Check out these 5 Ingenious Ways For How to use a French Press with lots of step-by-step photos and a fun video too!
I can’t even tell you how excited I am about this post because I found 5 Ingenious ways for how to use a French press! The handy dandy French press can make a lot more beverages than just coffee. Some of the ideas below are fairly common uses for a French press, however, I have come up with a few MORE awesome ways that you might never have considered. One of them is quite INGENIOUS, I must say! I have included some step-by-step photos to show you just how versatile this little miracle product really is.
A FEW REASONS WHY I LOVE MY FRENCH PRESS
- It’s compact and barely takes up space in your cabinet, leaving your countertops clutter-free. It’s perfect for dorm rooms, apartments, or anyone who is tired of large appliances hogging up precious cabinet space.
- It makes absolutely delicious coffee, OBVIOUSLY!
- There is no need for coffee filters or coffee pods that create an ENORMOUS amount of waste for our planet, which in turn, saves you money!
- It doesn’t require electricity, so you could take it camping or on vacation if need be.
- It’s VERY easy to clean. All of the components can be taken apart and cleaned if necessary.
- The fine-mesh strainer makes it perfect for straining liquids with even the finest particles.
Now I’m going to show you how to use your French press, for more than just coffee!
1. MAKE FROTHY MILK FOAM FOR COFFEE
Are you spending upwards of $4.00 for a cup of coffee at coffee shops just so you can get that wonderful frothy milk? Did you know you easily make it in just seconds right after steeping your coffee? Just look at that perfect milk foam!
How to Make Frothy Milk Foam with a French Press (STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS)
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk for two cups of coffee (whole reduced-fat, skim, half-and-half, or heavy cream)
Instructions
- Heat milk or cream in a small saucepan over medium to medium-high heat while your coffee is steeping in the French press. Keep a close watch on it, as milk can bubble over!
- Heat until it starts to barely bubble around the edges.
- Pour your coffee into a cup, rinse out the coffee grinds really well and pour in the hot milk.
- Pump the strainer up and down several times until the milk gets nice and frothy.
- Pour over your coffee!
2. STRAIN HOMEMADE NUT MILKS
This tip is BY FAR my favorite! One morning I was wanting to make some homemade nut milks and my French press was still on the counter from my morning coffee and it HIT ME! If it could strain fine coffee grinds, then surely it could strain out the ground nuts from homemade nut milks, RIGHT? Well folks, it WORKED PERFECTLY, which means it’s a breeze to make dairy-free milk at home now. No more waiting hours for it to strain through cheesecloth, and no need to deal with the mess of squeezing it through nut milk bags.
3. MAKE BLACKBERRY SANGRIA FOR TWO
I have to say, I really love this fun use for my French press because you can use whatever recipe you like for sangria and it will turn out beautifully. Just cut the recipe down so it will fit into your French press. I use the 8-cup Bodum French press which holds up to 34 oz. of liquid. I actually saw a restaurant in town serving house-made sangria in French presses and thought it was the cutest idea for serving them at home too! For my recipe, I used blackberries, raspberries, peaches, an orange, and cranberry juice to give it lots of flavor. If you happen to have Blackberry wine, this would be the perfect time to use it! NEVER use expensive wine for sangria because this beverage was created as a way to use up the cheap wine. The cheaper, the better!
CHECK OUT THIS FUN VIDEO!
Blackberry Sangria for Two in a French Press
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups blackberry wine or red table wine the cheapest wine is the best
- 1 cup cranberry juice (if you like it tart and less sweet use unsweetened juice: SO GOOD)
- 1/2 cup peaches frozen or fresh and sliced
- 1/2 cup raspberries frozen or fresh
- 1 orange sliced
Instructions
- Add the fruits to a French press. If you don't have a French press, just use a glass jar (mason jars are great).
- Press them down with the strainer a couple of times to extract the juices and release the essential oils from the skin of the oranges.
- Pour in the wine and cranberry juice and stir to combine. Put the top on, but keep strainer above the liquid and store on the counter. If you want to steep it for more than 2 hours, you can cover it with plastic instead so it will fit in your fridge.
- Steep for at least 2 hours or up to 12 hours. The longer it steeps, the better it gets!
