While slightly less convenient than a drip coffee maker, a French Press is a much better method for making coffee. When we aren’t making espresso-based drinks, this is our go-to method for making great coffee. Following a few simple steps, you will be able to make amazing coffee at home.
Equipment needed
- French Press
- Coffee beans
- Coffee Grinder (unless the coffee is already ground)
- Tea Kettle, pot, or other means for heating water.
- Cold water
- Measuring cups/spoons
- Scale (optional, but highly recommended)
To make the best coffee possible, we recommend using the freshest beans that you can wrangle. Beans roasted within the last 14 days are best. Once coffee beans are roasted, they start their inevitable decline in flavor and aroma. So when you buy your beans, look for the freshest beans possible. Many coffee roasters note the roasted-on date on their packages. Generally speaking, you are much more apt to find freshly roasted beans from a coffee roaster than from a grocery store. And if you sign up for a delivery service, you are pretty much guaranteed the freshest possible coffee.
It is best to grind your beans as close to brewing time as possible. As soon as you grind the beans, you excellerate their decline in flavor and aroma. We grind our beans right before brewing our coffee. That is how coffee shops do it, and what’s good for them is good for you. You don’t need a super fancy grinder, although burr grinders give a more consistent grind than blade grinders.
As for water, if you are fortunate enough to live in an area with good tap water, then just use that. In some areas you might need to filter your water for the best result. And if your water is chlorinated, either filtering it or letting it sit out overnight will help eliminate the chlorine taste. Where we live, we have good water, but it is chlorinated. If I know I’m going to make coffee in the french press, I draw the water the night before so the chlorine dissipates before I brew.
Heat your water
It will take a few minutes for your water to heat, so start it heating before moving on to grinding your beans. We specify using cold water. If you are trying to make great coffee, this is very important. It isn’t that hot vs cold water makes a difference. It is not a matter of temperature. We’re trying to bring the water to a certain temperature regardless of the starting point. So what’s the big deal? The problem is that hot water usually comes from a tank heater. So the water isn’t as fresh as possible. The hot water tank fills when someone uses some hot water. Depending on the size of the tank and the usage of the household, the water could have been in the water heater tank from between one hour to many, many weeks. If it is on the low end, the water is likely to be fine. But at the other end of the scale, the water could have been sitting on sludge that has accumulated in the tank for years. Gross!
Beyond the source, it’s hard to go wrong when heating your water. Use whatever method works for you. I do whatever makes sense for me at the time. Microwave it, use a tea kettle or a pot on the stove, use an electric hot water kettle, boil a tin can of water on a campfire. All of these methods will work just fine. All that matters is that the water is hot enough to make your coffee. The ideal temperature for this is about 195F. This isn’t super critical, but it helps to be as close as possible. If you have a thermometer, you can use it to get the temperature just right. You can also just boil your water and then let it sit for 1 – 3 minutes off the heat to cool down a bit.
Grind those Beans
The next step is to grind your beans (if they’re not already ground…but please spend a few bucks on a decent burr grinder so you can have freshly ground coffee every time you make it!).
How should I grind my beans for the French Press?
The best method for grinding your beans is to use a burr grinder. This will yield the most consistent grind, which is essential to get good flavor extraction. Grinding beans in a blade grinder results in very inconsistent grounds. The problem with this is that a significant amount of the coffee ends up being far too fine, which causes the coffee to become inordinately bitter.
No matter which method you use for grinding your beans, you are shooting for a pretty coarse grind. Most of the better burr grinders have a setting for French Press. If you’re not sure, have a coffee shop grind a small amount for French Press, and keep some of that for an example of what you’re trying for.
When you make your coffee and press down the plunger there should be some resistance. If it goes down without much resistance, then the grind is too coarse. On the other hand, if there is too much resistance, then the grind is too fine. It is like a handshake – you don’t want it to be limply weak or aggressively hard. You are looking for it to be confidently firm.
How much coffee should I use for my French Press?
Although the exact amount of ground coffee to use for your French Press is a matter of preference, we can provide some general guidance. While it is not always convenient to use a scale when making coffee, to get the most consistent results, we highly recommend using a scale to measure both the coffee and the water you are using. If you like your coffee strong, then start at a 1:10 coffee to water ratio, which is roughly 6 tablespoons of coffee per 12 ounces of water. . If you like your coffee very weak, then go for a 1:16 ratio (roughly 4 tablespoons per 12 ounces of water). Again, it is far better to use a scale and measure your amounts in grams.
I ground my coffee…what next?
At this point your coffee is ground and your water is hot. Some people preheat their French Press. I’ve never found this to make any discernible difference. I prefer to move straight to making the coffee.
Put your ground coffee in the French Press. If you are being precise (recommended) place the French Press on your scale and then tare the scale. And then add the amount of coffee needed for the amount of coffee you are making. For me, I prefer a strong coffee. And I also prefer easy math. So if I am making 2 cups of coffee, I will use 40 grams of coffee grounds. Put the entirety of your specified grounds in the press. In my example, 40 grams. Add to that twice the amount of water (80 additional grams). So at this point, if you’re using a scale, you should have a total of 120 grams in the press. Give that a good stir. This helps the coffee grounds to bloom and makes a better developed coffee. After about 30 seconds, fill the press with the rest of the water, bringing the total to 2 cups (400 grams).
Now just place the top on the beaker. Do NOT plunge. Now you get to wait. Give it 3 to 3 1/2 minutes. Be patient. When you have patiently waited for 3 – 3 ½ minutes it is time. Plunge! Yes! Pay attention to how easily the plunger goes down. If it is too easy or too hard, make a note so you can adjust for next time. As stated above, if the plunger goes down too easily, then next time you’ll want to grind the coffee a little more finely. If it is difficult to push down, then next time make the grounds a little more coarse
Enjoy!
Now it is time to pour your coffee. If you prefer your coffee with cream and/or sugar, add it now. If you have filled all of your cups, and still have some left over then you have a choice to make. You can dump it. You can let it sit in the press while it becomes an undrinkable sludge. You can put it in a cup and microwave it later. You can put it in a thermos or some other thermal insulator (rhymes with MydroFlask) that will preserve the coffee until you are able to consume it. Seriously – anything other than a thermos/hydro flask-type device is a horrible option. There is no reheating option that works well. If anything other than reheating is not an option, just compost it all or dump it down the drain.