Buying the best coffee for your French press – it’s easy.

You and your French press. You are inseparable. It is one of the most often underestimated tools for making really good specialty coffee. You know what you have in her! Would you like to buy the perfect coffee beans for this type of preparation? In this sea of ​​roasts and varieties, it's not that easy. But don't worry, we can help. The popular coffee maker is easier to use than other brewing methods, such as the hand filter or the Chemex. And it tastes completely different too. Below we will clarify why this is the case and which coffee is best for you to buy for your French press.

French press vs. filter coffee

The French press and filter coffee differ significantly in the proportion of fats and oils that end up in the cup. These natural components of the coffee bean influence the taste of the finished coffee. In the hand filter or Chemex, the fats and oils are retained and absorbed by the filter paper. This results in a very clear coffee with less full body. However, finer flavor nuances can come into their own more clearly here. When preparing with the French press, many oils make it into the final product. They not only give the coffee a different mouthfeel, but above all also a fuller body. Finer flavors of coffee may taste less nuanced. The special, full-bodied drinking experience impresses many coffee lovers. As is so often the case, there is no such thing as “good” or “bad”.

Buy the right roast for your French press

Basically, you can prepare any coffee roast in your French press. However, some roasts harmonize better with the French press than others. There are even very special roasts for the French press on the market. These are characterized by a medium to dark roast level. We also recommend using coffee beans with a medium roast profile. These are also used for classic filter coffee. Roasts that are too dark are less recommended. Because of the long contact with the water, classic espresso blends taste too bitter in the French press. However, coffee beans that are roasted too light are also unsuitable because they contain too much acid. It is better to use low-acid coffee beans.

Which grind level is ideal for preparation with the French press?

Unlike most filter methods, the water here does not run from top to bottom through a coffee bed. Instead, we fill the ground coffee in the French press with hot water and then, in the most common method, press it down with a round filter. Since the coffee is in contact with the water throughout the entire extraction time, the beans for the French press are ground a little coarser than with other filter methods. Your water should be around 95° Celsius for the French press and the extraction takes around 4:30 minutes. As always, I strongly recommend grinding your beans fresh shortly before preparation. Since the ground coffee is in contact with the hot water for a particularly long time in the French press, the degree of grinding plays a crucial role. Because how coarse or fine your coffee is ground determines the surface of the coffee. The finer the beans are ground, the larger the surface area and therefore the “attack surface” to release aromas and flavors. Therefore, your coffee should not be ground too finely. The grind level for the French press should always be coarse to medium. A little bit coarser than for the hand filter or the Chemex. Do you want to buy the right grinder for your French press? We would be happy to advise you. Simply write to us via chat or email. You can also order your coffee ground. Our roasters always grind it fresh for you. Pay particular attention to storage here, as ground coffee loses its aroma very quickly.

Find your flavor profile for your French press coffee

In our online shop you can filter by taste profile and aromas and buy the perfect coffee for your French press.