Espresso is known as one of the world’s most popular coffee drinks. Today, espresso is loved worldwide, and no matter where you are, chances are you are only a few blocks away from a coffee shop where a barista can make you a world-class espresso.
It started very small in Italy, with only a few machines being available throughout the country. These had huge boilers that heated the water in a separate tank—then, it was time for the barista to shine: they pulled the lever. That was the extent of the barista’s job back then. They pulled a lever and served the coffee.
With time, however, espresso machines were revolutionized. The biggest breakthrough came in the 60s when they eliminated the need for a human to pull the lever and automated the whole thing. It was the birth of automatic espresso machines, which would go on to conquer the world in just a matter of decades.
Can I Make Espresso in a French Press?
Nowadays, we are as in love with espresso as we were back then. You wish you could have a cup of espresso right in your home without having to buy a very expensive espresso machine. And then, you have an idea: “what if I could make espresso in my trusty ol’ French press?”
And you can! You can, indeed. It’s not going to be technically an espresso—since you need water pressure to make one, and the French press works by steeping—and it might taste differently, but in all other aspects, it can be just like an espresso. It’s gonna look like one, and it’s gonna be just as strong and concentrated. And it will pack just as much (if not more!) caffeine in just one cup.
The idea behind making espresso in a French press is that we will compensate for the pressure with steeping time, mostly. See, espresso is extracted using pressure. This is the little meter you see in some espresso machines. It is measured in bars; 15 bars of pressure is the ideal amount for extracting espresso. That’s about you using both your arms and a lot of strength to pull down on a lever.
But since we don’t have the pressure element in a French press, we’re going to use steeping time. In the same way that pressure brews coffee, steeping does, too. The more pressure there is, the stronger the coffee. Typically, the longer the steeping time, the stronger the coffee you can make. It works that way. So, if espresso is the way that it is because of the amount of pressure, it follows that by increasing the steeping time, we can achieve a similar result.
Of course, the result is not going to be exactly the same. But they’re actually more alike than you might think. In flavor and aroma, French press coffee and espresso coffee are actually more related than, say, espresso and V60 coffee. Because there’s no paper filter but just metal filters, the flavor is actually quite alike once you make a very concentrated cup of French press coffee.
How to Make Espresso in a French Press?
For this simple recipe, you need a small French press. A bigger French press can be a little inconvenient for this recipe because we’re using too little water. It yields the equivalent of around two espresso shots:
- Pour 90-100ml of water into your kettle. Bring to a boil and wait exactly 2 minutes for the temperature to be just right.
- For the grounds, don’t use an espresso grind. It’s too fine and will result in muddy coffee: use medium grind instead. Pour 40 grams into the french press.
- Grab your kettle and pour about 20ml of water. Allow the grounds to bloom for 20 seconds, then pour another 20ml.
- Wait one minute.
- Using a spoon, stir the coffee slowly for 10 seconds to promote better extraction.
- Pour the rest of the water.
- Then, place the lid back on the French press and press the plunger down about halfway.
- After 6 minutes of steeping, press the plunger down all the way.
- Enjoy!
FAQ
Is French press coffee worse than espresso coffee?
No. No one type of coffee is better than another one; coffee is all about personal preference. And while you might find espresso better than French press coffee, there very well maybe somebody out there who would rather drink a cup of instant coffee instead of any of those two.
Does the French Press Have More Caffeine?
It could be possible that French press coffee is a little bit more caffeinated than espresso. Hot water plays a big role in extracting the caffeine in coffee, yes, but so does steeping. In this method, there is quite a bit of steeping, so it can be possible for a cup of this coffee, in particular, to be a little more caffeinated than a regular espresso.
But, in general terms, espresso tends to have more caffeine than other coffees in terms of caffeine per volume. But since we drink very small amounts of espresso, this balances out. A double shot of espresso has about the same amount of caffeine as a mug of French press coffee.
Can I Make Lattes with French Press Coffee?
Yes! If you follow the recipe in this article, you will be left with a very concentrated, small amount of coffee that is ideal for all sorts of beverages. This coffee can be the base for any coffee drink that requires espresso as a starting point. Knock yourself out!
Can I Froth Milk Using a French Press?
Since we’re on the topic of lattes, you may wanna have frothed milk for it. Well, you can do it using your French press! Simply heat up some milk until nice and steamy, then pour it into your French press. Use the plunger to froth the milk (get into it) for about a minute or so to achieve frothed milk.