Brew method
French Press grind size & ratio
Full immersion with a metal mesh filter. Heavier, rounder and more forgiving than pour over, at the cost of some clarity.
French Press grind setting on popular grinders
“Coarse” is a different number on every grinder. These are worked out from each model’s own dial curve rather than a generic chart.
| Grinder | French Press setting |
|---|---|
| 1Zpresso JX-Pro | 179 clicks |
| 1Zpresso X-Ultra | 193 clicks |
| 1Zpresso ZP6 Special | 71 clicks |
| Baratza Encore | 27.5 |
| Comandante C40 MK4 | 33 clicks |
| Eureka Mignon Specialita | 11.7 rotations |
| Fellow Ode Gen 2 | 8.2 |
| KINGrinder K6 | 121 clicks |
| Mahlkönig EK43 | 11.2 |
| Niche Zero | 36.6 |
| Timemore C3 | 25 clicks |
| Timemore Sculptor 078 | 31.6 |
How french press works
Everything steeps together for the whole brew, so extraction is governed by time and grind rather than by your pouring. That makes it the most repeatable method for most people.
The metal mesh lets oils and very fine particles through. Those give French press its weight and texture, and they are also why a cup left sitting keeps getting stronger and eventually bitter.
Decant as soon as you plunge. Coffee left on the grounds continues extracting, and the last third of a cafetière tastes noticeably worse than the first.
When it tastes wrong
Grind finer or steep a minute longer.
Grind coarser, and decant immediately after plunging rather than leaving it in the press.
The common mistake
Grinding too fine. Fines slip through the mesh and keep extracting in the cup, which is the usual cause of a muddy, over-extracted French press — not the steep time.
French Press recipes worth knowing
Your grinder, your number
Convert this grind to your grinder
French Press sits at grind index 72 on BrewMark’s 0–100 scale. The converter turns that into the real number or click count on any of 78 models.
Open the grind converter →Dial-in charts by grinder
Every brew method's setting for one specific model, espresso through cold brew.
- PorlexMini II grind settings
- TimemoreC2 Max grind settings
- TimemoreSculptor 064 grind settings
- WacacoExagrind grind settings
- 1ZpressoJ-Max grind settings
- 1ZpressoQ2 grind settings
- BaratzaForté BG grind settings
- BrevilleBarista Express (built-in) grind settings
- CeadoE37S grind settings
- DF64DF64 V2 grind settings
- EurekaMignon Specialita grind settings
- FellowOpus grind settings