French Press

Recipe for a clean and delicious cup

  • Ratio: 1:15 (30 g coffee : 450 g water)

    • Scale this up or down to your volume needs.

  • Grind size: Medium (most people say coarse, but it’s not needed; medium grind avoids under-extraction while supporting sediment settling).

  • Water temperature: 199°F; use fresh, clean, soft/filtered water (learn more about good coffee water here).

  • Total time: 9+ Minutes (quite forgiving)

Step-by-Step Brewing Process

  1. Preparation:

    • Use digital scale for accuracy (essential for consistency and troubleshooting).

    • Grind fresh coffee (pre-ground works but inferior flavor, learn more about that here).

    • Add coffee grounds to French press

  2. Pour & steep:

    • Heat water.

    • Pour all water (450 g) over grounds quickly and evenly to fully saturate.

    • Let sit undisturbed for 4 minutes.

  3. Stir & skim:

    • Gently stir to break up crust/foam (most grounds will sink).

    • Scoop off remaining floating bits/foam and discard.

  4. Settle:

    • Do nothing for at least 5 minutes (you can wait longer if you need). Go make breakfast or something.

    • This allows grounds/fines time settle into bed at bottom, giving you a cleaner pour and less silt.

    • Coffee cools slightly which is a benefit. You’re probably not drinking 199° coffee. So if it’s going to sit in a cup anyway, just let it sit in the french press so you get a cleaner cup and better coffee.

    • You can pour after a total of 5-6 minutes if you like the silt.

  5. Serve:

    • Insert plunger but do not press all the way down (just rest on surface to act as loose strainer; pressing stirs up sediment).

    • Gently pour into cup(s) — slow pour keeps sediment behind. Don’t pour every drop of liquid, if your press is clear you can visually see the silt start to come up the glass.

    • Enjoy a clean, rich, and full-bodied cup of coffee!

  6. Cleanup:

    • Discard grounds, rinse press.

Adjustments & Troubleshooting

  • Strength preference:

    • Stronger: Increase to 1:13-1:14 (33–35g coffee for 450g water).

    • Milder: Decrease to 1:16-1:17 (26–28g coffee for 450g water).

  • If too silty: Did you plunge? Don’t! Finer grind helps extraction but ensure thorough skimming/settling; longer settle time.

  • If sour/under-extracted: Finer grind or hotter water.

  • If bitter/over-extracted: Coarser grind or cooler water.