We all have one thing in common when it comes to making coffee with a French press: we love the convenience of it.
A French press does not require you to buy expensive equipment with superior brewing skills. After doing some basic steps, the rest is left to time, and in four minutes, you will have a cup of aromatic black coffee.
Some people are curious, after filtering the French press coffee still has some coffee grounds to drink, can you use coffee filter paper for secondary filtering?
Can we use filter paper to second filter the French press coffee? Let's read on.
Characteristics of French Press
The richness, mellowness, and distinct flavor are the characteristics of French press coffee.
Some people feel that the coffee does not have a clean taste, however, this is one of the characteristics of French press coffee.
Why?
French press pots use the most direct coffee extraction principle: steeping-filtering, a simple two-step process. The coffee grounds are filtered through the filter that comes with the French press pot, allowing the grease and aromatics extracted from the coffee to pass through the filter smoothly.
Our common filter is a stainless steel filter, which cannot isolate 100% of the coffee grounds, some people say that this is the disadvantage of the French press pot, and yet, it's a feature.
Meanwhile, filters with better filtration can be triple, or quadruple. Take a close look at the product description information provided by the merchant when purchasing.
It should be noted that the characteristics of the French press pot can lead to easy coffee over-extraction, so after the extraction is complete, it is recommended to pour out all the coffee, you can use a thermal cup to store the rest of the coffee.
Can You Use a Coffee Filter in a French Press?
Of course, you can also use filter paper when using a French press pot.
However, I do not recommend you to do so.
There are many ways to make coffee, and each method has its distinct characteristics. Respecting each way of brewing coffee allows us to taste more possibilities of coffee flavors, which is a wonderful thing and something worth keeping.
The French press pot has a built-in filter that separates the coffee liquid from the coffee grounds. But there is no guarantee that every French press pot will filter perfectly clean, why?
Possibility 1: The coffee powder is too finely groundPossibility 2: Pressing down too fast or repeatedly
Possibility 3: The French press filter is not precise enough
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When do I need to use filter paper?
- When your French press pot is not filtering well.
- When you cannot accept that the last two sips of coffee contain fine powder, then you can use a filter to make a second filter.
This will give you a cleaner-tasting cup of full-bodied coffee.
There's no right or wrong way to do this, it's just that the coffee after the second filter is no longer the original French press coffee.
What Types of Coffee Brewing Methods Needs Coffee Filters?
If you like to make your coffee, you probably have some coffee filters stored in your home.
What kinds of coffee brewing methods will require filter paper?
Brewed coffee using filter paper includes drip coffee machines, hand brewers, filter coffee, pour-over coffee, Moka pot, and Aeropress.
There are also many kinds of filter papers, and different brewing methods require different filter papers to complete.
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But no matter which one you want to buy, it is recommended that you moisten the filter paper with hot water (to remove the flavor from the filter paper) before pouring the coffee powder.
How to Reduce Coffee Grounds in French Press Better?
To avoid coffee leaving behind fine powder, which affects the taste, we need to be good at the following points.
1. Adjust the coffee powder grind to sea salt coarseness
The finer the coffee powder means the fine powder is not filtered, resulting in cloudy coffee liquid and an unsmooth taste. Therefore, you need to grind it to a sea salt-like consistency, so that the coarser coffee particles can be more easily filtered out by the filter, thus avoiding falling into the coffee liquid.
2. Slow down the speed of pressure, evenly pressed to the end
Many people do not grasp the strength and speed of pressure when using a French press pot and often appear to be too fast or repeatedly pressed, resulting in a large number of coffee grounds being backwashed into the coffee liquid. The correct way should be by slowing down the speed and pressing down evenly, and paying attention to the end of the pressure, to fully filter the coffee grounds.
3. Choose a high-precision filter structure French press pot
Although the structure and extraction method of the French press pot are destined to produce more or less fine coffee residue, the more sophisticated filter structure of the French press pot can maximize the separation of residue and water, so that the coffee liquid is cleaner and smoother.
Before buying a French press pot, you can check the filter density, in addition to stainless steel filters, there are also edible-grade silicone filters, the filter effect is also particularly great.
