Intelligentsia iPhone App: How to Make French Press Coffee

Whenever I try to make coffee using a French Press, I’m never quite happy with it. On the whole, I think I tend to make my coffee overly strong… so it helps me to actually have specific directions to follow.

I recently heard about Intelligentsia’s iPhone App from my friend Matt (who works at Intelligentsia, and was also the 2006 US Barista Champion).

Interestingly, Matt worked with Twelvestone member Jerry to create the Intelligentsia’s iPhone App. It’s been pretty cool to see folks who met online actually collaborate in real life.

I enjoyed the app a great deal, and enjoyed the coffee I made using it… so I decided to post up some photos.

Stuff you’ll need: a 4 cup french press, some coffee beans, a grinder, and a scale. Thankfully, Liz is a whiz in the kitchen (macarons require some pretty precise measurements), we already had a scale to use.

First step: measure out 36 grams of coffee. Then, grind it using a coarse setting and set aside.

Then, heat up some water in a kettle. After it’s boiling, pour a little into the french press. I’m honestly not quite sure what this does or how it helps, but… I’m trusting the folks who know their coffee.

Next, reset the scale and make sure that the grounds still measure out to 36 grams.

Reset the scale again, and pour the water slowly over the grounds. Keep going until you’ve added 500 grams of water.

Let the coffee sit for about 4 minutes (a nice part of the Intelligentsia App is that there’s a built-in timer to help you keep track).

At the end of that time, stir the grounds and use the plunger to push the grounds to the bottom.

Serve and enjoy!

The Intelligentsia App highlights several different brewing methods, in addition to using a French Press. They include: Cafe Solo, Poutover, Chemex, and the very cool looking siphon brewer.

Best of all – the app is free. So if you’re curious about alternative ways to prepare coffee, and want very specific step-by-step instructions… go grab it!

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