Perfecting Plunger Coffee

Simple it may seem to use, the little coffee plunger, but surprised was I that our friend the coffee lover had no clue where to start when it came to making a cup of plunger coffee.

We had taken ourselves down to the stunning Western Cape for a week long breakaway last year, this was pre-Covid-hard-lockdown that we didn't see coming at that stage!

I packed my little coffee plunger wrapped up like a precious little babe in between my clothes, as we had booked a self-catering holiday and I wasn't taking any chances that we'd find ourselves with nothing to make a decent cup of coffee!

Instant coffee I cannot drink, no matter that it's been extracted from the very best coffee beans!

An unashamed coffee snob am I!

A mess our friend made when he got up very early on the first morning to make himself a cup of coffee - coffee grinds and scalding hot water splashed everywhere with very little coffee left inside the plunger!

Just goes to show that having a coffee machine certainly doesn't teach you how to make a good cup of coffee as everything is automated.

Coffee plunger/ French Press and a manual milk frother

Coffee Plunger aka French Press

Whoever invented this simple concept was brilliant, as the humble coffee press can produce aromatic full-bodied cups of brewed coffee provided you're using freshly ground coffee, filtered water and the correct method; something I will show you here.

Coffee Beans ripening, just waiting to be picked and taken through the long process from fermenting to eventually being roasted so that we can enjoy a good cuppa to start our days!

Having your own coffee grinder of course will produce a brilliant cup of coffee but if you don't, make sure the ground coffee you buy is fresh.

Plunger Coffee making

Rinse plunger in boiling water, then measure ground coffee into the base of the plunger -

• 15g coarsely ground Coffee per 250ml Filtered Water

Pour a little cold water onto the ground coffee and let it rest about a minute or so while you get the cups ready; this blooms the coffee and prevents it being scalded.

Pour boiling water on top, give it a stir, place plunger lid on top but let it rest for approx 4 minutes before pressing slowly all the way to the bottom, ensuring that the vents on the lid is exposed.

Serve immediately with hot or cold milk, coffee creamer or frothed milk, or have it black as some say that is the only way to really taste the coffee.

I enjoy my morning cuppa with coffee creamer as the addition of milk weakens the flavour. I enjoy it accompanied by homemade rusks which is a typical South African treat, similar to Biscotti, but not as sweet.

This cup had a deliciously creamy froth on top; homemade cappuccino I call it;)

So before I settle down to enjoy my cup of plunger coffee, I will end off by sharing two gorgeous Cappuccinos from the Cowshed Coffee & Pottery Shop down on the Kwazulu Natal South Coast.

I hope this brief description of how to make a good cup of plunger coffee will help you enjoy your next cuppa :)
[//]:# (!pinmapple -31.029508 lat 30.222337 long Cow Shed Coffee & Pottery Shop, Port Edward, KZN, South Africa d3scr)