The French Press, or cafetière, delivers simply good coffee, and plenty of it, like no other brewing method. In this article, Swiss Filter Coffee Champion and German Coffee Taster of the Year 2017, Benjamin Hohlmann, summarizes his two favorite French Press recipes. We answer the most important questions, explain how much coffee grounds are needed for a given amount of water, and how to find the right brewing temperature.
French Press, Cafetière, or Coffee Press
More important than the name of the coffee maker is its operating principle. First, coffee is placed in a round glass or metal body. Hot water is poured in at a ratio of 1:15 to 1:16. This corresponds to 60 to 70 grams of coffee per liter of water, depending on taste. The water has a brewing temperature of approximately 95 degrees Celsius. After a brewing time of 3 – 5 minutes, a sieve, mesh, or paper plunger is pressed down with a central rod. The plunger largely separates the coffee particles from the brewing water. The plunger thus stops the brewing process and gives the French Press its name.
The French Press is that simple and practical. And this simple principle is one reason why the cafetière is so popular. Anyone can make good coffee at home with a French Press. The following two recipes are simple and emphasize two different flavor profiles. Benjamin has also summarized a short version of the French Press recipes here.
French Press Recipe No. 1: Classic, Strong, Good
The procedure described in the introduction is the classic basic French Press recipe. Here it is again, step by step.
- Coffee quantity: 60 to 70 grams of coffee per liter. Depending on the size of the cafetière, for example, 30 grams of coffee are used and 500 ml of water are added.
- Add the coffee grounds to the cafetière. Boil water or heat to 96 degrees if the kettle has temperature control. If the water has boiled, wait approximately 2 minutes before pouring.
- Pour the entire amount of water into the cafetière and then stir once to ensure that all the coffee grounds come into contact with water.
- Place the lid with the plunger on top without pressing down. Then wait four minutes.
- After four minutes, break the crust with a spoon. This makes it easier to press down the plunger. It's even easier if the crust is skimmed off with two spoons. Gently press the plunger down.
- Then serve the coffee.
Since there is still water with coffee in the cafetière, the extraction of the coffee continues in principle. However, after pressing down the plunger, there is very little movement, which also severely limits extraction. For the best results, I still recommend serving the coffee after the four-minute brewing time or pouring it into another pot.
French Press Recipe No. 2: Elegant, Nuanced, and Championship-Ready
For even better results with the French Press, a recipe based on professional coffee tasting is suitable. This type of preparation is called Cupping. Cupping or Cup Tasting is used in the quality control of green coffee traders and roasters.
In this method, the coffee grounds are placed directly into a cup and poured over with approximately 94-degree hot water. After four minutes, the crust is broken and skimmed off. After another four minutes, the tasting begins with a spoon from the top. Care is taken not to stir up the coffee that has settled to the bottom.
Sensorially, the coffee tastes "clearer" and "cleaner" than the sensory results of brewing with cafetière recipe 1. The mouthfeel is also "softer" and "more elegant."
This taste result can also be achieved with the cafetière.
The procedure for steps 1 – 4 is carried out as in Recipe 1.
- 5. The coffee crust is broken with a spoon and skimmed off with the help of another spoon. However, the plunger is not pressed down, but instead, approximately 4 minutes are waited. During this time, solid particles and sediments of the coffee sink to the bottom.
- 6. After 4 minutes, the coffee is poured directly. The plunger is not pressed down. Pouring should be done carefully so that the settled coffee particles do not rise to the surface again. The sieve or metal mesh of the plunger also helps to retain particles.
- 7. The best taste result is achieved if not everything is poured out to the very bottom of the coffee particles. This prevents sediments from being stirred up again.
The Ratio of Coffee to Water in a Coffee Press
Using 60 to 70 grams of coffee leads to the best taste result, which is generally well-liked by most Central European palates. The exact choice of quantity can be made according to preference.
In principle, using more coffee grounds, for example, 7 grams of coffee per 100 ml or 70 grams per liter, results in a "stronger" coffee. When more grounds are used, more extraction potential is available for the water used. It is often overlooked that this simultaneously makes the coffee beverage "more acidic."
While using more coffee makes the beverage stronger, the same amount of water cannot extract substances from the coffee as effectively. This tends to lead to underextraction, which generally tastes more acidic.
If the coffee result should be stronger without increasing acidity, a finer grind often leads to a better result. However, it should be noted that a finer grind leads to higher extraction of the coffee grounds. This tends to taste more bitter.
When the ratio of coffee grounds to water settles at 60 to 70 grams of coffee, the brew is usually balanced and delicious.
Which Coffee is Suitable for the French Press?
The French Press or cafetière is one of the alternative brewing methods and belongs to the "immersion brewers" family. Immersion means that water and coffee are in contact with each other for most of the brewing process – the coffee is submerged in water. This contrasts with percolator systems, like classic filter coffee, where water flows through coffee.
