How To Make The Perfect French Press Coffee

The simplest method for great coffee

The French Press is one of the simplest ways to make coffee at home, it makes a really great cup, and is hard to get wrong. It makes a slightly different tasting coffee to a pour over or chemex, as the metal filter allows more fine particulates and oils through, creating a rich body. 

Equipment Required

You will need your standard coffee equipment, a kettle, grinder, scale, and a timer. Plus you will need a French press. I'm using the Hario Harior Bright French Press, I love the simple design of their products. 

You will will also need a fresh smooth coffee like our Sanctuary Premium Blend.

Step 1 - Preheat the French Press

Boil the kettle, and partially fill the French press with boiling water. This will ensure that you won't lose much temperature during brewing.

Step 2 - Add coffee and bloom

Use a ratio of around 16:1 depending on taste. So for one large cup (my preference) I would use 400g of water to 25g of coffee. In this recipe I'll make two regular sized cups so I'm using 640g of water to 40g of coffee, still 16:1. 

This is partly why using a scale is important, as it means you get a consistently good cup EVERY time. And for volume, 1g of water is equal to 1ml.

Grind your beans coarse, so it looks like sea salt. A good entry level coffee grinder like the Baratza Encore (set to 28) works amazingly well for French press.

Add your coffee to the press, reset the scale, and add about 3x as much water. (so for 40g of coffee I'd used 120g of water) Gently stir to saturate the grounds.

Step 3 - Brew

After 30 seconds, add the remaining (hot, not boiling) water up to 640g. 

Set the lid on the top of the French press, and push the plunger down a little just enough to submerge the grounds. Wait for 4 minutes.

Step 4 - Plunge & Enjoy!

After 4 minutes, gently press the plunger down and serve immediately.

Step 5 - Drink!

The coffee underneath the plunger will continue to extract, so if you are making a large pot, pour the coffee into another serving vessel or it will over-extract and become bitter. 

Summary

This method of brewing coffee has been used for over a hundred years, and is very popular worldwide. It's also many people's first introduction to 'good coffee', as it is simple and effective.

As I said above in Step 2, a good grinder will make a world of difference here. Many people buy good quality beans and then use a poor quality grinder, only to miss out on the amazing flavours and smoothness. I consider the Baratza Encore the best entry level grinder, that will give the consistency required for great coffee, all the time.

And make sure you use a freshly roasted coffee like our Sanctuary Blend, or if you like something even bolder, try our Halton House.

I hope you've enjoyed this guide, any questions, please leave a comment below.