Most homes and offices have a french press, and with freshly ground coffee you can make a delicious cup of coffee.
This brew recipe is based on the same concepts we use when cupping every coffee we roast, which is how we get the flavour notes we use to describe our coffees, and also check for quality. It’ll take a little longer than you’re probably used to, but the result will taste much better.
We’re working with a ratio of 16 parts water to 1 part coffee, so take the amount of water you’re adding and divide it by 16 if you’re brewing a different amount.
Here’s our step-by-step guide (or jump onto this guide’s Frequently Asked Questions):
Method for 3 cup (325mL)6 cup (750mL) French press
Gear
• French press or Espro Press
• Kettle or alternative source
• Grinderℹ︎
• Scales
• Timer
• 2 spoons
• Mug(s)!
Goods
• 22 47g of coffee beans
• 325 750g (mL) of just-boiled water ♨︎
ℹ︎: If you don’t have a grinder, that’s OK! You can always use pre-ground coffee, though we recommend freshly ground because it does elevate the flavour of each brew.
♨︎: In our recipes, we measure water in grams because we use scales, and it’s easy to achieve precision this way. However, if you don’t have scales, the conversion is easy: 1g=1mL.
Steps
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Get your gear ready and warm the French press with hot water.
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Freshly grind 47 (for 750mL) or 20 (for 325 mL)g coffee.
The grind should be quite coarse, slightly smaller than sea salt.
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Tip out the water, and put the coffee in the base of the French press.
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Add 200(for 750mL) or 100 (for 325 mL)mL of hot water.
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Wait 30 seconds, then give it a stir with one of the spoons.
You’ll notice bubbles form as the beans release gas: this is called the bloom.
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Add the remaining 550 (for 750mL) or 225(for 325 mL)mL of water.
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Wait for 4 minutes.
Watch closely and you’ll notice coffee grounds drifting to the bottom: this happens as each ground becomes saturated with water.
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While you’re waiting, you can warm up your mug with hot water.
A warm mug will keep your coffee hot longer.
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Use a spoon to break the crust on top of the brew.
This will saturate more grounds, which will fall to the bottom.
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Rinse both spoons and use them to scoop up any large grounds on the top surface of the brew.
You don’t need to be precise; we’re most concerned with big grounds.
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Put the top of the French press in place, but don’t press down yet.
This will warm and expand the metal springs, helping it make a good seal.
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Wait 15 seconds, then press.
This will capture any remaining grounds floating, and help stop them from overextracting.
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Pour, and enjoy!
It’s best to either drink it all straight away, or pour any leftover coffee into a thermos or flask, as it will slowly gain a bitter flavour due to the leftover grounds at the bottom.
We use water just off the boil.
