DIY: French Press Faux Espresso

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I love using my French Press to make my morning coffee so when Eric brought How to Make Espresso Beverages With a French Press to my attention I had to try it.  Adding a bonus to the mix the recipe comes from Alton Brown who is just wonderful in both cooking and explaining how it all works.

Steps for Faux Espresso

1. Use 4 tablespoons of coffee.  This should be a coarser grind then the commercial coffee.  This is important because I just used can coffee for the first test and did end up with the sludge in the bottom of my cup.

2. 2 cups of near boiling water

3. Give the brew a quick stir.  If you like to chew on your espresso and have it very strong you can stir every 45 seconds to a minute.

4. Let it steep about 3 min.  Brewing too short will cause a sour flavor, too long and the flavor will get bitter.  This is nice to know because some times I just like a good strong espresso that bites back so at times I will let it steep for about 5 minutes.

5. Press the plunger down slowly in a steady this is important to reduce the amount of coffee grounds from getting into the cup.  The faster you go the greater the chance of having grounds in the coffee.

6. Pour your coffee either into your cup or if you just cant stand grounds you may wish to filter it to catch the very fine sediment