, contributing to a fuller flavor profile.”