Drip Coffee Vs French Press: Which One is the Best?

While the drip method earns much attention because of its ease of use and coffee volume, the French press has fuller-bodied and richer-tasting coffee.

By giving an in-depth exploration, WikiHome will help you pick up the best machine for your kitchen. 

Let's read on to discover!

Before unlocking the discussion fully, you can read the quick review below to grasp the most important information quickly and conveniently.

Drip Coffee Makers

The drip coffee machines

You can find drip coffee in houses, business offices, and many other places. They are so wonderful because they can keep hot black liquid ready and available.

Generally, the dripping method has gone through more than a century of adjustments, but the fundamental principle is still the same.

Drip coffee devices are entirely automated. You just need to put the grounds inside the filters and touch the buttons.

Then, the equipment will do the rest for you. It will extract the savoriness and give you a mug of coffee to drink whenever you want.

Drip coffee machines utilize the process of producing coffee. Some even have an additional part of digital watches that allows you to set up them to inform you with fresh, steaming black liquid.

This convenient way to brew coffee originates from the pour-over coffee-making method. Then, manufacturers combined the pour-over method's basic principle with electricity to create the automatic drip operation. 

Providing users with full automation and the capability of keeping the coffee hot for a longer time, it is a ‘setting and forgetting’ machine for coffee fanatics.

The French Press

The French press to make coffee

This vintage equipment, also dubbed as the coffee piston or coffee pot, is a staple of several kitchen cupboards and hotel rooms. This modest and small creation has undergone a few adjustments since an Italian inventor first received a patent in the 1900s.

Then, does it come from France or Italy? It is not a problem after all. Here, the matter is how it makes coffee, how easy it operates, and how good the taste is.

Many coffee enthusiasts wonder if the French press provides flavors comparable to an espresso device, despite a fuller-bodied texture.

The coffee plunger will certainly make a serving of coffee with an intense flavor and a rich texture.

It has a simple construction: a cylindrical tank that you can fill with the right amount of ground coffee. You also pour some heated water (not boiling water), blend the mixture, and put the lid on the top for brewing. 

After that, you press the piston downwards at a slow pace, pushing the grounds to the bottom, whereas the deliciousness is on the top.

Although you will feel interesting and elegant when using a coffee press, you will not have a high extraction out of it. Even if it is an immersion approach and you utilize extremely hot water.

This section is going to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of drip coffee and the French press fully. Thanks to that, you can choose the best product for the kitchen cabinet.

Brew Time

The brewing time of the two methods

Morning, it’s time to wake up for another busy working day. And you want a cup of coffee as fast as possible.

Which coffee maker offers a faster cup? The brewing time needed to have coffee by the French press is 5-8 minutes. It adds the time of heating water and 3-4 minutes for the coffee to steep.

For drip coffee, it normally takes around 5-10 minutes. You wait for the coffee dripper to warm up, set up a suitable time, and allow the coffee to drip down in the container. Yet, some automatic drip coffee devices, such as the Bunn, can make coffee in just 3 minutes. 

The time for cleaning is similar. A rinse and scrub of the French press, consisting of letting the water run through the stainless steel filter, will make it ready for following-up brews. With the dripper, an immediate filter change and cleaning the container is all you need to do for each batch.

WINNER: The drip coffee machines scrape through as the winner there except the same cleaning time. Still, if you have much spare time and you do not mind waiting for some other minutes, then the French press is for you.

Type of Coffee

The type of coffee for each brewing method

Almost all home baristas know the significance of bean selection. And each of you may take an interest in grinding your coffee beans, instead of purchasing store-bought ground coffee. 

Aside from selecting your favorite coffee beans, making your grounds lets you choose the expected texture. This thing plays a vital role in both the press and the drip makers.

While the coffee plunger prefers a coarse grind, the drip device goes for a medium grind. If the ground coffee result is too coarse or too fine, the taste in both methods will discourage you. 

The type of grind needs to fit the filter design in both machines, which requires consistently and evenly ground coffee to extract the same ratio of every ground bean.

