3 Common Mistakes People Make When Brewing French Press Coffee

While not everyone is a lover of the French press, it’s one of the most classic methods of brewing coffee, and if you do it right, it can produce a great cup. Want to perfect your morning French press? Avoid these three common mistakes and you’ll be sure to get the best brew every time.

The beauty of a French press is in its simplicity — grind your coffee, add water, and go. But even with a simple tool, things can go wrong; despite its simplicity, brewing in a French press isn’t always easy. Here are three common mistakes people make when brewing French press coffee.

Grind is very important when it comes to making good coffee — the most important thing some would say. For French press, you want your beans to have a coarse, even ground, as seen in the photo above. And as always, you want freshly ground beans, so if you haven’t gotten around to getting that grinder yet, now’s the time.

→ Smart Tip: One way to know whether the grounds are too fine or too coarse is when you press the filter down. If the grounds are too fine, you’ll have a hard time pressing it down. If you can push the filter down with absolutely no resistance, then the grounds are too coarse.

The art of the French press is in the coffee-to-water ratio, and because you’re extracting, the time is important as well. A general rule of thumb for French press coffee is in the range of 1:10 coffee-to-water ratio: that is to say, 1 gram of coffee for 10 grams of water. This ratio can vary — some say a little more, some say a little less — but I find that 1:10 works great, and is also a very simple ratio to remember and calculate.

Now granted, not everyone wants to measure out their coffee every time they brew a batch. That’s fine, but it is worth your time to figure out approximately how much coffee and water you need. For example, when I’m traveling I don’t carry a scale with me (some people do), but I know my travel grinder grinds about 40 grams of coffee, and I know about where I need to fill the French press to in order to get around 400 grams of water. It’s not the most precise or consistent method, but it works when you’re sans scale.

If you leave your coffee in the French press after it has finished brewing, you’re probably going to drink over-extracted, bitter coffee. That’s because even though you’ve pushed down the plunger, it will keep brewing.

You want to drink your coffee right away, so your best solution is to make the exact amount of coffee you’re going to drink (i.e., one cup for yourself or two cups if you’re with company).

If you know you’re going to want more than one cup, and you don’t have the time to brew a new batch for your second round, brew a big one and after plunging, immediately pour the leftover coffee into a

thermos

• Sprudge’s “The Best French Press Brew Guide on the Internets”
• Blue Bottle Preparation Guide: French Press
• Stumptown Brew Guide: French Press