Coffee Recipes

How to Brew Coffee with a French Press

If you follow us on TikTok you’ve likely seen me mention a french press here and there. Today I want to give you a quick overview of what a french press is, and how to use one, because it can be pretty simple!

First up we’re going to talk about why some people prefer a french press over a more automated coffee machine, like my favorite – the Ninja Coffee Bar. While these machines are great, they don’t always come to the proper temperature to brew the absolute *best* cup of coffee. We all have our opinions on the best brewing methods, and I absolutely love the Ninja Coffee Bar myself, but I can definitely taste a difference when using the french press. Personally, I look at the french press as another tool in my coffee toolkit, and much like any tool, it serves it’s own purpose and that purpose is more of a personal choice for me and may not be why someone else chooses to use one. I like to use the french press when I know I’m going to have more than one cup of coffee, when I’m brewing up a sample-size bag (more on why further down this post), or when I have a little more time – just to change things up.

All of that being said, most people who are switching from drive-thru to home brew won’t necessarily notice a big difference in the flavor of their coffee because they’re just getting acclimated to home brewing. The french press is a fantastic tool to start with for home brewing because it’s budget-friendly and very easy to use. So, if you’re ready to ditch the drive-thru but not ready to commit to spending a big chunk of money on an automatic brewer like the Ninja, you’re in the right place!

On the other hand, if you’ve been brewing our coffee consistently for some time and want to give the french press a try to really maximize the flavor profile of your brew, you’re also in the right place! I will say, however, if you’re thoroughly enjoying your current brew method and coffee, this post is not to encourage you to spend money on a french press just because. My mission is and always has been to show you how to brew the best cup of coffee — for you, and if you feel like you’ve achieved that, you don’t have to go buy another brewer!

Ready to dive in? Let’s get into it!

The first thing that you need to know before getting started is that there is a “golden rule” when it comes to the coffee-to-water ratio you should start with, and that ratio is 1 part coffee to 15 parts water. I know this can be confusing (it took me a little while to get the hang of it myself actually, ha!) but it really is a good tool to have because brewing the perfect cup is very personalized!

When I was working out my perfect ratio I measured my water in mL and my coffee in grams (a basic kitchen/food scale comes in handy for this) and found this calculator which was SUPER helpful (so bookmark that!) It’s important to note that the ratio I mentioned above is only a starting point. Many people use a 1:12 ratio for french press brewing, which is what I do myself. I discovered this by brewing with a few different measurements and turns out the 1:12 works great for me.

To simplify this, if you’re brewing with our sample size bag you will brew exactly half the bag (42 grams or 1.5 ounces) with 500mL of water (or just over two cups). This means you’ll get about 32oz of brewed coffee in ONE sample-size bag! If you want to start at the 1:15 ratio, you’ll go ahead with the same 500 mL of water and drop the coffee down to 33 grams.

how to brew coffee with a french press

Once you have your coffee and water measured out, here are the steps you’ll want to take:

  1. Heat your water to boiling, then take it off of the heat source and let it rest for 45-60 seconds, if your water is still boiling hot you risk scorching the grinds and that’ll leave you with a burnt taste – we don’t want that!
  2. While the water is heating, run your french press under hot water, this will help to “preheat” it.
  3. Add your coffee to the bottom of the press.
  4. One the water is heated and cooled, pour it over top of the grinds.
  5. Give a quick stir with a silicone or wood spatula to make sure all the grinds are wet and incorporated.
  6. Replace the lid on the press, set a 5 minute timer, and wait!
  7. Once 5 minutes has passed, slowly press the top down until the coffee grinds are at the very bottom.
  8. Pour your coffee out of the press, and enjoy!
  9. Note: even if you’re not going to drink it immediately, you’ll want to pour ALL of the coffee out of the press so it’s not steeping longer with the grinds.

There you have it! It’s truly an easy process that’s quick AND affordable! If you have any questions, please feel free to drop them below in the comments. In the meantime, you can find all of our roasts, and sample sizes here — and more coffee recipes and tutorials over on TikTok here. If that isn’t your favorite platform, you can join our community right here on Facebook! Thanks so much for checking out the blog today!

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