WINNER: There is no winner here. It is just the suitable type of ground coffee for each method.

Related Posts: 

Best Coffee Grinder For French Press

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Ease of Use 

Which is easier to make coffee: press or drip?

You need to consider several things when brewing coffee with each method. These variables consist of: the type of grind, the heat of water, and the brewing time.

The brewing time is a critical part of the French press. Longer or shorter than the requirement will make the coffee feel over-brewed or weak.

However, once you find out the process that works best, you simply follow the same process and keep an eye on the time.

It is rare to have some errors with a drip coffee maker. The machine just measures the right amount of ground coffee (following the manufacturer’s guidelines), pops it into the device, checks the water level, and comes back as soon as it is ready.

Some versions let you make small changes, but these are nothing compared to the French press.

The only matter for the flaw is in the grinding step. If it is too coarse or too fine, the result will certainly be bad. Just keep in mind to replace the filter after finishing a brew.

WINNER: The drip coffee machine is the winner in this round. You just need to use a spoon and press a button to brew coffee in a drip maker. 

Although the French press provides more management over all variables, the drip method will ensure you follow the right steps.

Coffee Capacity 

Cups of coffee per brew in each method

It is a key factor for your option, depending on the specific situation with many people.

Every coffee brewing system comes in various sizes. The original French press starts at the single serving and increases up to around ten cups. For the dip machine, it begins at some cups of coffee and peaks at roughly 14 cups.

If you will serve coffee to the party guest or colleague, consider the number of cups you need to brew each time.

Keep in mind one important thing. Unlike the drip machine, the French press does not have a heat function, so you cannot keep your coffee warm for a long time.

If you do not drink it immediately, all of the coffee liquid will go to waste. Yet, if you are eager to keep your French press coffee warm for a longer time, you can consider the investment in a thermos.

However, it is worth keeping in mind that the longer you keep the coffee warm, ready, and available for you, the worse you taste it. The fresher you brew the coffee, the better you taste it.

WINNER: The drip coffee machine shines in the volume of coffee liquid.

Although you can brew around the same number of cups in each method, the drip coffee helps you keep the coffee warm and available to drink for a much longer time.

Coffee Tastes 

The taste of coffee of dripping and pressing methods

If you have much affection for coffee, the taste of the result is the most significant element in all decisions you make when you brew coffee.

For the French press, you have control of total variables to ensure that you can perfect your coffee-making process to keep the taste delicious. The complex factor is worth considering, but most critics always praise the French press for its taste.

Most of the flavor results from the oil of ground coffee. The drip device’s paper filters will capture almost all these oils so that this method never adds them to your cup. A French press, by contrast, is without paper filters which can ensure to maximize the taste potential.

A paper filter takes out the flavor and oil. Like the case you eat good foods, flavors usually exist in the fat and oil.

Enthusiastic coffee lovers find it difficult to adapt to the taste of the drip machine. They regularly complain it feels weaker and lighter. 

But there is no evidence for personal preference, and many people purely take an interest in the taste of the drip equipment. Yet, the drip method may better suit roasted coffee.

One more problem worth discussing is that most automatic drip coffee machines consistently heat coffee. After an amount of time, the coffee is likely to taste burned. It is not good. 

However, a few drip coffee machines have a thermal carafe that you should use on the heat plate.

WINNER: The French press wins this round when it refers to concentrated, strong coffee.

Meanwhile, some drinkers love the lighter taste of the drip machine. Hence, picking up a suitable method for your taste is a matter of yours instead of the method.

Related Post: Best Automatic Espresso Machines: Reviews & Buying Guides

In conclusion, a debate of drip coffee vs French press – who is a winner? The answer is not any because it is up to you eventually.
A drip coffee machine is wonderful if you do not mind thinking about brewing coffee for every single cup. Many people prefer it for ease of use and the capability of keeping a pot of coffee hot for a longer time.
A French press provides you with the most management over every variable. It also gives you a richer tasting cup of coffee. 
Have you decided which machine to choose? Don't forget to share your coffee maker with us. Thank you for reading!