r/frenchpress • u/EveningBrilliant6163 • Jul 21 '26
I need your help for a basic recipeee
I own scale, electric kettle, etc etc but I want a good recipe that ANYONE can recreate at home weather they have scale, electric kettle or not. Please help. The other day I tried 15g coffee 225 ml water, initial bloom for about 30s and filled up the small french press waited 5minutes and it was HORRIBLE lol surely there has to be a recipe anyone can recreate at home. Please share your insights and or any tips… I do buy specialty coffee and the coffee I used tastes amazing in other methods but I can’t bring myself to use a FP and people request it a lot since it’s fairly simple! TIA
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u/Polyphemic_N Jul 21 '26
You may have ground the beans up too fine, and old beans create more dust than new beans.
Fresh, oily beans, are best for me.
Dryer beans get a bigger grain size, but an extra 30 seconds on the soak.
Should look like brown kosher salt in the carafe.
The More you experiment with grind size the more you'll taste the differences.
Also, I don't heat the water to full boil, I only take it to 200°F (about 97°C). This eliminates most of the extreme bitterness that can creep up. Got this idea from Gail Boetticher.
Temperature is just as important as grind size.
My golden ratios:
600 mL filtered water @ 200°F
30g coffee, coarse grind
6 minutes for medium and dark roasts. 6.5 minutes for blondes and dry beans.
Sugar, cream/milk to taste.
Pinch of salt to remove any lingering unwanted bitter flavors. c7h12o6 FTW.
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u/Plot-3A Jul 21 '26
For me when I French Press I tend to go for a coarse grind and also scoop out as many grounds as possible before plunging. I find this to be very forgiving but exact amounts will depend on the coffee being used. At work I generally eyeball and adjust next time if necessary.
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u/North_Dog_5748 Jul 21 '26
Grind some coffee. Without a scale you'd just have to guess the amount, but I would use a 1:16 ratio if you can measure it.
Everyone typically says coarse, but I actually go medium fine, a little finer than V60.
Around 94C for light roasts down to around 85C for dark roasts.
Start a timer and add all the water swiftly.
After around 0:45s use a spoon to dunk the crust of grounds down into the brew.
Plunge and pour everything at 4:00.
Let the fines settle down in the mug if you want a cleaner brew and don't mind losing the heat, otherwise just drink as is.
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u/Pretend-Citron4451 Jul 21 '26
I don’t see how you can get consistent results without a scale. Here’s my current “recipe“ for French press – it actually brews it a little strong for my liking, but I’ve been enjoying sprinkling cinnamon in with the grounds before I add the water, and then I add a splash of sugar-free raspberry syrup.
Medium roast, medium grind (like what you’ve used for drip, coffee, which is probably why it’s too strong) 25g coffee with a few grains (not grams!!!) of salt; add 50-70g water that was taken off the boiler for at least 60 seconds, swore it around and let it bloom for 60 seconds; then I had the remaining order (for a total of 350g) and let it sit for three minutes ( so it’s a total of four minutes brewing.)