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French press being poured into a glass mug

How to Make Coffee with a French Press

    Sure-footed and sincere

    French press coffee is dense and heavy, yet it has its own sort of elegance. As with any method, the devil is in the details: To achieve a full expression of the coffee, decant it immediately after brewing so it doesn’t become bitter or chalky. Then, sink into this rich and heady cup. It only takes four minutes to brew.

    Brew Time

    4 minutes

    WHAT YOU'LL NEED

    Coffee
    French press
    Grinder
    Kettle
    Scale
    Timer
    Wooden spoon



    Coffee bean icon

    Coffee Amount

    30 grams

    Hand grinder icon

    Grind Size

    Coarse

    Water temp icon

    WATER AMT AND TEMP

    205°

    Clock icon

    BREW TIME

    4 min

    Step One

    Boil water

    Bring enough water to fill the French press to a boil. For a 17-oz press, you'll need about 350 grams (12 ounces).

    Fellow Stagg EKG Pour-Over Kettle

    Step Two

    Grind and weigh your coffee

    While the water is heating, grind your coffee. French press coffee calls for a coarse, even grind. We recommend starting with a 1:12 coffee-to-water ratio. If you're using 350 grams of water, you’ll want 30 grams of coffee.

    Ground coffee

    Step Three

    Bloom the coffee

    Gently pour twice the amount of water than you have coffee onto your grounds. For example, if you have 30 grams of coffee, you’ll want to start with 60 grams of water. Give the grounds a gentle stir with a bamboo paddle or chopstick. Allow the coffee to bloom for 30 seconds.


    Step Four

    Pour the remaining water and place the lid gently on top of the grounds.

    Don’t plunge just yet. Let the coffee steep for four minutes. Four. Don’t guess.

    French press full of coffee

    Step Five

    Gently remove your French press from the scale and place it on your counter. Press the filter down.

    If it’s hard to press, that means your grind is too fine; if the plunger “thunks” immediately down to the floor, it means your grind is too coarse. The sweet spot, pressure-wise, is 15–20 lbs. Not sure what this feels like? Try it out on your bathroom scale.

    When you’ve finished pressing, serve the coffee immediately. Don’t let it sit, as this will cause it to continue brewing and over-extract.

    Bodum french press