An easy and simple tutorial that teaches you How to Use a French Press to make the BEST cup of coffee! Serve with some homemade oat milk and some gluten-free coffee cake!
How to Make the Best French Press Coffee
Picture this: it is a lazy Sunday morning and you have some baked oatmeal just about to come out of the oven … you are in need of an amazing cup of coffee, so you pull out the French Press you got for your wedding that you haven’t used yet – today you are going to learn how to use it, so you can make the BEST cup of coffee!
Interested in Making Cold Brew Coffee?
You can use a french press to make that too, just checkout our Cold Brew French Press Coffee!
Why We Love This Recipe
- Quick: this easy recipe takes barely any time at all!
- Small Batch: perfect for just one or two people!
- No filter needed: ditch the filter for less waste!
What You Will Need
- water: we generally used filtered water here, but use whatever you like.
- coffee beans: whole beans are recommended, so you can freshly make your coarse ground coffee. You will need approx. 2 ounces of coarsely ground coffee for 2 servings of French Press coffee.
- coffee bean grinder: a great way to quickly give your fresh coffee beans a coarse grind.
- thermometer (optional): this isn’t needed, but can help ensure the water is the correct temperature (195-205 degrees F. is the target temp).
- french press coffee maker: we love the Bodum Chambord – it’s a favorite!
- carafe: if there is liquid left in the French Press maker, after serving, store it in in a carafe or other container in the fridge. Leaving the liquid in there will lead to over-extraction and bitter coffee.
How To Use A French Press Coffee Maker
Grab your fresh coffee beans, place them in your bean grinder and coarsely grind.
Add coffee to French Press and then pour in the hot water.
Coffee to Water Ratio
The golden rule is generally a 1:15 ratio of coffee to water. But we are trying to make this simple here, so we have found that 2 cups of water with 5-7 tablespoons of coarse coffee grounds make a nice, medium-strength coffee. Of course, there will be a bit of experimentation to really figure out what you prefer – but this is a great starting point.
If you want to learn more about ratios, etc. and to use a French Press Coffee calculator head over to this resource!
Place the top back on and set timer for 4-6 minutes. Press plunger all the way down to strain.
Pour the coffee into a cup and serve with any milk or creamer of your choice.
Brew Methods: Different Ways to Brew Coffee
- Drip Coffee Maker: this is your classic coffee maker that you probably see in most people’s homes.
- Cold Brew Coffee: we have a whole tutorial on how to make cold brew coffee!
- Pour Over Coffee: this is the type of coffee you make in a chemex and it is just as fresh and easy as the French Press, except you DO use a paper filter.
Made this recipe and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
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How to use a French Press
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups coffee 1x
- Category: Coffee
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
Learn How to Use a French Press coffee maker in this step-by-step tutorial that only takes a few minutes! The best morning coffee!
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 5–7 tablespoons freshly ground coffee (coarse grind)
Instructions
- Boil Water: Add water to small pot and bring to a boil.
- Grind Coffee Beans: Put whole coffee beans in a coffee grinder and set to medium grind. If you are using a manual coffee grinder, pulse until the grounds are in the middle of a coarse grind and super-fine. If the grounds are too fine, the particles will clog the french press mesh filter, if they are too course the flavor won’t be as good.
- Cool Slightly: Remove boiling water from heat and let sit approx. 60 seconds (this allows the water to cool slightly so it doesn’t burn the coffee).
- French Press: Remove the plunger from the french press, add in the coffee grounds and then pour the hot water in. Give the water a stir to ensure all the grounds are mixed in. Place the lid on and let sit for 3-5 minutes (3 minutes for slightly weaker coffee, 5 minutes for stronger coffee, 4 minutes for medium). Slowly push the plunger down to the bottom.
- Serve: Pour coffee into mugs and drink black or with your favorite coffee add-ins (we love homemade almond milk or homemade oat milk).
Notes
- Weighing Coffee: while some french press coffee recipes call for weighing your coffee grounds, we like to make our recipes as accessible as possible and weighing coffee grounds isn’t always an option for everyone. For that reason, we are sticking with measuring spoons in this recipe. If you want more info on measuring check out this tutorial.
- 4 Servings: 3/4 cup beans + 4 cups water should result in 4 cups coffee (medium strength).
- Strength: everyone has their own personal preference when it comes to the taste and strength of their coffee, so it may take a few experiments to get your own ratio and timing perfected.
- Coffee Beans: I highly recommend using whole coffee beans and freshly grinding them the morning of making your coffee.
- Water Temperature: you are looking for 195-205 degrees F.
- Storage: don’t let unused French Press coffee continue to sit .. it will only continue to brew and become bitter. Pour any leftovers out into a carafe or beaker and store, covered, in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8oz
- Calories: 1
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 10.4 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 0 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Micah says
Thanks I’m getting a French press tonight and your tutorial was a big help.
I just don’t know what size I’m getting yet.