French Press

French press coffee is dense and heavy, yet it has its own sort of elegance. As with any method, the devil is in the details: To achieve a full expression of the coffee, decant it immediately after brewing so it doesn’t become bitter or chalky. Then, sink into this rich and heady cup. It only takes four minutes to brew.

  • COFFEE AMOUNT

    30 grams

  • GRIND SIZE

    Coarse

  • WATER AMT AND TEMP

    205°

  • BREW TIME

    4 min

Step 1

Bring enough water to fill theFrench pressto a boil. For a 17-oz press, you'll need about 350grams(12 ounces).

Step 2

Grind and weigh your coffee While the water is heating, grind your coffee. French press coffee calls for a coarse, even grind. We recommend starting with a 1:12 coffee-to-water ratio. If you're using 350 grams of water, you’ll want 30 grams of coffee.

step 3

Place a filter in the dripper. If you are using a custom Blue Bottle filter, there is no need to pre-wet it. If you are using a #2 filter with another dripper, we recommend wetting the filter with hot water and then dumping the water before proceeding with brewing.

STEP 4

Add the ground coffee to the filter and gently tap it to level the surface of the grounds. Place the brewer on a carafe or cup, place this entire set-up onto a digital scale, and set it to zero.

step 5

There will be a total of four pours. Start a timer. Begin pouring water slowly over the coffee, starting at the center and moving in a steady spiral toward the edge and back again. Stop pouring when the scale reaches 60 grams. Make sure all the grounds are saturated. The pour should take about 15 seconds. Give the coffee an additional 30 seconds to bloom before moving on to the second pour.

step 6

Second Pour. Starting in the center of the grounds, pour in a steady spiral toward the outer edge and then back toward the center. Add roughly 90 grams, bringing the total to 150 grams. The goal during this pour is to sink all of the grounds on the surface of the bed. This creates a gentle turbulence that “stirs” the coffee, allowing water to more evenly extract the grounds. Allow 45–65 seconds to elaps.

step 7

Third Pour. As the mixture of water and coffee from the second pour drops to the bottom of the filter, coming close to the level of the grounds, pour an additional 100 grams of water using the same pattern as the second pour. This brings the total up to 250 grams and should take 15–20 seconds.

step 8

Final Pour. When the water and coffee from the third pour drops to the bottom of the filter, complete your fourth and final pour. Add 100 grams, bringing the total up to 350 grams of water. This pour should take 20 seconds.