French Press

Full-bodied and forgiving, the French press lets the coffee breathe. With no paper filter between you and the cup, you get the whole story: oils, texture, and all the earthy warmth that makes a single origin worth getting curious about. A weekend staple for good reason.

What You'll Need

French press (350ml or larger)
Burr grinder
Kitchen scale
Kettle (gooseneck preferred)
Timer
Spoon or stirring stick

Recipe

Coffee: 30g
Water: 500ml
Water temperature: 93 to 96°C
Grind size: Coarse
Total brew time: 4 minutes
Yield: Approx. 400ml

Steps

1

Preheat your French press by rinsing it with hot water. This keeps your brew temperature steady from the first pour.

2

Discard the rinse water, then add 30g of coarsely ground coffee to the empty press.

3

Start your timer and pour in 500ml of water just off the boil, between 93 and 96°C. Pour slowly and evenly to saturate all the grounds.

4

Give it a gentle stir to break the crust of grounds floating on top.

5

Place the lid on the press with the plunger pulled all the way up. Do not press down yet.

6

Let it steep for 4 minutes undisturbed. Use this time to warm your mug.

7

Press the plunger down slowly and steadily, then pour immediately into your cup. Do not let the brew sit on the spent grounds.

Tips

✦︎

Grind coarser than you think you need to. Too fine a grind pushes through the mesh filter and leaves you with a gritty, over-extracted cup.

✦︎

Pour as soon as you press. Leaving the brew on the spent grounds for even an extra minute continues the extraction and dulls the clarity of the flavor notes.