How to Brew a Great French Press in 10 Easy Steps

Here is a video demonstrating a simple French Press coffee recipe.

French Press coffee is an immersion brew. That means that the coffee and water soak together, steeping together to extract the coffee solubles. It is an old, tried and true method of brewing.

The benefits/drawbacks of French Press (immersion) style brewing include:

  • Increased body and full rich mouthfeel.

  • Increased coffee oils, flavors and aromatics.

  • Super simple, repeatable results.

  • Great with medium and dark roasted coffees.

  • Pairs well with milk and sugar.

  • Positive impression when serving friends.

  • Decreased clarity in specific coffee flavors.

  • Danger for old coffee oils to accumulate if mesh screen is not cleaned properly.

  • Great for travel or camping - just add hot water.

French Press Brewed with Fresh Kenyan Coffee

The last point for travel is what prompted me to shoot this video with my new Kohipress. It’s a great travel companion and produces a cleaner cup than straight campfire coffee. What is campfire coffee you may ask, just pour hot water into coarse ground coffee, steep, drink. Spit out the grounds or chew them up for bonus fiber : )


French Press Brewing Rules:

  1. Prepare a 1:15 brew ratio.

    1. My travel Kohipress is 26g coffee for 400ml H2O

    2. My home Bodum press is 55g for 950ml H2O (that’s a full press)

    3. Calculate your own by dividing press brew volume by 15 to discover __ coffee grams. (Hint, this works because 1ml H2O = 1g H2O)

  2. Use coarse ground coffee.

  3. Prepare 95•C or 203•F degree H2O

  4. Rinse and warm your press

  5. Pour 1/3 of your H2O into your press and swirl or stir to ensure all grounds are wet

  6. Pour remaining H2O into press

  7. Set plunger lightly into coffee to cover and remove air/bubbles

  8. Wait 4 minutes

  9. Plunge slowly

  10. Pour and enjoy!


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Thank You! ~ Adam