How to Use a French Press for Rich, Clean Coffee

Step by step

1. Preheat. Rinse the press with hot water, then discard it. Glass presses lose heat quickly, so this helps.
2. Grind coarse. Grind the coffee just before brewing to a coarse, even texture. Too fine and the plunger will be hard to push and the cup will be muddy.
3. Add coffee and water. Put the grounds in the press, start a timer and pour all the water in, making sure all grounds are wet.
4. Steep. Place the lid on with the plunger up to keep heat in. Wait four minutes.
5. Break the crust. At four minutes, stir the floating layer of grounds gently with a spoon. Most of the grounds will sink.
6. Press gently. Push the plunger down slowly and steadily. If it’s very hard to press, your grind is too fine.
7. Pour everything out. Serve immediately or decant into a carafe. Coffee left sitting on the grounds keeps extracting and turns bitter.

The cleaner “skim and wait” method

If you dislike sediment, a popular refinement trades a few extra minutes for a much cleaner cup:

1. Brew as above for four minutes.
2. Stir the crust, then use two spoons to skim off the foam and floating bits.
3. Wait another five minutes or so. The fine particles settle to the bottom; the coffee cools to a drinkable temperature.
4. Place the plunger just below the surface — don’t press it down to the bottom — and pour slowly, leaving the last bit in the press.

The plunger then acts as a strainer rather than a piston, so it doesn’t stir up the silty layer.

Ratio and strength

“Cup” sizes on presses are often based on small 4-ounce servings, so an “8-cup” press makes about two to three large mugs. Leave space below the rim so the press doesn’t overflow when you add the lid.

Troubleshooting

• Muddy or gritty: grind coarser and more evenly, use the skim-and-wait method, and don’t pour the last half-inch.
• Bitter: grind coarser, shorten the steep or make sure you’re not leaving coffee in the press after brewing.
• Weak or sour: use more coffee, hotter water or a slightly longer steep (five to six minutes).
• Plunger is hard to push or squirts: grind is too fine. Never force it; hot coffee can spray out.

Choosing a French press

• Glass: classic, lets you watch the brew, but fragile and loses heat quickly.
• Stainless steel, double-walled: durable and keeps coffee hot; good for camping and families.
• Filter quality: a snug mesh with a tight seal against the wall lets fewer grounds escape.

Cleaning

Empty the spent grounds into compost or the trash rather than the sink, where they can contribute to drain clogs. Rinse the press, then periodically unscrew the plunger assembly and wash the mesh, cross plate and spring with warm soapy water. Coffee oils build up and go rancid, giving stale flavors.

A note on unfiltered coffee and cholesterol

Coffee brewed without a paper filter, such as French press, contains more of the natural compounds cafestol and kahweol, which research has linked to raised LDL cholesterol in some people. Paper filters remove most of them. If your doctor has advised you to watch cholesterol, it may be worth discussing how much unfiltered coffee you drink, or switching some cups to pour-over.

Beyond hot coffee

A French press is also an easy cold brew maker: steep coarse coffee in cold water in the fridge overnight, then press. It also works at camp; see camp coffee methods.