Overview

The French Press serves as a staple coffee-brewing method for starters — one of the hardest methods to master, but significantly rewarding once you do. Most complaints concerning the French Press revolve around the coffee coming out silty or gritty. Since the metal filter does allow small bits of coffee to flow through, opportunity arises for some extra "seasoning" in your cup. Don't worry! Not every cup has to be that way. Here is the process we use for French Press to make a clean, delicious cup.

Step 1

In a kettle, heat up at least 400g of water to between 195 degrees F and 205 degrees F.

Step 2

While the water is heating up, measure and grind your coffee. We recommend a slightly coarser grind for the French Press — the coffee should resemble sea salt, so the metal filter can catch more of the grounds.

Step 3

Add your freshly ground coffee to the French Press. Start your timer, then add the full amount of water and disperse evenly throughout the grounds. Let sit for one minute to bloom, which is longer here than the standard pour over.

Step 4

At the one-minute mark, take a spoon and give the coffee grounds a good stir. This marks the end of the French Press bloom. Then, stir the grounds again to agitate the coffee and force the release of any leftover trapped air. From here, you'll see the coffee grounds slowly fall to the bottom of the French Press (it may still float on darker roasts). Let sit one more minute.

Step 5

At the two-minute mark, stir the coffee grounds one last time. For light roasts, spoon away any leftover floaties from the top. Let the coffee brew for another two minutes — these last two minutes are the magic sauce of this brew method, as the coffee grounds are fully immersed at the bottom of the French Press. The coffee flavor will reach a whole new level as it is being fully extracted.

Step 6

At four minutes, press the coffee down with the lid handle and pour the coffee into your cup.

Tools Needed
French Press
Scale
Kettle
Spoon

Recipe
30g of coffee
400g of water

Brew Time
4:00 minutes

Brew Tips

Leave a small offering of coffee in your French Press. This will keep much of the soot in the brewer. You'll have a delicious cup of coffee and your compost will smell much better with that offering.

For darker roasts, brew with slightly cooler water, as low as 180 degrees F. Lighter roasts are typically more flavorful and contain more sugar. This requires a higher temperature to extract the full flavor profile of a light roast.

Overview

The French Press serves as a staple coffee-brewing method for starters — one of the hardest methods to master, but significantly rewarding once you do. Most complaints concerning the French Press revolve around the coffee coming out silty or gritty. Since the metal filter does allow small bits of coffee to flow through, opportunity arises for some extra "seasoning" in your cup. Don't worry! Not every cup has to be that way. Here is the process we use for French Press to make a clean, delicious cup.

Step 1

In a kettle, heat up at least 400g of water to between 195 degrees F and 205 degrees F.

Step 2

While the water is heating up, measure and grind your coffee. We recommend a slightly coarser grind for the French Press — the coffee should resemble sea salt, so the metal filter can catch more of the grounds.

Step 3

Add your freshly ground coffee to the French Press. Start your timer, then add the full amount of water and disperse evenly throughout the grounds. Let sit for one minute to bloom, which is longer here than the standard pour over.

Step 4

At the one-minute mark, take a spoon and give the coffee grounds a good stir. This marks the end of the French Press bloom. Then, stir the grounds again to agitate the coffee and force the release of any leftover trapped air. From here, you'll see the coffee grounds slowly fall to the bottom of the French Press (it may still float on darker roasts). Let sit one more minute.

Step 5

At the two-minute mark, stir the coffee grounds one last time. For light roasts, spoon away any leftover floaties from the top. Let the coffee brew for another two minutes — these last two minutes are the magic sauce of this brew method, as the coffee grounds are fully immersed at the bottom of the French Press. The coffee flavor will reach a whole new level as it is being fully extracted.

Step 6

At four minutes, press the coffee down with the lid handle and pour the coffee into your cup.