Measuring and Grinding the Beans

The measuring and grinding of beans for your french press coffee maker is probably the most confusing part of the whole process. Listed below are some general guidelines that should help you get the numbers right the first few times.

Once you’ve tried these numbers and measurements, feel free to try out your own tests to get the coffee just the way you like it. Some people like weaker or stronger coffee, so experiment with different amounts of beans and water until you’re happy.

There’s no right or wrong way to make a pot of french press coffee. The following tips will simply help point you in the right direction.

Store Coffee Sizes VS. French Press Coffee Sizes

We’re all used to the sizes of coffee that are served up to us in Starbucks and the like: the smallest regular cup of coffee you’ll see is 12oz. Things are a little different for french press coffee makers, where a cup of coffee is generally between 4-6 ounces.

So if you’re looking to be a traditionalist, get yourself some small cups and saucers and stick to the 4-6 cups of coffee with your french press. For the rest of us, go ahead and pour your french press coffee into your 64 ounce mug and get on with your day.

Amount of Beans Per Cup of French Press Coffee

So because the size of a traditional cup of french press coffee are smaller than what we’re used to, so are the serving sizes. For every 4 ounces of water, you’ll want to use 1 heaping tablespoon of coffee beans.

So in a single person french press coffee maker, 3 heaping tablespoons is the perfect amount of coffee beans to make a great pot of coffee.

Grinding Settings for your Coffee Beans

French press coffee makers do not use paper filters like standard drip coffee makers do. Instead, french presses will either have a nylon or steel mesh filter to separate the grinds and the water.

Because of this, you will need to use a much coarser grind of coffee to make sure that it doesn’t clog the filter on the french press plunger. On nearly every grinder, it will either say “coarse” or “press” grind; that’s what you want to use.

Recommended Grinder

Krups Fast Touch Coffee Grinder

This is a great, simple, and compact little coffee grinder. These things are very loud so be careful if others are sleeping in the morning. But these are the main thing to ensure that you have the best cup of french press coffee as they give you the freshest beans possible.