How to Brew with a French Press

If you are new to whole beans, start here. The French press is forgiving, needs no paper filters, and makes a rich, full-bodied cup in four minutes.

The recipe

Step by step

1. Heat your water. Bring it to the boil, then let it sit for about 30 seconds. Water straight off a rolling boil can scorch the coffee.
2. Grind coarse. Weigh your beans and grind them just before brewing, to roughly the texture of sea salt. See our Grind Size Guide if you are unsure.
3. Warm the press. Swirl a little hot water in the empty press and tip it out. A cold glass carafe steals heat from the brew.
4. Bloom. Add the grounds, then pour in just enough water to wet them all — about twice the weight of the coffee. Wait 30 seconds. You will see it bubble and rise as trapped gas escapes.
5. Pour the rest. Add the remaining water, give it one gentle stir, and put the lid on with the plunger pulled all the way up.
6. Wait. Four minutes from when the water first hit the coffee.
7. Press slowly. Push the plunger down steadily over about 20 seconds. If it fights you hard, your grind is too fine.
8. Pour it all out. Serve straight away, or decant into a flask. Coffee left sitting on the grounds keeps extracting and turns bitter.

Fix your cup

• Bitter or harsh: grind a little coarser, or cut a minute off the brew time.
• Sour or thin: grind a little finer, or give it an extra 30 seconds.
• Muddy, with sludge at the bottom: your grind is too fine. Leave the last centimetre in the press when you pour.
• Too strong or too weak: change the amount of coffee, not the brew time.

Taking it with milk?

Brew a little stronger — try 18 g of coffee to 250 ml of water — and top up with hot or frothed milk. CAIRN, with its touch of bold Liberica, holds its own against milk.

Weigh, grind fresh, wait the full four minutes. That is all a French press asks of you.