Let's take a look at the coffee brewing device that's arguably one of the most popular and widely used in family homes. Most of us have one at home, or someone we know does. It's not a brewing method we're unfamiliar with, but do we know who invented it? And why is it called a French press? (And that's not its only name.) From its origins to modern forms of French pressing, here's everything you need to know about this immersion method.
A legend of the origin of the French press
It's called a French press , so it must be French, right? Surprisingly, both the French and Italians have argued about the origins of the coffee maker, which uses a metal or cloth screen connected to a rod that presses the coffee into a pot of hot water. According to a legend dating back to the 1850s, it was a Frenchman on his daily walk, brewing a cup of coffee over an open fire, who first prepared his coffee this way, although it was more of an accident.
The Frenchman was boiling water when he realized he had forgotten to add the coffee. Once added, the coffee rose to the surface of the boiling pot. He wanted to save the only bit of coffee he had with him and bought a piece of metal screen from a passing Italian merchant. Placing the screen over the boiling pot, he used a stick to press it down. The result turned out to be the best coffee he had ever tasted. An accident led to the discovery of a new way to prepare coffee.
We chose to call the coffee maker by its French version, even though the first patent for the coffee maker as we know it today came from Italians. The French Press is also called a cafetière , a coffee plunger, or a coffee press in different parts of the world. Today, it is celebrated for its ease of use, the delicious preparations it produces, and a certain style it has maintained throughout its design development.
First patents dating back to 1928
The first documented origins of "the most underrated method of coffee preparation," as James Hoffmann called it in his book "The World Atlas of Coffee," date back to 1852. It was Mayer and Delforge, two Frenchmen, who came up with their innovation: a simpler version of later designs, then patented.
However, it wasn't until 1928 in Italy that Attilio Calimani and Giulio Moneta registered the first patents. Their invention, similar to the early designs of Mayer and Delforge, was characterized as a "vessel adapted to contain a liquid, such as water, into which the substance to be infused, such as coffee powder, is introduced, and a sliding filter element having a sufficiently tight fit within said vessel such that, by suitable means, said element sliding to the bottom of the vessel, the infusion will be rapidly filtered so that it is ready for use."
A quick look at the patents filed in the United States will reveal that many improvements to the original brewing device had patent applications filed. All had a similar principle, with some additional changes to the basic French press design. But the next significant redesign was achieved by Faliero Bondanini.
The Italian designer had his version patented in 1958. Classified under βApparatus in which ground coffee or tea leaves are immersed in the hot liquid in the immersible beverage containerβ, e.g. rotary filtersβ, the one that first gained popularity in the European market was produced and distributed by a French company Martin SA under the name Chambord.
Is a French press a specialty coffee maker?
Recognized on the family breakfast table, does a French press belong on the shelves of a specialty coffee aficionado?
Think of a French press as an entry-level coffee maker. It's easy to use and familiar to people who might not even be into specialty coffee . However, it can produce tasty brews if you take care with certain steps, such as ensuring the freshness of the beans and their grinding just before brewing, or the water temperature.
The modern innovators of the French press
Espro, a Vancouver, Canada-based company, has introduced a reimagined version of the French press . They installed a fine double filter and made the pot out of stainless steel. This ensures that the resulting brew is free of sediment, providing a rich, clean, yet full-bodied cup of coffee. The Espro press is cited by many coffee professionals as the French press to use if you want to achieve a clean brew with this method.
We do, and we love having a big pot of coffee ready on the breakfast table, brewed a minute in advance, for several people to share. There's no other manual brewing method that allows you to get caffeine so easily. Try it and find out which French press brand is your favorite.