What Type of Coffee is Suitable for French Press? Is French Press Coffee Weak? How to Use Starbucks French Press?

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information; follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat public account: cafe_style).

What Makes a Good Cup of Coffee?

In the past, influenced by Japanese and Taiwanese coffee culture, people believed coffee had to be strong, mellow, and aromatic. They thought coffee was not really coffee without bitterness, and that a few spoons of sugar or creamer were needed to make it complete.

The third wave of coffee culture, together with rising concern about food safety, has made us more curious about where our food comes from. We have started to learn about coffee varieties, countries of origin, specific estates, growing altitudes, processing methods, and more. It is similar to the way Taiwan recently opened imports of Japanese beef, with premium wagyu in high demand. Coffee follows the same pattern: the Geisha variety, once grown in Panama, has seen prices soar year after year thanks to its floral notes and rich fruit character.

As people pursue a higher quality of life, their knowledge and appreciation of coffee flavors keep growing. The definition of good coffee has shifted from the strong, bitter brews once favored to balanced cups with pleasant acidity and bitterness, a smooth mouthfeel, and preferably distinctive origin character. There are no absolutes in the world of coffee; too many variables affect flavor, and the ability to keep exploring possibilities is what makes coffee so captivating.

Water Quality and Temperature

A cup of coffee is actually 98-99% water, so the choice of water is crucial! Water that is too soft or too hard is not ideal for brewing coffee. You can buy a water TDS testing pen to measure your brewing water. A TDS of around 150 is suitable for coffee brewing. Water that is too cool will not extract all the flavor compounds from the coffee, while water that is too hot can over-extract and create unpleasant astringent notes. It is best to start experimenting with water at around 90°C.

The Importance of Fresh Grinding and Grind Size

Coffee beans begin to lose their flavor compounds gradually after grinding, as they interact with air and time. Put simply, it is like eating sashimi: the chef only prepares the fish after the customer orders. The same principle applies to coffee beans, and grinding right before brewing helps preserve the original flavors as much as possible. I always recommend that friends who want to brew coffee at home invest in a grinder. That way they can buy whole coffee beans instead of pre-ground powder and grind right before brewing to retain more flavor.

Different brewing methods call for appropriate grind sizes. Espresso needs a finer grind, while pour-over coffee can start with a medium or medium-coarse grind.

Choosing Brewing Equipment

Different coffee brewing equipment has a significant impact on the resulting flavor. Today, both pour-over drip methods and immersion methods such as the French press have their enthusiasts. Coffee brewed through paper filters tends to be cleaner and more refreshing, while coffee that is first immersed and then filtered through a metal mesh retains more oils. Different brewing methods also affect brewing time. Think of photography: if the shutter speed is too short and the exposure insufficient, or too long and the shot overexposed, the result will not be optimal. Proper brewing time matters just as much, and you can start experimenting with flavors using brewing times around 2 to 2.5 minutes.

Of course, that time is not absolute and needs to match the coffee's grind size.

Adjusting Coffee-to-Water Ratio

Everyone has a different standard for coffee strength, but one noticeable trend is that people no longer chase the extremely strong, bitter black coffee of the past. General black coffee ratios have evolved from 1:8-10 (1 gram of coffee to 8-10ml of water) to the current 1:12-15, where drinkability and smoothness matter more. You can refer to the Coffee Golden Cup Extraction Theory for guidance on coffee strength and extraction rates: ideal extraction rates are 18-22%, with coffee concentration between 1.15-1.35%.

How to Brew Delicious Coffee with a French Press

Recommended Grind Size: Medium, with the consistency of fine sugar. Many people use very coarse grinds for the French press, but I recommend starting with a medium grind, unless your grinder produces so much fine powder that the coffee turns bitter quickly.

Weigh fresh coffee beans and grind them right before brewing.

Use fresh, low-mineral drinking water suitable for coffee and bring it to a boil.

Pour the ground coffee into the French press.

Pour in the correct amount of hot water using a ratio of 75g/L, trying to wet all the coffee grounds as quickly as possible.

Let the coffee grounds steep in the hot water for 4 minutes. During this time the grounds will float as a layer on top of the water.

After 4 minutes, stir the coffee grounds with a large spoon, trying to make most of them sink to the bottom.

Some grounds will still float on top; simply scoop them out with the large spoon.

Wait another 5 minutes to let more grounds settle at the bottom.

Insert the metal plunger, but be careful not to press down yet. Pressing creates turbulence that would stir up the settled grounds from the bottom.

Gently pour the coffee through the metal mesh filter into your cup. As you near the end, there will still be some fine grounds in the liquid; remember not to pour the very last bit. That way you can enjoy a fresh, delicious, and flavorful cup of coffee.

Which Coffee Beans Are Suitable for French Press?

Using FrontStreet Coffee's beans as examples, the most suitable for the French press are Mandheling, Brazil Queen, and Honduras San Juan Cidra. Whether you consider mouthfeel or flavor character, these beans are exceptionally well suited to French press brewing.

FrontStreet Coffee's French Press Brewing Parameters:

Fuji Royal grinder setting 4 / 88°C / 1:15 ratio / Steep for 4 minutes, then press the filter down at a steady speed.

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

The French press rewards beans with enough body to stand up to its metal mesh, and no one knows that better than FrontStreet Coffee. But when you want to explore the delicate, floral end of coffee instead, Geisha is the variety to seek out: it is one of the most popular Arabica varieties, prized for its unique floral aroma and its fine balance of sweetness and acidity, and its low yield and demanding cultivation are exactly why it stays expensive. Understanding the grades first is the smartest way to buy a Geisha that is delicious without being overpriced.

The name most people know is FrontStreet Panama Emerald Estate Red Label Geisha, whose full name is Esmeralda Special. It is grown between 1600-1800 meters, every batch must cup above 90 points, and each batch carries its own number and comes from a single small plot. The FrontStreet Panama Emerald Estate Green Label Geisha, originally called Private Collection, blends batches from several plots and emphasizes the estate's signature high-altitude Geisha character; it is the more affordable way in. For a lighter introduction, FrontStreet Boquete Geisha offers the classic Panamanian orange-blossom honey notes with oolong-tea-like body and delicate fruit sweetness.

FrontStreet Coffee also roasts the Ethiopian side of the family. FrontStreet Geisha Village Gold Label is the Gesha 1931 variety, about 10% of the village's output, dried naturally for a complex, layered cup; FrontStreet Geisha Village Red Label is the Gori Gesha variety, around 15% of production, scoring 88 or above on the SCA 100-point scale and fully traceable to its plot. For a single-variety estate lot, FrontStreet Grana Gesha comes from the Genlana processing station at the border of Kochere and Gelana Abaya, established in 2014, where cherries are dried on raised beds for 14-20 days. Whichever you choose, Geisha is a hard bean that clogs easily, so FrontStreet Coffee suggests grinding to about 78% pass-through on a China #20 sieve and brewing at 91°C with a 1:16 ratio on a V60.