The choice of coffee largely depends on the strength of the final beverage. This is roughly the same for both immersion and percolator systems. Strength is the concentration of dissolved coffee particles relative to water. The best taste results are achieved when coffee prepared with a cafetière contains approximately 1.2 to 1.5% dissolved coffee particles. In technical terms, we call these "Total Dissolved Solids," or TDS in percent, or in German: the total dissolved particles.
To put this into perspective: the remaining 98.5 to 98.2% of the coffee beverage is water! This highlights the importance of the water used.
So, which coffee is suitable for a cafetière?
Filter coffees are best suited for preparing a cafetière. Due to the lighter roast, they contain flavor nuances and inherent positive acids that balance very well with the amount of water (+98%).
We offer our filter coffees in Switzerland and also in Germany and the EU.
For preparing espresso, darker roasted coffee is used. This is also due, among other things, to the ratio to water. Since only 90-93% water provides balance in the final espresso beverage, the intensity of the acidity is reduced by the darker roast.
Important: the acids mentioned here are primarily important for the taste of the coffee. As with wines, they contribute to its balance. Acidity, sweetness, and bitterness are in equilibrium in good coffees.
What water should be used for the French Press?
As with all coffee beverages, coffee from a French Press tastes best when "soft" water that is free from off-flavors is used. Soft indicates a lower hardness, meaning fewer minerals like magnesium or calcium in the water.
"Hard" water buffers the acidity of the coffee, thereby removing an important factor for taste. Without acidity, coffee becomes "dull," one-dimensional, and the flavor notes cannot develop well.
For brewing methods like the cafetière or classic filter coffee, water with a total hardness of 2 to 5 German hardness degrees and a corresponding carbonate hardness is best. A table water filter from BWT or Brita can reduce the water hardness. Mineral waters like Lauretana, Black Forest, or Volvic are also very soft.
Who is the French Press suitable for?
The cafetière is the easiest brewing method to make simply good coffee. It forgives more mistakes than a pour-over, Moka pot, or espresso machine. Even if the grind size is not perfectly chosen, the French Press still produces good results.
We always recommend freshly grinding coffee. However, if the coffee is not freshly ground and the grind size cannot be adjusted, the cafetière still produces the best results. It is a forgiving brewing method. This is mainly because the coffee sits in the water. No, or no incorrect, movement affects the result. If the water doesn't drain when brewing filter coffee because the grind size is too fine, the result is always poor. Not so with the coffee press or cafetière.
The cafetière also brews larger quantities of coffee without problems. The 1-liter version of the Bodum Chambord cafetière, for example, is suitable for preparing up to 800 ml of coffee. The results do not get worse with larger quantities of coffee; they remain consistent. This makes the cafetière very suitable for brewing coffee for larger groups. The fact that it requires little "supervision" also speaks for it. And even if step 5 of both recipes is not performed to the minute, the cafetière is forgiving in terms of taste.
The Bestargot Titanium Coffee Press* is one of the most interesting coffee brewing methods for outdoor use. In our article on coffee methods for on the go, this 216g cafetière achieved a top spot.
How much coffee grounds per cup for how many people?
An average coffee cup holds 150 ml. To brew a full cup of coffee for four people each, at least 600 ml of coffee should be brewed.
But beware! If you pour 600 ml of water over 36 grams of coffee, you won't brew enough coffee (Reminder: use approximately 6 – 7 grams of coffee per 100 ml of water, see above).
For every gram of coffee used, 2 – 2.5 grams of water remain in the coffee grounds. In our example, that's at least 72 grams of water. From 600 ml, we therefore only get about 530 ml of coffee, or even slightly less if we consistently don't pour everything out. This leads to a better taste.
Therefore, it makes sense with a cafetière to always brew slightly more than 150 ml per cup. The brewing method conveniently makes it easy for us to brew larger volumes deliciously. We have published a separate article on the perfect amount of coffee grounds per cup.
Freshly ground is half brewed!
For the coffee press, too, freshly ground coffee tastes best. Grinding coffee breaks its natural protective layer. It then begins to react with oxygen in the air and light. Volatile aroma components evaporate, and the coffee oils begin to oxidize. The coffee thus loses its complexity and simultaneously becomes rancid.
We have tested 14 hand grinders under 100 euros, and almost all of them are well suited for preparing coffee for filter coffee and also for the cafetière. We have included higher-priced and very good models from Comandante in our shop. We also now offer one of the test-winning hand grinders from the test series in its latest version, the Timemore C5 ESP PRO hand grinder, in our shop.
What Grind Size for the French Press?
The grind size is only slightly coarser than for filter coffee. The company Kruve has developed a good reference guide. While we don't agree with all the particle sizes they recommend for different methods, the grind size reference is helpful.
A particle size of 700 – 1000 is perfect for preparing the recipes we've outlined for the cafetière.
