French Press
Ultimate French Press Technique
Recipe by James HoffmannSource
30g
Coffee
500g
Water
1:16.7
Ratio
100°C
Temperature
Medium-coarse
Grind Size
9:30
Total Time
Preparation
Warm the press
Rinse the beaker with hot water so the brew does not lose heat immediately.
Step-by-step recipe
Pour
Add the grounds and pour all 500 g of water straight in. Start the timer.
Steep
Leave it completely alone for four minutes.
Break the crust
Stir the crust on the surface with a spoon so it sinks.
Skim
Use two spoons to lift the foam and floating grounds off the surface and throw them away.
Let it settle
Wait at least five more minutes while the fines drop to the bottom. Longer is fine.
Rest the plunger and pour
Lower the plunger only until the mesh touches the liquid. Do not push it through. Pour gently and stop before the sludge.
Notes
The recipe that convinced a lot of people the French press was not a muddy brewer, only a badly used one. Two changes do it. Skim the foam and floating grounds off after the crust breaks, because that is where most of the bitterness sits. Then let everything settle and rest the plunger on the surface instead of pushing it down, so the sediment stays on the bottom rather than being stirred back through the cup. It takes about ten minutes, and almost all of that is waiting.