Home › Home & Kitchen › Kitchen & Dining › Coffee, Tea & Espresso › French Presses How to Use a French Press Published: July 8, 2026 · Updated: July 8, 2026
Use a coarse grind and about 1 part coffee to 15 parts water — roughly 30 g coffee to 450 g water — pour water just off the boil, steep four minutes, then press slowly and pour it all out at once. Leaving coffee sitting on the grounds is what turns a French press bitter.
Recommended Coarse grind, ~1:15 ratio, steep 4 minutes off the boil, press slowly, and decant all of it — The French press is full-immersion brewing, so the grind, ratio, and time are the whole recipe. Grind coarse, like breadcrumbs — fine grounds slip through the mesh and make a muddy, over-extracted cup — and weigh roughly 1 part coffee to 15 parts water (about 30 g to 450 g, adjust to taste). Pour water just off the boil, around 93-96 °C, give it a stir or break the crust at one minute, and let it steep four minutes total. Press the plunger down slowly and steadily; if it's hard to push, your grind is too fine. Then pour every last drop into cups or another vessel — coffee left sitting on the grounds keeps extracting and turns harsh, which is the single most common French-press mistake. The same method makes loose-leaf tea and, with a long cold steep, cold brew.
