I would say that every time I feel spiritless, coffee is my all-time go-to friend. A rejuvenating sip of it makes my day.
However, poor brewing of coffee may end up causing more harm than good.
For several years, the French press coffee has been the talk of the town with people wondering if the French press is really what they should go with.
So, is french press coffee bad for you?
Why French Press Coffee Is Bad for You
French Press Coffee Cholesterol
The main reason why you are in doubt if french coffee is bad is the relationship between coffee and cholesterol.
Cholesterol in the body is produced by the liver and in addition to it, there is the bad cholesterol that you get from certain foods. Coffee doesn’t contain cholesterol but it affects how your body produces it.
Coffee oils such as kahweol and cafestol affect the body’s ability to metabolize and regulate cholesterol. These oils may decrease bile acids and neutral sterols leading to increased cholesterol.
The ability of coffee to raise cholesterol in your body will also depend on how you brew it and how much you drink.
Research has shown that drinking more than five cups of coffee every day from a French press brewing method can tremendously increase blood cholesterol levels by 6 to 8 percent.
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French Press Coffee Ratio
The best french press coffee ratio depends on how you want your cup to be.
Based on experiments, the ideal ratio is said to be around 1:16 to 1:18, 1 representing 1gram of coffee and the bigger number representing the amount of water in mL.
Ideal coffee to water ratio in a french press
French Press Size Water Amount Coffee (grams) to add
3 cup 11.8 fl oz, 350ml 19.5 grams
8 cup 34 fl. oz, 1000 ml 55.5 grams
12 cup 51 fl. oz, 1500 ml 83.5 grams
How to make the best french press coffee
- Try to grind your coffee beans right before brewing: grinding your beans too soon will cause some of the aromas and flavors to escape. It’s always better to grind them and use them fresh.
- Run your press under hot water: Pre-heating your press helps keep a consistent temperature when brewing. Though this isn’t too big of a big deal, it could make a difference.
- Grind your coffee to a coarse grind: this tip is vital. You don’t want it to be too coarse, or else your press can get clogged. You don’t want it to be a fine grind either, or else the grinds may pass through the screen of the press. Try to get it in the middle. Your grinds should feel like breadcrumbs or sea salt.
- Pour half of the water into your coffee and count to 30 seconds: don’t pour all your water in at once. Once your add about half of the water into your coffee, immediately count to 30. Once you get to 30 seconds, give your coffee a quick stir before waiting again. This will help make the flavor of your brew more consistent.
Benefits of French Press Coffee
For a long time now, coffee enthusiasts have praised the health benefits of a daily coffee habit. But did you know that the way you brew your coffee can increase or decrease those health benefits?
A French press is one way of making coffee with numerous health benefits.
- Parkinson’s disease: As much as caffeine in beverages has it’s the negative side, in recent years, caffeine in coffee has been linked to a reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease.
- Protection of neural synapses. The chlorogenic acid lactones and lipophilic antioxidants found in French press coffee have been found to protect neural synapses by strengthening the neuronal cells.
- Heart disease. Research has shown caffeine from french press coffee to lower the risk of heart disease and death from a cardiac event.
- Alzheimer’s disease. An epidemiological study suggested that a higher intake of caffeine reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease due to the antioxidants in caffeine.
Harmful Effects of Caffeine
Caffeine is a drug and can affect people differently just like any other substance. It’s important that consumers understand how caffeine interacts with their bodies and how they can manage it. Harmful Effects of Caffeine:
- Headaches.
- Indigestion.
- Gout attacks.
- Insomnia.
- Risk of heart attacks.
- Blood pressure.
- Reduces fertility in women.
- Miscarriage risk.
- Caffeine allergies.
- Anxiety.
- Irregular heartbeat.
If not managed, caffeine can be out of control problem. If you are experiencing any tell-tale signs of the risks above, then it’s time to start cutting back.
French Press vs Than Pour Over
As we explore the different ways to brew coffee in our homes, we all benefit from the gush of brewing methods that has come up.
To know which method will work best, we must be able to compare and contrast the methods available.
Both the French press and the pour-over method make fantastic coffee. But each has its own nuances that make one more appealing than the other.
French Press
Advantages
- Allows the ground coffee to brew directly in the hot water.
- The entire brewing process is in action until you press the filter plunger.
- Makes the flavour of the coffee more intense as its process makes it possible to pull the oils out of the ground coffee.
- There is no disposable filter.
Disadvantages
- Presence of grit in every final brew of french press coffee.
- Grinds leak through the screen on the plunger quite easily, even with a good coarse grind
- The french press is rather fragile.
- Cleaning up a French press is laborious.
- Coffee can fall below serving temperature before plunging it.
- Expensive
Pour over
Advantages
- It is cheap.
- Very efficient
- Since the final brew is filtered into a separate vessel, the fresh grounds receive fresh hot water as you are brewing. The result is a much crisper flavor. This may suit some people’s tastes more than the bolder flavor of the French press.
- Less grit as compared to french press.
- You can make small amounts with it
- Clean up is easier.
Disadvantages
- The coffee may not be strong enough for those who prefer milder coffee.
- Looses the rich oils from the coffee bean which can only be extracted from a more direct brewing process.
Weighing the above advantages and disadvantages and depending on the taste you like, may help you make the right decision on which brewing equipment suits you.
