Ten Sustainable French Press Recipes

Ten Sustainable French Press Recipes

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Posted 2025-01-06 by T. A. Rosefollow
Credit: Lisa Fotios of Pexels.


Recently, I wrote about cheap groceries in this linked article and can see how plunger (French press) coffee relates to those writings. I realised that I should analyse my groceries as Australian-made, cheap, healthy, and environmentally friendly. But Australian coffee is not cheap generally speaking. I saw that Australian ground coffee costs well over ten Australian dollars per quarter kilo packet. I found out that purchased at bulk prices, drinking Australian coffee is a lot more affordable. From my online research, Australian coffee is sold as freshly roasted beans or ground rather than instant or in pods. I could see that it would be easy to shop for local coffee if I shopped for plunger coffee.

I then developed ten recipes that are ideal for sharing but were inspired by wanting to shop local. All of the recipes need either a French press or ground coffee. Preparing most of these recipes can be achieved with all sorts of ground coffee, not necessarily Australian-grown.

Recipes
The most caffeinating, due to its high coffee-to-water ratio, is my cold brew (1), best made steeped overnight. It conserves coffee when needing caffeine without being a boring recipe. To make, stir minimal (one teaspoon to 250 ml of cold water) coffee in cold water, stir again, and leave to infuse overnight. When I tried it, the coffee and water took a while to mix, but once it started, the liquid that the ground coffee contained was really mixed thoroughly. Leaving a saucer or Tupperware lid on top of the cup can save using plastic wrap and keep the mixture fresh.

However, leaving overnight seemed excessive, as I found that the mixture is pretty much ready in an hour or two. Once ready, just add to the French press and push down the plunger to separate most of the ground coffee from the rest of the liquid content. Then, add milk or ice cubes and even syrup to make a strong cold coffee. It is also conventionally known as cold brew and is thus different from iced coffee, which is cooled down heated coffee with ice and iced milk. See this cold brew recipe by the established food blog Tastefully Grace for more details on cold brew, a recipe for it, and how it is different from iced coffee.

The most obvious recipe idea in this list of ten is coffee made hot, fresh from the plunger (2) (French press). To make, add between a minimum of two teaspoons to a maximum of two tablespoons of coffee per 250 ml of boiling hot water in a French press and press the plunger down when the mixture has infused to your liking. However, from thekitchn.com are some tips on how to make the French press coffee better. These include reasons to use a coarser or specialised plunger coffee grind, using two tablespoons of coffee for one cup of water, and breaking up the layer of ground coffee mixed with some of the hot water with a whisk before adding further hot water.

The first two ways are the most conventional ways to serve plunger coffee, especially when purchasing coarsely ground coffee designated for plunger usage. However, some recipes are less conventional:

Americano (3): I have labelled this option the Americano . My definition of an Americano is to make cold, plain, watery coffee out of a hot coffee, usually with added ice cubes, even if most Americano recipes call for espresso coffee. To make, get five to ten ice cubes, 250 ml of made plunger coffee, and add 250 ml cold water; combine, with optional sugar added to the hot coffee prior to combining.

Turkish style (4): get two teaspoons of ground coffee, four teaspoons of sugar, and optional milk and boil in a saucepan with two cups of water for two to three minutes. Then pour into cup(s). It is wise to let the beverage stand, as Turkish coffee is usually made from a finely pulverised powder, whereas plunger coffee is a coarser grind, but when the mixture has adequate time to settle, it can then be consumed. However, re-agitating the mixture or drinking the cup near empty can be problematic with this version. because it's not proper Turkish coffee . This recipe idea becomes appealing in relation to wanting to buy Australian coffee in bulk.

Hence, I like this recipe when I am making a cold brew but want some coffee immediately. I can make my cold brew for later and use up some of my plunger coffee for Turkish-style coffee and/or a basic hot plunger coffee. The Turkish-style coffee option increases the options available, especially because I am unable to purchase instant coffee powder if I want to spend my coffee budget on plunger coffee.

There are two more ways to use ground coffee; however, they require different grinds to plunger coffee. This is especially for an espresso machine that takes ground coffee. One such way around this problem is to buy beans and a grinder. Another way is to buy in bulk for both finer grinds for espresso and coarser for a plunger.

Note that with the espresso machine (5): according to Tech Radar , some espresso at home machines avoid pods/capsules and use ground coffee. The best ones allow for at-home grinding. Therefore, while plunger grinds are not useful in such machines generally, the same bought beans can be served in a finer grind in these machines as for other plunger recipes. So overall, espresso is worth a quick mention. While for filter coffee (6), coarser plunger grinds can be used but are generally not recommended. Instead, a medium grind is recommended for filter coffee.

A cold froth (7) can be made with about one-eighth of the plunger full of milk. One-eighth is ideal to avoid overflow. To make the cold froth, just repeatedly press the milk until the froth fills over half the plunger. The resulting foamed cold milk is arguably the most impressive of all the recipes and so complementary to a cold brew. That is despite the fact the same foamed milk can be achieved more easily with a stick blender. A previously alluded way is iced coffee (8), which requires cooled-down hot coffee mixed with milk and ice.

Using some plunger coffee as a base with chocolate cream or drinking chocolate can result in a plunger coffee mocha (9). This linked recipe is inspiring for a classier French press mocha. I also find some plunger coffee and drinking chocolate stirred together carefully and/or separately and added to a cup topped with frothed milk is a delicious and energy-boosting hot chocolate drink idea. As a variation to coffee, loose leaf plunger tea (10) is possible. To make, add a teaspoon or two of dry tea leaves (such as green tea) to a French press and top with boiled water as seen at this blog post , pressing after five to ten minutes of infusing.

Credit: Claro Cafe of Pexels


Related Links About Coffee
For a general article, I wrote about coffee tasting and cupping in 2021. I also reviewed a free coffee tasting event that year where coffee can be sourced if in Brisbane for a coarser grind suitable for French press coffee.

Buy and Grow Aussie Coffee
There are many places to shop for Australian-grown coffee . Although the range is small compared to the popularity of coffee in Australia. I found that ordering from Mountain Top in the Byron Bay hinterland was seamless and had excellent bulk buying options.

Another place I am familiar with is Whitsunday Gold from Proserpine. It is a similar price to Mountain Top if you buy half a kilogram of ground or a kilogram of beans. Both businesses are highly recommended and offer a wonderful contrast in growing conditions.

Byron Bay Credit: article author 2024


The prominent regions for coffee growing in Australia are Northern New South Wales and Far North Queensland. While the Whitsundays, Gold Coast, and Sunshine Coast hinterlands are less prominent but provide unique types of growing conditions , which are significant because they influence the unique palates of coffee. Cool yet frost-free conditions, when found, allow for slow ripening of coffee beans and the development of the coffee's flavours.

Credit: 1500m Coffee of Pexels


Conclusively, I think shopping local got me to closely consider sustainable coffee and I hope my French press recipes have offered a thoughtful approach to buying coffee locally in Australia.

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300663 - 2025-01-06 14:35:38

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