Photograph by Taryn Elliot of Peanut Butter Visuals, Cape Town

Plunger Brewing Guide

The plunger is also known as the cafetière and French press. Every household has one of these lying around as it's probably the most common home brewing method in New Zealand.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

This recipe is to produce 1 litre of filter coffee using 60 grams of ground coffee. The ratio in use is 1:17.

METHOD

Step One
Boil a kettle of filtered water. If you are using a temperature controlled kettle, heat the water to 95°C - 96°C, if not boil and leave to stand for a few minutes before using it.

Step Two
Using your scale, weigh out 60g of coffee and grind it at a very course setting.

Step Three
Rinse the plunger with some hot water and discard.

Step Four
Place the plunger on the scale and tare. Add the 60g of coffee.

Step Five
Tare the scale and add 1 litre (or 1000 grams) of water and stir.

Step Six
Wait 3:30 - 4 minutes then attach the mesh plunger on the top of the beaker and slowly plunge down.

Serve and enjoy.

TOP TIPS & TRICKS

  • If you experience bitterness in the cup, you can try reducing the brewing time.
    Don't let it sit! This will cause it to continue brewing and over-extract (increased bitterness).

  • If you want to have less fines in the cup, before moving the plunger down, remove the ground coffee from the top of the jug with a spoon and then plunge.

  • To elevate your coffee experience you can also decant the freshly brewed coffee into another server so it doesn't become bitter or chalky.

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