Coffee Brewing Guide: French Press
Getting to a rich and dense cup of expressive coffee
Brewing using the French Press is one of the most accessible ways to make coffee at home, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make great coffee with it. Like all good things, and good coffee, it requires a little bit of practice and fine tuning the process to your taste.
What you’ll need:
- French Press (it doesn’t matter what size you have, the water to coffee ratio is what’s important — see bellow)
- Coffee (beans if you have a grinder or already ground coffee)
- Hot Water
- A wooden spoon/spatula (a teaspoon works fine too)
- Scale (recommended, but not necessary)
- Timer (your phone probably has one)
The Grind
If your coffee is already ground (and hopefully for a French Press), please feel free to skip to the next step.
A good way to think how fine to grind the coffee is to think about how much time the water will come into contact with the coffee grounds. The shorter, the finer the grind.
Since using the French Press requires around 4 minutes of brew time, that means that we need to get a grind size that’s quite coarse. I’ve heard it described as breadcrumbs or kosher salt, but I grind mine a little coarser then I feel that describes.
In the end what’s going to be the best indicator is how fast the plunger goes through the coffee. If it goes straight through then it’s too coarse, if you have trouble pushing down it’s too fine, you should be able to get a smooth push with not too much force. If you like numbers, try getting a bathroom scale and aiming for around 15–20 pounds of pressure on the plunger.
Really cheap coffee might be a good idea in the beginning when trying to get a general idea of the grind size, but the roast of coffee will also be a variable in the brewing process. Darker roasts are more bitter and the roasting process makes the bean more brittle and extraction faster. In order to balance that out, you might need to grind a little bit coarser.
How much coffee
Good coffee and consistent coffee is all about the ratio between coffee and water. As with grind, this will be influenced by your preference, and the beans you are using to brew.
The ratio I use is 1:16, that means that for each 1 gram of coffee I add 16 ml of water. This means that I add:
- 22g/2–4 tbsp for a 3 cup French Press (12 oz/355 ml capacity)
- 31g/5–7 tbsp for a 4 cup French Press (17 oz/502 ml capacity)
- 62g/10–12 tbsp for an 8 cup French Press (34 oz/1000 ml capacity)
Using a scale is the best way to get good coffee because the amount in a tablespoon will vary dramatically depending on how fine the grind is and how packed the coffee is.
The Brewing
Once you have all the components ready you are ready to begin.
Get the water ready
While the water is boiling measure the coffee based on the instructions above. When the water is almost boiling grind the coffee (I usually wait until the last moment to grind, maybe I’m a little bit paranoid but I feel like every second count).
Boil enough water to fill the press and a little bit more for heating up the press. After the water hits boiling temperature, take it off the gas/turn the kettle off, add the extra water to the press and let it heat up for about 30 seconds. This is about enough time for the water to drop in temperature a little bit (ideal temperature is around 205 F)
For dark roasts and decaf, the temperature should be lower, for these coffees let the water cool for a minute instead if 30 seconds. It should drop somewhere around 195–190 F.
The Bloom
Add the ground coffee into the French Press. Set the timer for 4:00 minutes and start it as soon as the water hits the coffee. Try and spread the water make sure you saturate the grounds (all the coffee should be wet) and stop once you’ve achieved that.
If you are using a scale you should try and add about twice the quantity of water as coffee (if you’re brewing with 22g coffee at this point you should add 44g of water).
Now, wait until the timer hits 0:30 seconds. This phase is called “the bloom” and it’s designed to help the coffee release the gasses trapped inside.
Stir and wait
Stir the coffee gently, preferably with a wooden spoon if you have a glass french press. Metal spoons might make the heated glass crack, so avoid contact with it as much as possible.
Add the rest of the water, but make sure not to fill it all the way up, you’ll need about 2 fingers of space at the top to fit the plunger without spilling coffee. Add the plunger to the press and press just enough to submerge the plunger in coffee.
Now, wait until the timer gets to 4:00 minutes. While I wait I like to heat up the cups that I’m going to use for coffee. This is a habit of mine for all warm beverages, and most likely the temperature won’t drop enough that you’ll sense a difference.
Plunge and serve
As soon as the timer hits the 4:00 minute mark, press the plunger until the bottom and serve the coffee right away.
If possible don’t let the coffee sit in the press, instead brew small batches and serve them as you brew. If you let it sit, the coffee will continue to extract and become more and more bitter.
Enjoy!
My Tips
Hopefully, you got a great cup of coffee out of this recipe, but if you’re still having issues, here are a few tips:
- If you get residue in your coffee: consider investing in a burr grinder or have your coffee ground at the coffee shop where you buy. Most cheap grinders are not consistent and you’ll get very fine grind and very coarse in the same batch. If investing in a burr grinder is not an option for you (a good one is expensive) try a different brewing method (one that uses a paper filter).
- Inconsistent brew: You probably need to invest in a scale (you can find small, cheapish ones on Amazon). Teaspoons are deceptive and measuring with them can result in different quantities even if it’s from the same bag of coffee.
- Coffee is too weak/too strong: There are two possible causes, either the water is not at the correct temperature or the ratio that I suggested is not to your taste. You might like a little bit more coffee in your coffee then I do and for French Press, there is no gold standard ratio.
Thank you!
If you gave this recipe a try let me know in a comment how you liked it. I’m always trying to find ways to make it better and feedback is really important!
