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How to Use a French Press: How to Make Delicious Brazilian Coffee with a French Press

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, What makes the best coffee in a French press? This largely comes down to personal preference, but generally, medium and dark roast beans are the best choices. Here's FrontStreet Coffee's guide to the basic French press coffee brewing method. Preheating the press The first thing you need to do is preheat the French press. This is an important step in all coffee brewing methods. Preheating ensures proper temperature extraction and helps maintain the ideal brewing temperature throughout the process.

What Makes the Best Coffee in a French Press?

This largely comes down to personal preference, but generally speaking, medium and dark roast beans are the best choices. Here are the basic methods for French press coffee brewing, brought to you by FrontStreet Coffee.

Preheat the Press

The first thing you need to do is preheat your French press. This is an important step in all coffee brewing methods. Preheating the brewing equipment prevents fluctuations in brewing temperature as the cold equipment and hot water balance each other out. Simply add some hot water to the press, swirl it around until it feels warm to the touch. An additional benefit is that a preheated French press will also keep your coffee hot for longer.

Measure/Weigh Your Coffee

The ideal coffee grind size for a French press is medium-coarse. It's best to grind fresh coffee beans right before brewing, and use a scale rather than a spoon to measure your ground coffee.

Measuring coffee grounds for French press

Measure/Weigh Water and Check Temperature

Similarly, to get the right coffee-to-water ratio for your French press, you should aim for a core ratio of 1:15. This means 1 part coffee to 15 parts water.

Add Coffee Grounds and Hot Water

Add the coffee grounds to your preheated French press, then pour in the correct proportion of hot water all at once. Then, take a spoon and quickly stir the coffee to ensure all grounds are properly immersed in the water.

Put on the Lid and Start Timing

Putting on the lid helps insulate the press, keeping the heat inside while the coffee brews. Set your timer. The standard French press brewing time is 4 minutes, but you can adjust this later according to your preference.

Press Down the Plunger Slowly

After enough time has passed, slowly press down the plunger. Make sure to press it down completely, otherwise the coffee will continue to over-brew.

Pour Out the Coffee

It's recommended to pour out the coffee immediately. The longer coffee sits in the container with the grounds, the more flavor will be extracted. Over-extracted coffee becomes very bitter!

Finally, it's time to enjoy a wonderful cup of coffee.

How Long Should French Press Coffee Steep?

Reviewing the instructions above, we first pour in a small amount of boiling water, stir, and wait. Then we pour in the remaining water, stir again, and wait.

3-4 minutes is the "optimal" time to get coffee of average strength from the press.

If you prefer lighter coffee, finish brewing earlier. If you like it stronger, give it more time. However, I wouldn't give it too much time, as you might ruin a cup of coffee with bitterness from over-extraction.