A How To Guide on Making French Press Coffee

Join Good Citizen's very own Training & Quality Control Expert, Lee Sill as he breaks down the 6 steps on how to use a French press coffee maker. ⁠

Of course, we recommend using our beautiful 34 oz. Stainless Steel French Press in Sage Green. Its fine mesh screen makes great tasting coffee while the stainless carafe helps keep coffee warm for longer. Made out of durable stainless steel, it features a walnut handle and knob to add a balanced natural look to your brewing set-up.

Lee shared that coffee cupping really helped him rethink immersion brewing and revisit French press brew times. Sometimes, French press coffee can be under-extracted, leaving it weak or sour, in part because of how coarse the grind was. Thankfully, Lee is here to solve that with some tips on grind size, brew time, and more.

Now lets break down the steps of how to use a French press coffee maker.

French Press Graphic with arrows motioning to pull lid and plunger up. Text reads: Step 1 Place carafe on a dry, flat, non-slip surface and pull the lid and plunger straight up, removing them from the coffee press. Add about 200mL of water just off boil to preheat the brewer. After a few moments, dump water.

Preheating the French press allows you to maintain the same temperature as you brew. Lucky for you, our Stainless Steel French Press naturally supports this pre-brew process. The stainless carafe helps hold the heat and helps keep the temperature steady.

Graphic shows coffee being scooped into French Press. Text reads: Step 2 For a full pot, add 8 tbsp (60g) of ground coffee into the press. We recommend using a medium grind for a sweeter, more balanced cup.

When it comes to French press grind size, we recommend a medium grind for a sweeter, more balanced cup.

Graphic with kettle pouring water into French Press. Text reads Step 3 In a circular motion, immerse the coffee grounds with hot water just off a boil, filling the press (800mL of water).

It turns out French press coffee is all about the flick of the wrist. Here we are recommended the French press ratio to be a 1:15 coffee to water ratio.

French Press graphic demonstrating to stir and wait 5 minutes. Text reads Step 4 After 30 seconds, give it a good stir and then put the lid on. Press just slightly enough to ensure all the coffee is submerged under water. Let the coffee sit for 5 minutes

All great things take time... and in this case, we suggest 5 minutes. Give yourself 5 minutes to soak in the simplicity of brewing. Using a French press is a nice way to slow your morning down and create a coffee ritual for yourself.

After Lee played around with 6-10 minute brew times, he decided on 5 minutes to be the sweet spot - full of extraction at a medium grind (like for a drip).

French Press graphic demonstrating to pull the filter up. Text reads Step 5 After 5 minutes, slowly and gently press filter until it comes to a stop.

It all comes down to this, but we have a good feeling about this one. We think you should too! As you come to the end of our coffee brewing tutorial, we hope you have enjoyed learning how to make coffee with a French press.

French Press Coffee Graphic pouring into coffee mug. Text reads Step 6 Turn the lid to open the pour spot. Serve and enjoy!

Using a French press can be intimidating at first but once you know some of the basics like the perfect French press ratio (1:15!), how long to steep your coffee (5 minutes!), and how important your brewer can be (always preheat!), it only makes sense to treat yourself to a natural brew when you can.

Thank you to Lee Sill for sharing some of his industry tips and we hope you enjoy your French press coffee!

Beyond the Brew is a place for all things education, inspiration, and transparency for biodiverse farming and sustainable coffee consumption through Good Citizen. If you have any questions or requests, please reach out to hello@goodcitizen.com

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