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French Press Recipe: The iCoffee House Brew

Bold and full-bodied, holding the natural oils paper filters strip out. 30g coffee, 450ml water at 94°C, 1:15 ratio, coarse grind. Ready in 8 minutes.

Hand pouring coffee from a Bodum French press into a clear glass mug, with whole beans for the coarse grind spilling from a scoop in warm window light

The final pour, where the metal filter gives the cup its weight and oils. · Photo by Yehleen gaffney on Unsplash

TL;DR

The French press is the simplest brewer that still rewards technique. We use 30g (1.06oz) of coarse coffee with 450ml (15.2 fl oz) of water at 94°C (201°F), a 1:15 ratio steeped for four minutes, then skimmed and pressed. The metal mesh lets oils and body through, including the texture pour over filters out. That texture gives the cup its weight.

Ratio
1:15
Coffee
30g (1.06oz)
Water
450ml (15.2 fl oz)
Temperature
94°C (201°F)
Grind
Coarse
Total time
8 min
Yield
420ml (14.2 fl oz)
Difficulty
Easy

What is a French press?

In a French press the coffee and hot water sit together in a glass or steel cylinder for about four minutes, and then a plunger with a metal mesh screen traps the grounds at the bottom. The mesh has far wider gaps than paper. They're wide enough to pass anything smaller than a grain of sand. So the oils and fine particles end up in the cup, which gives it that round, mouth-coating weight.

It's the brewer for a heavy cup rather than a clean one, and for making enough that two people can have a cup. Nothing about it demands technique. Grind coarse, watch the clock, and you'd have to work at it to make a bad cup. Skimming the crust before you plunge keeps the bitter fines out of the way.

What you need

Equipment

  • French press (any size; recipe is for a 1L press)
  • Kettle
  • Kitchen scale
  • Timer
  • Spoon for the skim

Ingredients

  • 30g (1.06oz) freshly ground coffee (coarse grind, 14 days post-roast)
  • 450ml (15.2 fl oz) filtered water (brought to 94°C (boil and wait 30 seconds))

How to make coffee in a French press

1
at 0:00, ~30s

Rinse the press with hot water to preheat, then discard.

A cold press chills the brew below extraction temperature.
An empty glass French press with a wet, steaming interior just after a hot water rinse, on a dark slate countertop.
The rinse leaves the glass hot and wet so the steep does not lose temperature.
2
at 0:30, ~30s

Add 30g (1.06oz) of coarse coffee to the vessel.

Use scale and level the bed.
Coarse ground coffee pouring into an empty glass French press, forming a shallow level bed.
A level bed of coarse grounds sets up an even four minute steep.
3
at 1:00, ~20s

Pour 450ml (15.2 fl oz) of just-off-boil water and start the timer.

Pre-wet and fully saturate grounds.
Hot water pouring from a steel kettle into a glass French press, churning the coffee grounds and raising foam.
A full, even pour saturates every ground as the timer starts.
4
at 1:20, ~4:00

Steep for about 4 minutes with the plunger sitting on top.

4 minutes is a common starting point; adjust by taste.
A full French press steeping with its plunger raised, dark coffee and a floating crust of grounds visible through the glass.
The press sits untouched while the immersion does the extracting.
5
at 5:20, ~1:00

Stir, skim the crust off the top, and let the slurry settle for about 1 minute.

Skimming reduces float and encourages cleaner pressing.
A spoon skimming floating coffee grounds and foam from the surface of a glass French press.
Skimming the crust takes the bitter fines out before the press.
6
at 6:20, ~30s

Press gently and pour the coffee out right away.

Press slowly to avoid forcing fines through the filter.
A hand slowly pressing the plunger of a glass French press, the metal mesh screen visible through the glass.
A slow, gentle press keeps fines below the mesh and out of the cup.

Why this recipe works

The French press is immersion brewing through a metal filter. Body, weight, and oils all carry through. The two things that go wrong are over-extraction from too long a steep, and silt from pressing fines through the mesh.

Ratio. 1:15, a touch heavier than pour over. The metal filter passes more solubles than paper, so the cup tastes balanced at 1:15 where it would taste muddy at 1:14.

Temperature. 94°C (201°F), just below boiling. The metal walls of a French press lose heat fast, so starting at full boil with a preheated press keeps the brew near 90°C across the four-minute steep instead of dropping into the under-extraction zone.

Grind. Coarse. The metal filter has gaps wide enough to pass anything smaller than a sand grain. Finer grinds turn the cup gritty and bitter; coarser grinds keep the slurry above the filter and let the four-minute immersion extract evenly.

The skim. The biggest improvement most home brewers can make is breaking and skimming the crust after the steep. Most of the bitter compounds and fines float at the top after four minutes. Skim them off and the press goes through clean liquid only.

What makes this ours

Most home French press recipes plunge straight from the steep, dragging the bitter crust down into the cup. The 60-second skim-and-settle pulls those compounds off the top before the press goes through; what's left is the immersion body without the grit.

What to adjust

If your cup tastes too bitter or gritty: your grind is too fine, or you skipped the skim. Step one click coarser and skim the crust properly.

If your cup tastes weak or thin: your water was too cool, or your steep was too short. Start at a full boil plus 30 seconds wait, and extend the steep to 5 minutes.

If your cup has sediment in the last sip: the press sat on the grounds after pouring. Pour the entire press out at once, and don't leave coffee in contact with the grounds.

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