What kind of coffee for the French press?

Did you know that you don't always have to go to a coffee shop for a great cup of coffee? Or that you don't have to buy several thousand dollars worth of coffee equipment, but just a simple French press pot for a few hundred? Well, yeah, but what kind of coffee to put in it? That's the question!

We've written a lot about making coffee in a French press. For example, the instructionson how to make delicious coffee in this pot or in one article we asked the question "to stir or not to stir?". But what coffee to use in a French press - that hasn't been done here before.

French press - alternative coffee preparation

To begin with, the French press is one of the alternative methods of coffee preparation. Similar to coffee filtered in a dripper through a paper filter or coffee prepared in a moka pot.

So what is "non-alternative", you ask? It's coffee prepared in a coffee machine like espresso and all the other coffee drinks that go along with espresso. Nice under high pressure - as opposed to alternative brewing in a very short time.

If we want to get the best possible flavour out of coffee by other "gentler" methods of preparation we need different types of coffees, or different roasts.

Which coffee for the French press?

In general, espresso coffee is roasted darker than coffee for alternative preparation methods. This is because darker roasted beans are quicker to extract. Which is exactly what we need when making espresso. But with alternative brewing, it's the other way around. Our roaster Zdeněk Mareček describes it perfectly and much more expertly than I can in his article "Dark or light roasted coffee?".

For the preparation of coffee in a French press it is best to choose one of the coffees prepared "on the filter". I recommend that you choose coffee that is as freshly roasted as possible and always check the roast date before you buy it. Even the best variety roasted in the best way simply doesn't smell good after three or four months. And most importantly, it doesn't smell.

Grinding coffee on a French press

The next important step before the actual preparation is to grind it properly. In general, a coarse grind is recommended for the French press. This may surprise you if you haven't ground your own coffee before or if you are a fan of other types of preparation. In any case, coffee ground for the French press should be a little coarser than crystal sugar. It also says something about coarse salt.

Různé hrubosti mletí kávy — Different grinding coarseness | Green Plantation

Ground coffee for the French press?

Yes. You can buy coffee already ground. Yes, they will (hopefully) be happy to grind freshly brewed coffee for you to stock up at your favorite coffee shop. If you plan to do this, tell them you want your coffee prepared in a French press. But I always recommend grinding your coffee right before you make it. Why? The lines on bean vs ground coffeewill tell you more about that .

French press - how to make a great cup of coffee

I leave the actual instructions to my colleague Mirka and her clear article on how to prepare coffee in a French press. But it's good to remind ourselves of the basics:

coarse grinding
60 g of coffee per 1 l of water (for other numbers there is a trinomial)
water at a maximum temperature of 94-95 °C
scald the coffee with just a little water and let it bloom for 30 seconds
then top up with the rest
after 3-4 minutes, pour the coffee into cups

As I always advise - take inspiration, but don't be inspired by dogma. Don't be afraid to experiment a little with the preparation. You may find a way that takes your coffee to the next level and makes you (and maybe us) like it even more!

Frequently Asked Questions

You advise a water temperature of 94 °C. But what if I have a regular kettle?

Get a regular kitchen thermometer or open the kettle and count to 30. It works. ????

What's the advantage of the French press over other types of cooking?

The whole preparation in a French press is very simple, check out the recipe. So is the maintenance of the pot and strainer itself - you just put them in the dishwasher or rinse them with water.

Can I also use espresso coffee in the French press?

Of course. You can also use espresso-roasted coffee beans. You just might not get the same quality taste experience as using filter coffee. Try it - you'll see!