The French press method of making coffee is quite simple and always produces a rich and deep flavored mug of coffee, as long as you follow some simple rules.
Equipment needed

- A French press, there are many options online. Choose a good glass one that looks sturdy and has a good mesh plunger. Maintain the plunger by cleaning it after each use with running tap water. I wouldn’t recommend washing it in a dishwasher.
- Source of boiling water. I use my trusty electric kettle.
- A long spatula or chopstick (my personal tool of choice)
- As always a very good grinder.
The Method
- Get the water to boil, measure water based on how many cups you want to make and how much coffee you are using.
- Grind around 12-15gms of fresh coffee beans in your grinder per cup of water. That’s around 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of coffee beans. Set the grinder to get a pretty coarse grind. If you use the Baratza, you can set it to size #25.
- Pour the ground coffee into the French press
- Once the water reaches a boil ~200 F, pour about half the total amount into the French Press
- Let the coffee bloom for around 10-15 seconds after which you can stir it with your spatula/chopstick. Just a quick whisk to incorporate all the coffee into the water.
- Pour the rest of the water into the French Press and put the top back on. Do not push the plunger yet!!
- Use your timer of choice – cell phone for most of you and set it to between 3 and 4 minutes based on your taste. 4 minutes would provide full extraction, going lower reduces the extraction time for slightly weaker brews. I would not recommend going over 4 minutes.
- Once the timer goes off, push the plunger down gently and immediately pour out the coffee. Remember the coffee continues to brew even with the plunger down.
- Enjoy the perfectly brewed goodness!!
The French Press Technique
The French press method of making coffee is quite simple and always produces a rich and deep flavored mug of coffee, as long as you follow some simple rules.
Equipment needed
The Method