Coffee · Brewing Method

French press coffee

A full-immersion brew that's hard to get wrong: coarse grounds, hot water, four minutes, plunge. Here's the simple version, plus how to fix it when it's off.

The short version
  1. Use a 1:15 ratio — roughly 30 g coffee to 450 g water for two cups.
  2. Grind coarse (like coarse sea salt) and use water just off the boil, about 200 °F.
  3. Bloom 30 seconds, top up, steep 4 minutes, then plunge slowly.
  4. Pour it all out immediately — coffee left on the grounds turns bitter.
01 — Before you start

What you need

Two things matter more than the rest: a coarse, even grind and the right coffee-to-water ratio. Get those and a basic press makes a great cup.

Ratio 1 : 15coffee to water, by weight
Two cups 30 g : 450 g≈ 2 rounded tbsp per cup if no scale
Grind Coarselike coarse sea salt
Water ~200 °Fboil, then wait 30 sec (93 °C)

Grind matters most. Too fine and the grounds slip through the mesh, the plunge fights you, and the cup turns gritty and bitter; too coarse and it's weak and sour. A coarse, uniform grind is the whole game.

02 — Six steps

The method

Start to finish is about five minutes. Don't skip the bloom or the immediate pour-off — they're what separate a clean cup from a muddy one.

01
Preheat the press
Swirl a little hot water in the empty carafe, then dump it. Keeps the brew temperature stable.
02
Add the grounds
Coarse grounds into the bottom — 30 g for two cups, or scale to your ratio.
03
Bloom
Pour just enough water to wet all the grounds (about double their volume) and wait. It'll foam as CO₂ escapes — that's freshness.
⏱ 30 seconds
04
Pour the rest & stir
Add the remaining water, give it one gentle stir, then rest the lid on top with the plunger pulled all the way up. Don't press yet.
05
Steep
Leave it alone. Four minutes is the standard sweet spot.
⏱ 4 minutes
06
Plunge & pour off
Press down slow and steady, then decant all of it into a mug or carafe right away. Leaving it on the grounds keeps extracting and turns it bitter.
03 — Tasting & troubleshooting

Dialing it in

The plunge itself is a useful gauge: if it's hard to push, your grind is too fine; if it drops with no resistance, too coarse. After that, taste tells you what to change.

Bitter / harsh
Over-extracted. Grind coarser, drop the water temperature a touch, or shorten the steep.
Weak / sour
Under-extracted. Grind finer or steep a little longer, and check you're using enough coffee.
Gritty / muddy
Grind too fine for the mesh, or it sat on the grounds. Go coarser and pour off immediately.
One habit worth keeping

Change one variable at a time — grind, dose, or time — and you'll quickly learn what your beans want. Adjust grind before anything else; it has the biggest effect.

Empty the spent grounds into the compost or trash, not the sink — they clog drains.