How to Brew a French Press

The French press is an elegant and classic brew method, popular all over the world. It is a stylish and timeless brewing device, but also one of the easiest ways to make coffee at home. The French press is also known as the Cafetière, Plunger, or Press Pot.

The French press has fallen out of fashion with many baristas, but with the right method, it is an excellent way of making coffee. Rediscover this classic brewer with our perfect French press method.

When to use a French press

Coffee from the French press has a rich and intense flavor, and a full body. This makes it the ideal brew method to choose when you want to emphasize rich body or heavy sweetness in your coffee — for example when brewing full-bodied coffees from Brazil or Indonesia, or fruity, naturally processed coffees like those from Ethiopia and Yemen.

The French press is also a very forgiving brew method. You can still get great results with the French press, even if you don’t get the grind size exactly perfect or if you make small mistakes during brewing. For this reason, the French press is a great method to use if you’re just starting out on your coffee journey.

If you’re somebody who needs to have a coffee to be able to function in the morning, the French press is also the best answer to the question: ‘How can I make good coffee when I haven’t had my coffee yet?’ Since it’s easy to brew and so forgiving, you can make a great French press even if you haven’t fully woken up yet!

Best of all, with the French press it’s easy to make large amounts of coffee in a single brew, which makes the French press the perfect method for brewing coffee to share with friends and family.

Common mistakes to avoid

There are two main pitfalls to watch out for when brewing a French press: The first is finding a way to stop small particles of coffee from ending up in your cup. Coffee from the French press can sometimes be gritty or muddy, because the mesh filter inside a French press doesn’t remove the smallest particles of coffee. Our perfect brewing method for the French press reduces the amount of particles that pass through the filter, giving you a nice clean cup.

The other common mistake when brewing with a French press is to use a very coarse grind. Many baristas choose a coarse grind size to brew a French press, to reduce the amount of particles that pass through the filter. However, by grinding too coarse, you miss out on some of the flavor of the coffee. To make the best French press coffee, baristas should use a medium-fine grind — we can use a different trick to keep the grit out of our coffee.

So without further ado, here’s our method for the perfect French press coffee. With this method, you’ll be making rich, smooth coffee in no time at all.

You Will Need

• French press. A 350ml French press is perfect for two cups, or a 600ml French press can brew four cups at a time.
• Freshly roasted coffee beans. The French press is perfect for rich full-bodied coffees like this Yemeni natural process coffee
• Coffee grinder. You can make a French press with pre-ground coffee, but you will get much more flavor and aroma from freshly-ground beans. Choose a grinder designed for brewed coffee, such as the Baratza Encore
•  Kettle, to heat the water. You can use an ordinary kettle or even a saucepan, but a specialized kettle for coffee brewing makes it easier to get the right temperature.
• Server. It’s best to pour out all of the coffee after brewing, so unless you’re drinking all the coffee right away, you’ll need a separate jug or server for the rest of the coffee.
• Filtered water. Water is the main ingredient in your coffee. Using filtered or bottled water will give a much better flavor than tap water. You can buy specialized water filters for brewing coffee such as the Peak Water filter (available soon).
• Scale. It’s best to weigh your coffee and water for the most consistent results. A large coffee scale such as the Hario V60 Drip Scale is perfect for this.
• Timer. If your scale doesn’t have a built-in timer, then you will need a separate timer.
• Two large spoons. Any spoon will do, but this method is easiest with a spoon that has a deep bowl, like these cupping spoons.

Time needed: 10 minutes.

Method

Grind the coffee

Coffee starts losing aroma as soon as you grind it. It’s best to grind the coffee just before brewing, if possible.

For best results, use a medium-fine grind. The coffee grounds should be similar in texture to table salt. The ideal setting is coarser than you would use for an aeropress, but finer than you would use for most filter coffee brewing methods. Note: most online guides recommend a coarse grind size, but this will miss some of the flavor in the coffee!

Put the coffee in the press

One of the benefits of using the French press is that you can brew any amount of coffee you like. Keep the ratio of coffee to water the same, and just adjust the recipe to the amount you want to make.

We recommend using 7 grams of coffee for every 100 milliliters of water. So if you are using a 600ml French press, then use 42 grams of coffee and 600 milliliters of water. If you don’t have a scale, then you can measure roughly 7 grams of coffee with a measuring spoon.

If you prefer a weaker or a stronger coffee, you can adjust the amount of coffee that you use to your taste.

Heat the water

Fill your kettle with filtered water and bring it to a temperature of 94°C (201°F). If you don’t have a thermometer, then bring the water to a boil and let it cool for two or three minutes before brewing.

Pour in the water

You can measure the amount of water that you want to use with a scale. Each milliliter of water weighs one gram, so 600 milliliters of water weighs 600 grams.

Pour all the water onto the coffee in one go, making sure to get all of the coffee wet. It can help to pour the water in gentle circles to make sure that all of the coffee gets mixed into the water and there are no floating clumps of dry coffee.

Once all the water is in, set a timer for four minutes. Don’t move the French press during this time.

We recommend leaving the lid off while the coffee brews. This may sound strange, but leaving the lid off extracts more flavor from the coffee. It also gives the coffee a chance to cool slightly, which will improve the flavor.

Stir

After four minutes have passed, gently stir the coffee. If you want to be consistent, try to stir the same way every time you brew — for example, by counting the number of times that you stir and keeping that the same each time. Make sure that the spoon reaches all the way to the bottom of the brewer when you stir.

Skim

This is the step that reduces the amount of sludge in your cup. It’s a little bit fiddly, but well worth taking the extra time to do if you want a clean cup of coffee.

With your two spoons, try to skim any foam and floating coffee grounds off the top of the coffee. The easiest way to do this is to place both spoons to the back of the jug, and drag the foam towards you. Scoop up the foam in one of the spoons and discard.

Step 1: Place spoons at the back of the jug. Step 2: Drag the foam towards you. Step 3: Scoop up the foam and discard.

After skimming the brew, set the timer for another four minutes, and leave the coffee to settle to the bottom.

Plunge

After the four minutes have passed, gently push down the plunger — but don’t push it all the way down. Stop plunging just before it touches the coffee. The aim of this step is to avoid disturbing the sediment at the bottom of the French press.

Decant

Slowly pour all of the coffee out into your cups, or into a separate jug. It’s important not to leave any coffee sitting in the French press, or it will quickly become bitter.

How to choose the right grind size

Changing the grind size changes the flavor of the coffee. Every grinder is different, so we can’t tell you exactly what setting to use — but we can give you some pointers to find the perfect grind size for your brewer.

You may also find that different coffees need a different grind size to get the best flavor — for example, lighter-roasted coffees often taste better with a coarser grind size than dark-roasted coffees do.

Finding the perfect grind size for your coffee therefore takes a bit of trial and error. Brew a coffee, taste it, and then adjust the grind size for the next brew, until the coffee tastes perfect!

With the French press, choosing the right grind size is all about flavor. If the coffee is too bitter or has an ashy, burned flavor, then choose a coarser grind size. If the coffee is too sour or tastes weak, then choose a finer grind size.

With this method, you can get the most from your French press. Coffee brewed this way can be clean, rich and full of flavor — try our method and let us know how you get on!