How to Brew Plunger Coffee (French Press Guide)

• The plunger (French press) is one of the easiest ways to brew a rich, full-bodied cup at home — no filters, no machine
• Use a coarse grind and a 1:16–1:17 ratio (about 6g coffee per 100ml water)
• The biggest mistakes are grinding too fine and skipping the extra settling time before you plunge
• Espresso roasts give a bigger, bolder cup — especially with milk. Filter roasts suit a brighter, black cup

I've broken more glass plungers than I'd like to admit, and it took me longer than it should have to switch to stainless steel. If you've written the coffee plunger off as the coffee snob's least favourite method, I get it — but made properly, it holds its own against anything else I brew, and it's still the easiest way to make a big batch for a table of people at once.

This guide runs through the ratio, grind size and method I actually use, plus the fixes for the complaints I hear most often — weak coffee, sludgy cups, and "why doesn't mine taste like the espresso bar's," which comes up more than you'd think for a method that has nothing to do with espresso.

QUICK ANSWER

How Do You Make Plunger Coffee?

Use a coarse grind and a ratio of roughly 6g of coffee per 100ml of water (1:16–1:17). Add hot water just off the boil, let it steep for around 8 minutes total — breaking the crust and skimming the foam at the halfway point — then plunge slowly and pour straight away.

Table of Contents:

• Why the Plunger Works
• What You'll Need
• The Method
• Getting the Ratio Right
• Choosing Your Coffee
• Troubleshooting

Why the Plunger Works

The plunger (French press) is an immersion brewer — the coffee sits fully submerged in water for several minutes, rather than water passing through it like a filter method. That's what gives it a heavier, fuller body than a V60 or AeroPress: the fine mesh filter lets through oils and fine particles that a paper filter would catch, so you get more texture in the cup.

It's also the brewer I reach for when I'm making coffee for more than one or two people — one plunger can serve a whole table, and it tastes just as good black or with milk. If you want the cleanest, most nuanced single-cup coffee, a V60 is a better fit. If you want a big, rich, forgiving brew that doesn't punish you for being slightly off on your pour, the plunger wins.

Quick take:
Pros: Rich full-bodied cup, brews multiple serves at once, no paper filters needed, hard to mess up badly
Cons: More clean-up than a V60 or AeroPress, glass versions are fragile, gives a slightly heavier/grittier cup than paper-filtered methods

What You'll Need

Coarsely ground coffee
A French press / coffee plunger
Filtered water, off the boil
Scales
A timer
A spoon (for breaking the crust)

The Method

This is the method I've used for years, adapted from James Hoffmann's The World Atlas of Coffee. It hasn't let me down yet.

1. Preheat. Pour a splash of boiling water into the plunger, swirl, then discard. This stops the plunger pulling heat out of your brew.

2. Grind and dose. Grind your coffee beans coarse and add to the plunger. Use 6g of coffee per 100ml of water — 15g for a 250ml cup, 30g for a 500ml double.

3. Pour. Add water just off the boil (let a boiled kettle sit 45 seconds first). Pour with a bit of force to make sure every ground gets wet. Set a timer for 4 minutes. Put the lid on to hold the heat, but don't push down.

4. Break the crust. At 4 minutes, gently stir the coffee floating on top so it sinks, then skim off any remaining foam with a spoon.

5. Now the key to get the best results. Lid back on, timer for another 4 minutes.

6. Plunge and pour. When the timer goes, push the plunger down slowly and evenly. Pour straight away — coffee left sitting on the grounds keeps extracting and turns bitter.

Total steep time: around 8 minutes.

Getting the Ratio Right

Our starting ratio is 1:16 to 1:17 — 6g of coffee per 100ml of water. If that's too weak for you, don't touch your grind first; increase your dose to around 7.5g per 100ml and see how that tastes before changing anything else. I still weigh mine every time, even after doing this for years — scales beat eyeballing it, and it's the fastest way to get a consistent cup two days running.

Choosing Your Coffee

Both filter and espresso roasts work well in a plunger, and which one you reach for comes down to how you drink it:

Drinking it black, want something bright? A filter roast or single origin will give you more clarity and fruit character.

Adding milk, or want something big and bold? An espresso roast holds up better and gives a stronger, punchier cup.

Shadow Boxer Espresso Blend

$68.00

Size 1kg500g250g3 x 1kg (SAVE 17%)

Grind Whole BeansEspresso GrindStovetop GrindFilter GrindAeropress GrindFrenchpress GrindBatch Brew Grind

Add to cart

Haymaker Espresso Blend

$72.00

Size 1kg500g250g

Grind Whole BeansEspresso GrindStovetop GrindAeropress GrindFilter GrindFrenchpress GrindBatch Brew Grind

Add to cart

If you like your coffee strong and take milk, go Shadow Boxer. Drinking it black while everyone else adds milk? Haymaker splits the difference well. Want to try something different? Our single origins are worth a look for a fruitier cup.

Troubleshooting

Coffee tastes weak — Check you're using scales, not eyeballing it. If your ratio's already right, bump the dose to 7.5g per 100ml before changing anything else.

Coffee tastes muddy or sludgy — Don't skip the crust-break step at the 4-minute mark, and don't rush the plunge. This is the single biggest fix for sludge in the cup.

Not sure what grind size to use — Coarse, similar to sea salt. Too fine and you'll get sediment and bitterness; too coarse and it'll taste thin.

For grind size across every method, see our full guide to making coffee at home.

Final Thoughts

The plunger rewards a coarse grind, a proper ratio, and a little patience at the crust-break step — get those three right and it holds its own against any other method I use. If there's one thing to take from all this, it's don't rush the plunge. That extra settling time is what separates a clean cup from a sludgy one, and it's the step almost everyone skips.

If you're after something with less clean-up, my AeroPress guide is worth a look — or if espresso's more your thing, here's how I make it at home.