Whether or not you can skip the bloom on a French press is a slightly controversial question. Some experts claim that with immersion brewing, it’s more important to keep the brewing temperature consistent by pouring all the water at once, and then stirring to ensure proper contact with all the beans. They claim that the CO2 will degas into the liquid and rise to the surface – and as any French press lover knows, there’s a layer of foam (looking a lot like a bloom) on the top of the brew when it’s time to press the plunger. Our advice: try it both ways and see which tastes best to you. We’ve found that the additional bloom time is trivial, and helps distribute the primary pour more evenly.