How to Brew Coffee with a French Press

Do you love a rich, full-bodied cup with plenty of flavor? The French Press is one of the most iconic and straightforward manual brewers in the world. Unlike methods that use paper filters that strip away natural oils, here the coffee steeps directly in hot water and uses a built-in metal filter, leaving the oils intact for robust cups with a heavier mouthfeel.

Pour yourself a mug and join us as we dive into how to brew an excellent full-bodied cup with the French Press. 

What Makes the French Press Different?

The French Press is a simple, manual brew method using a cylindrical carafe (glass, metal, stoneware, or plastic) with a plunger and built-in metal mesh filter. Coarsely ground coffee steeps directly in hot water, producing a fuller-bodied cup than many paper-filtered methods since it leaves the natural oils intact.

This makes it a particularly excellent brewing method for those looking for robust, full-bodied cups of medium and dark roasts with roast-forward flavor notes. 

What You'll Need

• 8-cup French Press

• Kettle

• Water

• Coffee grinder

• Timer

• Tablespoon or a scale

• Certified organic, Fair Trade medium- or dark-roasted coffee. One of our favorites for this brew method is our Nicaraguan French Roast from our farmer partners at the Promotora de Desarrollo Cooperativo de las Segovias (PRODECOOP) for its ability to produce a rich cup with delicious flavor notes of cocoa and dark chocolate. 

French Press Grind Size and Ratio 

To brew the best cup of coffee with your French press, start with coarsely ground beans. If you use a fine grind, it may clog the filter, making it hard to press the plunger while stirring up fines into your coffee. If it’s too coarse, it may taste underextracted.

A standard coffee-to-water ratio of 1:16 is a good starting point. Our recipe works out to 1:16.93, simply because it produces the balance we prefer. But those who prefer a particularly strong brew may use 1:12, while some may want a lighter cup with a 1:18 ratio. The beauty of brewing yourself is that you get to decide what tastes best to you!

Here are some recommended amounts using a standard 8-cup French Press.

How to Brew French Press Coffee

1. Heat the water to 205°F, or simply bring the kettle to a boil and let it sit for 30 seconds. 

2. Rinse the carafe with hot water to warm it, then place it on the scale and zero it. 

3. Measure 49g of coarsely ground coffee into the carafe and zero the scale again.

4. Pour 400g of hot water over the grounds (about halfway up the carafe).

5. Start the timer and wait 30 seconds to let the coffee bloom (where the grounds expand, absorb water, and release trapped CO₂ gas) for an even extraction. 

6. At 30 seconds, stir gently for 5 seconds to break the crust that forms. 

7. Pour another 430g of water over the coffee, leaving 1” of space at the top. Place the lid on with the plunger pulled all the way up.

8. Let the coffee steep until the timer reads 5-7 minutes. 

9. Slowly press the plunger all the way down. 

10. Immediately pour the coffee into two coffee mugs. 

11. To clean the French Press, remove the plunger and add a bit of water to the grounds; give it a swirl and empty it into your compost bin or trash. Then, wash the unit.  

5 Common French Press Mistakes To Avoid

Using the Wrong Grind Size

If your coffee tastes weak or sour, it might be underextracted, which typically happens when you use too coarse of a grind or if it wasn’t steeped for the full 5-7 minutes.

Alternatively, if your coffee tastes bitter or you have a hard time pressing the plunger down, your grind might be too fine. 

Steeping Too Long (and Leaving it in the Carafe)

Steeping too long is a common mistake that can produce bitter, overextracted coffees. Be sure to use a timer and immediately pour the coffee once it’s finished brewing. 

Plunging Aggressively

When it comes time to do the plunge, avoid the temptation to force it down quickly, as that can push bitter fines through the mesh filter or cause hot coffee to spurt out the top of the carafe. Just use the weight of your hand to slowly and gently press the plunger to the bottom. 

Using Boiling Water

Water straight off the boil (212°F) can produce a harsh, bitter extraction, so aim for 205°F. If your kettle doesn’t have a temperature setting, simply let it boil and then sit for 30 seconds before adding it to the carafe.

Skipping the Stir

Skipping the stir is another common mistake. When you pour hot water over fresh grounds, the escaping gases quickly push them to the top, which can form a thick floating crust. If you don’t stir the crust, the floating grounds may not extract as well as those below, producing an uneven extraction. 

Getting the Most From Your French Press 

1. The French Press is designed for making rich, full-bodied cups of coffee. This makes it a natural match for medium-dark or dark roasts. Our dark roasted, certified organic, Fair Trade, shade-grown Ring of Fire, sourced from farmer cooperatives across Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and Papua New Guinea, is perfect for the French Press, producing bold, full-bodied cups with delicious notes of dark chocolate.  

2. Always use a coarse grind, about the texture of coarse salt, to ensure proper extraction and filtering. However, if you seem to be getting too many fines with a standard blade grinder, try a burr grinder for a more consistent grind size.

3. Don’t be afraid to dial in recipes to suit your tastes, adjusting the amount of coffee, water, or steeping time, but just be careful not to oversteep. 

4. Since coffee is mostly water, start with good-tasting tap water or filter it if your tap water has off-tastes. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Scoops of Coffee Do I Use for a French Press?

While weighing coffee can make your brews more consistent, you can measure it with tablespoons or scoops instead. Use 9-10 level tablespoons (~4-4.5 scoops) of coarsely ground coffee for a standard 8-cup French Press. Note that most coffee scoops hold 2 tablespoons, but they can vary in size. 

What Is the Best Grind Size for a French Press?

Because the French Press uses a metal mesh filter, coarsely ground coffee (about the texture of coarse sea salt) is best, as it helps keep the grounds out of your cup and also prevents fines from plugging your filter and making it hard to plunge. 

What Coffee Works Best in a French Press?

Since the French Press is famous for making rich, full-bodied coffees because it leaves the natural oils intact, this makes it work particularly well with medium and dark roasts with deep, chocolatey, nutty, and earthy flavor profiles. 

Every Great French Press Brew Starts With Great Organic, Fair Trade Beans

Brewing with a French Press is one of the easiest and most satisfying ways to brew rich, full-bodied coffees at home. When you use a coarse grind, water 30 seconds off the boil, and master your timing, you'll have a solid starting point for brewing the cup you're looking for. As a worker-owned, Certified B Corporation, we build long-term partnerships with the cooperatives behind every bag, so the beans you're brewing come with a story worth savoring, too. Just remember to pour immediately after plunging!

Since the French Press excels at highlighting full-bodied, robust flavors, it's particularly well suited for dark roasts like our certified organic, Fair Trade Nicaraguan French Roast, but it works equally well with medium roasts like our certified organic, Fair Trade Migration Celebration, sourced from our partners at COMSA (Café Orgánico Marcala Anónima) in Honduras. And since French Press brewing tends to go through beans a little faster than other methods, our bulk coffee options are worth a look if you're brewing this way often.