So, you’d like to brew with a French Press?
No problem!
We’ve put together your first fool proof recipe. Try it out, then experiment with different roast profiles, grind settings, brew times…have fun finding your perfect recipe!
Steps to making a perfect French press:
1. Pre-warm the glass, boil the water & prep coffee:
- Boil the water -Put the water on to boil. You want it to be just below boiling temperature, around 195° F, when you add it to the French Press. To easily achieve this without a thermometer, you can let the water boil and then take it off the heat to cool for a few seconds.
- Pre-warm the glass -Start by taking the lid and filter out of your French press. You’ll want the filter pushed up to the lid. While the water is heating, pre-warm your French press by pouring warm to hot water into the glass container and let it sit for a few minutes.
- Prep the coffee -Grind 55g of coffee (approx. ⅔ cup) to a medium-fine consistency and put into the bottom of the French Press.
- Let the coffee bloom.Pour a little hot water onto your grounds, moving in a circular motion (approximately 110g of water.) Give the coffee a gentle stir. Wait 20-30 seconds to allow the grounds to bloom, releasing their delicious oils and aromas.
2. Pour in the water:
- Pour in the rest of the water (approx. 600g). Don’t stir, as this can cause your grounds to fall out of suspension and alter the extraction.
3. Let the coffee brew (4+ minutes):
- Gently place the lid and filter on top of the grounds. Don’t plunge yet. Allow the coffee to brew for four minutes. If you want it even stronger, you can leave it to brew for longer, but don’t leave it too long, or it may become over-extracted and bitter.
4. Finish and enjoy:
- Press the filter down. If it’s hard to press, that means your grind is too fine, if the plunger falls immediately down to the bottom, it means your grind is too coarse. The sweet spot, pressure-wise is 15-20 pounds. Not sure what this feels like? Try it on your bathroom scale.
- When you finish pressing, serve the coffee immediately. Don’t let it sit in the grounds, as this will cause it to continue brewing and over extract.
TIPS:
- We recommend starting with a 1:13 coffee-to-water ratio. 1 part of coffee to 13 parts of water. Adjust to get your desired strength.
- Grind: On a Baratza Grinder we use setting 28. To brew traditional French Press coffee, you want a medium grind that won’t get stuck in or come through the metal filter. Too coarse and your espresso will be weak. Too fine and your filter will get stuck or your coffee will come out very silty.
Want to learn to make a single cup with your French Press? Check out our video explainer below:
