French Press Coffee: A Morning Ritual

January 23, 2020

I've lived in the city my whole life, which means I've almost always started my day with a short walk to the closest cafe for my first cup of coffee. It's been difficult to ever form a habit of brewing coffee at home since I've always enjoyed a walk first thing in the morning.

However, I recently moved to the suburbs, so I have to drive everywhere now. The closest Starbucks is located inside a Target store. I started going there each morning after the move, but the environment and brew quality left a bit to be desired.

The next closest Starbucks is a 15-minute drive, which means starting each day with 30 minutes of driving despite the fact that I work from home. This began to feel a bit silly. However, if it was 30 minutes of walking I would appreciate it very differently.

So, I began brewing French press coffee at home. I had to search the internet for the optimal bean-to-water ratio. The generally agreed upon rule seems to be 17 grams of water to 1 gram of coffee. I play with this number occasionally depending on the roast, but most of the time it works out great.

Making my cup and a half of French press coffee every morning has turned into a calming daily ritual that I always look forward to.

Weighing out the beans, grinding them for just the right amount of time (coarse grind), boiling water in my electric kettle and pouring out the correct ratio, then waiting exactly 4 minutes before serving my first cup. The process is always the same and I like that.

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