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Great French Press Coffee in 3 Easy Steps

Making terrific coffee at home or the office requires just a French Press and some fresh coffee.

This is so easy and ultra-portable that I've even seen hikers at 12,000 feet making French Press coffee this way!

Here's how to do it.

By the way, we've tested longer and shorter brew times, hotter and colder water, and more and less ground coffee. The method below gave us the best results.

1. In an empty French Press, place 2 teaspoons of fresh ground coffee for each cup of 6 oz of water you intend to brew.

place 2 teaspoons of fresh ground coffee for each cup of 6 oz of water

Tip: 1 coffee scoop equals 2 teaspoons.

2. Bring water (ideally filtered -- coffee is 98 percent water, so good water counts) to 195-205 degrees. You could boil it and then let it sit for about 45 seconds to reach this temperature. This is the best range of temperature to extract the ideal flavor and aroma from the ground beans. Pour water in the French press and stir to mix the grinds in thoroughly.

Pour water in the French press and stir to mix the grinds in thoroughly.  

3. After 4-5 minutes, press down the plunger. Serve immediately. Some people prefer to let the coffee cool for another 2-3 minutes because they feel that very hot water obscures the taste of the coffee.

 After 4-5 minutes, press down the plunger. Serve immediately.

4. Buy more coffee from ROASTe.com (but you knew that already!)

PRODUCTS YOU WILL LOVE!

REVIEWS & COMMENTS

  • I AGREE THAT FRENCH PRESS IS

    hoonchul | Wed, 12/14/2011 - 01:37

    I agree that french press is great way to prepare coffee. The day I got my french press my drip machine which I have been using for years went in the cabinet.

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  • MY FIRST SPECIALTY COFFEE...

    Chamie | Mon, 12/05/2011 - 07:42

    ...was an Ethiopian Yrgacheffe prepared in a French press. I totally fell in love and it's still my favorite method. I prefer to pour just before the water hits a rolling boil rather than letting it boil then cool a bit. Somehow, coffee made with after-boil water always tastes a little flat to me.

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  • FRESHLY GROUND FRESH COFFEE+FRENCH PRESS=A TREAT

    samuellaw178 | Fri, 11/11/2011 - 16:33

    This is one of the my favourite methods for making coffee. It's next to my all-time favorite - Espresso. This post has just reminded me to make one press pot using Espro press later. Thanks!

    Also, a fresh coffee without good grinder is wasting the coffee's goodness. A burr grinder is a must to enjoy to its potential.

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  • IT'S THE METHOD THAT PUSHED

    intrepid510 | Tue, 10/25/2011 - 01:08

    It's the method that pushed me into this deep end, I love it!

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  • ONE IMPROVEMENT

    Wakeknot | Wed, 10/05/2011 - 13:56

    one thing that can make it better is if you have a grinder to grind your beans fresh. this can be a hand grinder if you want to stay portable for hiking!

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  • THE PRESS IS THE BEST

    Gazy | Thu, 09/22/2011 - 21:55

    Aside from "turkish" coffee, the press is the best brewing method. One can determine the exact intensity of the brew. I love it.

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  • GRIND FINE BUT CONSISTENT

    EricBNC | Thu, 08/18/2011 - 22:51


    If you grind fine but consistent sized particles the steep time can be decreased quite a bit without losing flavor or muddying up the cup.

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  • ABOUT SCOOPING

    jbviau | Thu, 05/26/2011 - 00:20

    Here's a little video illustrating one scooping technique (starting at around 4:00): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfN116i4mVg

    Tim Wendelboe was first to suggest doing this, no?

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  • WILL LOOK INTO BUYING A

    espressom | Mon, 05/23/2011 - 15:00

    Will look into buying a french press at roaste.

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  • NICE

    broseph | Sat, 12/11/2010 - 20:08

    I like this introduction. I also agree that the scoop method can be effective. About water temperature: if you wait until your kettle's water is 200ish and then pour, you're going to lose a lot of heat. I'd recommend pouring boiling water into the Press and THEN adding coffee and then stirring. Better quality control this way.

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  • SCOOP THE GROUNDS

    shaffer22 | Tue, 12/07/2010 - 02:48

    I think that one good tip is to scoop the grounds. About 30 seconds before the "plunge," take two spoons and gently scoop off the foam/grounds that form as a crust on the top. This results in a clear and less "sludgy" final product.

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