How To Make French Press Coffee

Coffee is so amazing since there are literally hundreds of ways to make it.

But in the end, we just want delicious cup of coffee, a simple pleasure that wakes us up in the morning and see us throughout the day.

And as the saying goes “better latte than never”, I obviously took too long to try and make my own french press coffee.

Making it and perfecting it to my liking wasn’t simple.

It turned out I was missing some key elements that I had to actually read and learn about in order to improve my french press coffee. And now I’m going to share with you in very short and precise way, how to make french press coffee, so you won’t get confused like me.

What Is French Press Coffee?

The french press coffee maker was invented in France in the mid-1800s, and it took several different names since. Some of the names you might hear around the world are: French Press, melior, coffee machine piston, plunger coffee, press pot.

(Let me know if you know some more)

Basically, the french press is a a cylindrical pot with a plunger and built-in filter screen that presses hot water through ground coffee. It’s made mostly of glass, but you will find it in metal or ceramic version, too.

Honestly, I’ve tried coffee from metal french press and I kind of felt some weid aftertaste in my coffee, so I opted for the glass one.

And that’s it, as simple as it is, this coffee method creates one of the tastiest and richest cups of coffee.

However, the process of making it is not as simple as the french press maker.

Read on to see everything you need to know before making your own french press coffee.

What You Need To Know Before Starting Off With French Press

1. Grind

The grind size for french press needs to be medium and consistent. You’ll find the perfect grind size with practice.

If it’s too fine, the grinds will pass through the filter, and the plunging will seem too easy. While if the grounds are too coarse, they might clog the filter, and as a result, the plunging will feel hard to do.

2. Coffee and water ratio for french press

Although there is no original or definitive coffee to water ratio for a french press, 1:12 seems to be a popular choice.

The instructions below make 2 cups of coffee, or two servings. But what if you want to make more or less? Here’s a calculator for any coffee ratio that you want to make.

# of Cups	Coffee (g)	Water (g)
1	30 g	350 g
2	60 g	700 g
3	90 g	1050 g
4	120 g	1400 g

How To Make Coffee With French Press

STEP #1. Start with boiling enough water

Bring enough water to fill the French press to a boil. For 1 cup of coffee, you’ll need about 350 grams of water.

Once it boils, leave it for 30 seconds to come to the right temperature.

In the meantime do STEP# 2

STEP #2. Grind your coffee beans

While the water is heating, grind your coffee. You already learnt that the french press coffee calls for a coarse, even grind. You can start with a 1:12 coffee-to-water ratio. So, for 350 grams of water, you’ll want 30 grams of ground coffee, or 3-4 tablespoons.

That’s why a digital scale will come very handy, but it’s not really necessary.

STEP #3. Time to put everything together

Put the coffee grounds in the pot and start with gently pouring the hot water onto the grounds. You don’t want to spill all the water fast, so start with double the amount of coffee, stir it gently and allow the coffee to bloom for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

After you bloomed the coffee nicely, pour the remaining water to the coffee and place the lid. Don’t plunge just, yet.

Wait for exactly 4 minutes for the coffee to brew. Don’t guess, so use kitchen timer, or the phone.

STEP #4. Time to plunge

Gently press the filter down. It shouldn’t feel too easy or hard to press.

If it’s easy to press, it means the grind is too coarse, if it’s hard it’s too fine. But with enough practice you’ll know your perfect spot.

And, that’s it.

Your french press coffee is done.

Make sure to serve your coffee immediately. Staying in the pot for long will cause the coffee to brew more and over-extract.

Caffeine In French Press Coffee

The caffeine in french press coffee is pretty low, because the coffee grounds are pretty coarse. And they need to be, if you don’t want a cup full of coffee grounds. However, it’s a very elegant coffee for any coffee date with friends or family.

Approximately, 1 cup of french press coffee has 80 – 135mg of caffeine.

Benefits Of French Press Coffee

1. You can customize it to your very own taste

French Press allows users to make a cup of coffee according to their own individual taste.

You can easily vary the amount of time the coffee grounds are steeped, or the temperature of the water. Plus, you can have it hot, or cold, with milk or without, it’s perfect in any way.

Why not add some spices, like cinnamon, or cloves for aromatic coffee drink?

You are limited only by your imagination.

So, enjoy it!

3. It’s one of the easiest ways to make great cup of coffee

And it makes it easy to brew coffee for several people at once. Of course, if you have the big size french press.

4. It retains the taste of the coffee grounds

French press retains more of the natural oils from the coffee grounds, which many people agree that it’s what gives the coffee its finest taste. That’s because french press does not use a filter and the natural flavor of the coffee grounds is not filtered out.

5. It’s easy portable almost anywhere

Because the french press is actualy a pot with plunger, and it doesn’t require direct need of electricity, it’s very easy to take with you, as long as you are able to get hot water.

It’s small enough to take it on hiking, picnics, and camping, and all you need is coffee and water you can heat over a campfire.

Sounds amazing, right?

Cleaning The French Press Properly

It’s very easy for the coffee grounds to get stuck in the french press filter, and that’s why is important to know how to clean it properly every now and then, apart from washing it immediately after using it.

For proper cleaning, you need to disassemble the french press, which means you’ll need to unscrew the plunger base from the rod.

The basic elements of a french press are:

• Pitcher
• Cross plate (the plastic or stainless steel bottom piece of the plunger)
• Filter (the middle piece of the plunger)
• Spiral plate (the stainless steel top piece of the plunger)
• Rod that keeps everything together

Make sure you remember to put them back in the same order.

In this way you can scrub and wash each part separately, and make sure there is no oils or other build ups on the french press parts.

After wsahing, leave it to dry completely, and put everything back together.

Now you are ready for another cup of french press.

Final Words From Me

So, there you have it. One of the easiest, but tastiest way to make a perfect cup of coffee.

Now you are ready to make your own french press coffee at home.

What are your thoughts?

Have you tried french press?

Let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear from you!

Until next one,

Enjoy Your Coffee!