French Press Brew Guide
In A Nutshell
- Determine how much ground coffee you need and how much coffee you’ll want to be making: 6g of coffee to 100ml of water. E.g. 21g of coffee to 350ml of water.
- Grind the desired amount of coffee coarse, or measure out your pre-ground coarse coffee.
- Boil your kettle with filtered, clean water for the best results.
- Put the French press with coffee in on the scales and pour the desired amount of water into it: 1g of water is 1ml.
- Leave it to sit for 4 minutes.
- Stir the coffee crust a few times, letting the grounds sink to the bottom, then scoop out as much of the coffee and foam that remains on the surface as you can.
- Put the lid on the press letting the screen sit on the surface of the liquid, then leave it for at least 4 minutes.
- Gently press the plunger down making sure the screen does not touch the coffee grounds at the bottom of the press.
- Pour and enjoy.
What is the French press?
The French press, or cafetiere, is one of the cheapest, easiest, and most accessible ways of making fresh coffee that can taste incredible if done right. If you’ve never brewed coffee before, the French press is going to be the gateway to this wonderful world of coffee.
It is an immersion method of brewing, which is to say that it relies on the coffee sitting in the water and extracting over time. There are other methods of immersion, but you’re here to learn about using your French press to get the most delicious result possible.
What you'll need
French press – You’ll be surprised to hear that you need one of these! Don’t worry too much about specifics – just get one that’s big enough for what you need and stylish enough.
Digital scales – Ideally your scales should be able to display 0.1g for better accuracy, but we can still work with whatever digital scales you have to hand if you don’t want to invest just yet. We need these scales because we will be weighing our coffee and water to allow for consistent results every time, and to make sure you get the best brew possible. I recommend these scales on Amazon if you’re starting out and need something that won’t break the bank https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07D4MVPQB/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_6T8QRX5VGJMASA4SJ1DM?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Coffee – As standard, coffee that is used in the French press is coarsely ground, so if you’re starting out I would use a coarse grind for simplicity, but you can experiment if you like later down the line by using your own burr grinder to grind finer with the same coffee to find which grind provides the best results for you. It is a simple rule that the finer the grind then the more surface area there is for the water to extract coffee, meaning the extraction will be quicker. Be warned though: coffee can be over-extracted, leading to some nasty bitterness. This is what I mean when I say you can experiment, because at some point the grind will be so fine as to cause these bitter flavours through the over-extraction, so you want to avoid grinding too fine.
Spoon – Any spoon will do, really. You’ll be using it to stir and scoop.
Water and Kettle – You should already have a kettle, but do you have filtered water? It’s best to use clean and crisp filtered water to give the truest flavour in your coffee. It’ll also prevent your kettle from developing limescale which is an added bonus.
Cup – You’re not going to be drinking it straight out of the press, are you?
How much coffee do you need?
I use the ratio of 6g of coffee to 100ml of water when I’m brewing with the French press, so this is what I will be instructing you to use as well. Determine how much coffee you will be wanting and figure out how much ground coffee you will need for it.
In case you didn’t know, 1g of water is equal to 1ml, so we can determine how much liquid your mug/cup holds by putting water in it and weighing it. Let’s say you have a mug that hold 350ml of liquid to the brim, you’ll be wanting to use 21g of coffee. It’s best to measure the liquid to the brim because you’ll lose some of the water through the saturation of the coffee.
Let's start brewing
When you’re done waiting, give the coffee that’s sitting at the top of the liquid a few stirs. This will cause a lot of the coffee to start falling to the bottom of the press, leaving some stragglers at the top with some foam. Take your spoon and try and scoop that off and dump it in your sink.
Ready to drink your coffee? Well it’s time to be patient again.
Put the lid onto the press letting the screen sit on top of the liquid, then leave it for 4 minutes. This extra time will allow the water to extract even more coffee, and will give it time to cool down to an ideal drinking temperature.
I recommend taking this time to make yourself some breakfast, scrolling through your social media feed, or take pictures for your Instagram to show off how much of a coffee snob you’re becoming.
At the end of the wait, gently press down the plunger but don’t let the screen hit the coffee at the bottom as you risk disturbing the bed and causing sludge to squeeze past the sides of the screen. Hold onto the lid, and pour that delicious liquid into your vessel of choice.
I always drink my coffee black so that I can taste the natural sweetness of the fresh brewed coffee and get the tasting notes, but you can add milk and sugar if you so desire. I would advise trying it black though at least once if you don’t drink it black already, especially as the milk will only cool the coffee down more and the sugar will mask the flavours you’ve been working so hard to get through your brew.
Now that you have the basics sorted, feel free to experiment and try your own method of brewing. Compare your results with the results from this method and develop your own way of brewing coffee that suits your and your lifestyle. It won’t be long before you become a fully fledged coffee snob. Enjoy your coffee.
At the end of the wait, gently press down the plunger but don’t let the screen hit the coffee at the bottom as you risk disturbing the bed and causing sludge to squeeze past the sides of the screen. Hold onto the lid, and pour that delicious liquid into your vessel of choice.
I always drink my coffee black so that I can taste the natural sweetness of the fresh brewed coffee and get the tasting notes, but you can add milk and sugar if you so desire. I would advise trying it black though at least once if you don’t drink it black already, especially as the milk will only cool the coffee down more and the sugar will mask the flavours you’ve been working so hard to get through your brew.
Now that you have the basics sorted, feel free to experiment and try your own method of brewing. Compare your results with the results from this method and develop your own way of brewing coffee that suits your and your lifestyle. It won’t be long before you become a fully fledged coffee snob. Enjoy your coffee.
