The French press (or cafetière) is one of the most accessible brewing methods — no filters, no electricity, no fuss. Coarse grounds steep directly in hot water for four minutes, then a metal mesh plunger separates the grounds from the brew. The result is a full-bodied, rich cup with more oils and texture than filtered methods.
Difficulty
beginner
Brew time
4 minutes
Grind
Coarse — like raw sugar or breadcrumbs
Ratio
1:15 (e.g., 30g coffee to 450g water)
Fill the French press with hot water, swirl, and discard. This keeps your brew temperature stable throughout steeping.
Add 30g of coarsely ground coffee. The grind should look like raw sugar — much coarser than drip. Too fine and you'll get muddy, bitter coffee that's hard to press.
Pour 450g of hot water (just off the boil, ~94°C) over the grounds. Give it one gentle stir to ensure all grounds are wet. Do not over-stir.
Place the lid on (with plunger up) and let it steep for exactly 4 minutes. Resist the urge to push early — patience is the whole technique here.
Press the plunger down with slow, steady pressure over 15-20 seconds. If it's very hard to press, your grind is too fine. If there's no resistance, it's too coarse.
Pour all the coffee out right away. If you leave coffee in the press, it continues to extract and becomes bitter. Decant into a carafe if you're not drinking it all at once.
Rich, heavy-bodied, and textured. The metal mesh allows coffee oils through (unlike paper filters), giving a mouthfeel closer to a well-made steak than tea. Expect chocolate, nuts, and deeper, rounder flavors.
Beginners, anyone who likes bold coffee, and situations where simplicity matters (camping, travel, office)