4. STEEP LOOSE TEA
I am quite the hot tea junky, but I prefer loose tea over tea bags because the flavor and aroma is incomparable. Tea strainers are great, but a French press makes sure no tea leaves fall into your cup. By the way, if you like tea kettles over boiling in saucepans, I love this Breville electric tea kettle because it boils water in a fraction of the time. It’s also great if you live in a dorm room and don’t have access to a stove. To make the tea, use the appropriate measurement of loose tea per serving (check package directions) and steep, strain, and serve!
5. MAKE THE BEST CHAI TEA FROM SCRATCH
I absolutely LOVE Indian food, and whenever I go to a restaurant, I always order chai tea. However, making it home is easy peasy with a French press! Being able to steep whole spices like cinnamon, clove, allspice, and fresh ginger makes all the difference in the world in terms of flavor and aroma. It just takes a few extra minutes to extract the essence of the spices, but it’s totally worth it. And of course, the French press makes it EVEN better because you can add regular milk or coconut milk and make it frothy! I prefer my chai unsweetened because the spices have an innate sweetness. My recipe is for a Vegan Chai Tea with coconut milk, mmmmmmm.
How to Make Vegan Chai Tea with a French press
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2/3 cup coconut milk I like unsweetened canned
- 2 tsp . loose black tea
- 4 cardamom pods
- 4 allspice berries
- 2 cloves whole or 2 pinches of ground cloves
- 2 tsp cinnamon sticks or 1/8 . ground cinnamon
- 1/2 inch slice fresh ginger
- *optional drizzle of honey or raw sugar
Instructions
- Crush the spices one or two times with a mortar and pestle or bottom of a small pan.
- Add water to a saucepan and add coconut milk to another saucepan. Add half of the spices to the water, and half to the coconut milk.
- Add the loose black tea to a French press.
- Bring the water to a boil and pour over the black tea. Cover with the lid just to the top of the water. Steep for five minutes.
- Bring the coconut milk to a simmer at the same time as the water. Keep on a low simmer until the tea has steeped in the French press for five minutes. Remove the lid of the French press and pour the coconut milk over the tea. Cover again and let steep for 4-5 minutes.
- Pump the strainer a few times before serving to froth the coconut milk. Serve with a drizzle of honey or raw sugar if you like it sweetened.
- Serve immediately.
I hope you have found this post helpful and has inspired you to get a French press if you don’t already have one.
Psst. This post contains affiliate links for amazon.com. If you purchase any of the products through the links, I receive a small commission at no cost to you, which helps support Bessie Bakes! I only recommend products I use and love.
Saw this on FoodGawker and HAD to click. Some really great ideas here – I hadn’t considered the nutmilk or the sangria. Mind-blown!
Wow thanks Kylee! I can’t take credit for the sangria because I saw it done that way in a restaurant. BUT, the nut milk idea was a total light bulb moment! If you would like to subscribe to my blog, you can get my free eCookbook for Homemade Nut Milks:) Have a great day!
I recently got a french press and the coffee it makes is already having me swoon all over it. This post is going to take that to a whole other level!! Thanks 🙂
Awesome! The French press is by far my most used kitchen appliance now:)
Frence Press = liquid gold in a cup!! I love mine with a pinch of cinnamon. Not to mention all the other uses even.
I love this post, what a great ideas :)!
Thank you Sanne!!
Okay. Mind = blown! What an amazing idea for straining nut milk! Gotta love those lightbulb moments 🙂
Thank you Sasha! Have a great day:)
Love these all! For chai tea I had been straining over a mug with a small strainer this makes much more sense!
It’s a fun way to use the French press, for sure! Hope you give it a try 🙂
Hi,
The step by step guide of yours is amazing. I love coffee and after some hesitations, I bought a french press and everyday enjoy my nice morning cup.
That’s so great to hear Paul, I’m glad you found this tutorial helpful! I love the fact that a French Press takes up so little space on your counter or cabinet. Have you enjoyed frothy milk with it yet? That’s my favorite 🙂
No I haven’t but thank you for the suggestion. I’ll definitely give it a try.
The nut milk suggestion is ingenious. Much better than using a nut milk bag.
Thank you! It takes a bit of pressure to push the strainer down but it’s less mess than a bag and you can easily clean all of the components of the French press.
I had a brainwave too. Not tried it yet but might work to remove seeds from a berry smoothie?
It’s possible! I would imagine that if the smoothie is pretty thick the French press might not be able to press down, but if it was thin it might work!