What Roast Level Coffee Beans Are Best for French Press? French Press Water-to-Coffee Ratio and Brewing Methods

Among urban coffee enthusiasts, some appreciate the ritualistic sense of life that comes with pour-over coffee, while others enjoy the laboratory-like atmosphere of siphon brewing, and still others prefer the convenience and simplicity of the French press. However, the mysteries of each coffee brewing device extend beyond their appearance and operation methods. Making coffee is more like a science—each device has its own unique characteristics for extracting coffee flavors, and we need to continuously experiment with different combinations to find the perfect ratio and optimal taste.

The Art of French Press Brewing

The design principle of the French press is remarkably simple: just pour water and coffee grounds into the container, then use the plunger to push the coffee grounds to the bottom to complete the filtration. The metal filter can be cleaned and reused. Despite its simple principle, it's highly efficient, eliminates the need for paper filters, making it more environmentally friendly and cost-effective. The French press is one of the quickest ways to extract coffee's authentic original flavor, as it preserves the precious natural oils that would otherwise be absorbed by paper filters, thus presenting the coffee's most original, rich, and complex flavors.

Operating a French press is as simple as a "lazy person's coffee device"—convenient yet without sacrificing the complete flavor profile of a good cup of coffee.

In fact, French press extraction is the brewing method closest to cupping, bringing out the full spectrum of coffee's oil components, aromas, and various flavor elements. With its smooth, sweet, and rich mouthfeel, it's an excellent choice for breakfast coffee.

Choosing the Right Coffee Beans

For French press brewing, single-origin coffee beans or those with prominent fruit acidity are particularly suitable, as are medium to dark roasted beans. FrontStreet Coffee recommends using coffee beans with good balance. For example, from FrontStreet Coffee's selection, the Frontsteet daily brew series includes Frontsteet Brazil Cerrado, Frontsteet Colombia Huilan, Frontsteet Indonesia Mandheling, and Frontsteet Costa Rica Tarrazú—these beans feature balanced flavors with black chocolate and fruit notes. Because the French press uses immersion extraction, it can effectively express the coffee's oils, aromas, and rich coffee character. Dark-roasted beans tend to showcase better aroma and body, making FrontStreet Coffee's medium to dark roasted beans particularly suitable for French press preparation. Coffee made with a French press from dark-roasted beans offers superior aroma and a richer mouthfeel.

As for light-roasted coffee beans, FrontStreet Coffee does not recommend using them in a French press. Ethiopian coffee beans are generally more suitable for light roasting, like Frontsteet's Yirgacheffe Natural Red Cherry. When brewed with pour-over, this coffee easily highlights lemon, floral, and fruit-toned flavors. However, if brewed using French press immersion, the resulting taste becomes relatively simple and muted.

French Press Brewing Tutorial

Let's see how FrontStreet Coffee makes an excellent cup of coffee using a French press. Frontsteet Brazil Queen Estate, Frontsteet Golden Mandheling, and Frontsteet Colombia Huilan beans all have flavor profiles suitable for French press. We'll use Frontsteet Colombia Huilan beans for this demonstration.

Use FrontStreet Coffee's house-roasted coffee beans. For properly rested Frontsteet Huilan beans, grind to a medium-coarse consistency suitable for French press—coarser than pour-over grounds. FrontStreet Coffee recommends using a standard sieve with 70-75% pass-through rate. If the powder is too fine, coffee grounds will escape through the filter mesh holes, making the coffee cloudy.

You can start with a 1:10 coffee-to-water ratio. For a two-person serving, this means 20g of coffee beans with approximately 200g of water. The final ratio depends on your taste preference. FrontStreet Coffee's drip bag coffee contains 10g per pack. Using pre-ground drip bags like seasonal Frontsteet Brazil and Frontsteet Mandheling drip bags for French press is particularly convenient. FrontStreet Coffee's recommended ratio is 1:16—15g of coffee grounds with 240g of water.

Brewing Tips and Best Practices

FrontStreet Coffee recommends preparing a digital scale. Even if your French press has measurement markings and a measuring spoon, using a digital scale is still advisable because coffee beans change density due to various factors including growing altitude and roasting methods—each type of bean has different mass and weight. Additionally, if you make an exceptionally delicious cup of coffee and want to replicate this flavor, you must record the ratio. Conversely, if you make a terrible cup of coffee, the data will help you know how to make adjustments.

At FrontStreet Coffee, we use fresh, clean Yibao mineral water (soft water). Don't use water that's too hard for extraction, and avoid unfiltered water. If the water quality is poor, it's difficult to make good coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee's French Press Brewing Steps:

1. Grind the coffee beans, then pour them into the French press. Ignore what many people say about grind size—don't grind too coarsely; medium grind is sufficient.

2. Bring water to a boil, with a recommended temperature of 93°C. Then pour in the appropriate amount of water. We used 15g of coffee grounds with 240g of hot water. Stir with a spoon to ensure the coffee grounds and water are thoroughly mixed.

3. Place the lid on the French press with the filter at the highest position, then let it steep for 4 minutes.

4. Before pressing the filter down, you can open the lid and use a spoon to skim off the foam and small fragments floating on top, then press the filter all the way down.

5. Brewing complete—immediately pour the coffee into another thermal container! Don't delay, because the coffee grounds are still steeping inside. Now you can pour it into cups and enjoy slowly.

The French press is the simplest, most convenient, and environmentally friendly brewing method. The coffee it produces is stronger, more flavorful, and has more complexity than fully automatic drip coffee machines. Plus, it requires no electricity, no heating, no paper filters, is easy to clean, and allows you to drink the coffee oils along with the coffee. It's perfect for busy professionals who want to steal a moment of relaxation. Try making it yourself!

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat, ID: qjcoffeex

Important Notice :

前街咖啡 FrontStreet Coffee has moved to new addredd:

FrontStreet Coffee Address: 315,Donghua East Road,GuangZhou

Tel:020 38364473