How to Use a Cafetiere . Complete Guide

To use a cafetiere, add coarse-ground coffee (roughly the texture of sea salt), pour over water heated to 92-96°C, steep for four minutes, then press the plunger down slowly and serve immediately. That is the short version. The long version , covering ratios, water temperature, grind size, common mistakes and the best coffees to use , is what follows.

The cafetiere (also called a French press) is one of the simplest, most forgiving and most satisfying ways to brew coffee at home. It requires no electricity, no paper filters, and no technical skill beyond boiling a kettle and telling the time. Despite that simplicity, the difference between a mediocre cafetiere brew and a genuinely excellent one is enormous , and it comes down to a handful of variables that are easy to control once you understand them.

We have been roasting coffee in Glasgow for over fifty years, supplying cafés, restaurants and hotels across Britain. This guide is based on how we actually brew cafetiere coffee ourselves , no unnecessary complexity, just the principles that make a real difference.

What You Need

The beauty of cafetiere brewing is the minimal equipment list:

• A cafetiere (French press) , any size. The most common sizes are 3-cup (350ml), 4-cup (500ml) and 8-cup (1 litre). Glass or stainless steel both work well.
• Coarse-ground coffee , pre-ground cafetiere grind or, ideally, whole beans and a burr grinder. We offer a dedicated cafetiere grind range.
• A kettle , a temperature-controlled kettle is useful but not essential. A standard kettle left to cool for 30-60 seconds after boiling will be in the right range.
• A timer , your phone timer is fine.
• A spoon , for stirring and skimming.
• Scales (optional but recommended) , for consistent results every time.

Step-by-Step Cafetiere Method

Step 1: Boil Your Water and Pre-Heat the Cafetiere

Boil your kettle, then pour some hot water into the empty cafetiere. Swirl it around and leave it for 30 seconds. This pre-heats the glass, which prevents heat loss during brewing. Pour the pre-heat water away.

While the cafetiere is pre-heating, let your kettle water cool for 30-60 seconds. You are aiming for 92-96°C , just off the boil, not rolling boiling water. Boiling water (100°C) will scald the coffee and extract harsh, bitter compounds. Too cool (below 90°C) and you will under-extract, leaving the cup thin and sour.

Step 2: Measure Your Coffee

Use a ratio of 1:15 (coffee to water by weight). That means:

• 1 mug (~250ml): 17g of coffee
• 2 mugs (~500ml): 33g of coffee
• Large cafetiere (~1 litre): 65g of coffee

If you do not have scales, a level tablespoon is roughly 7-8g, so use two rounded tablespoons per mug as a starting point. Adjust to taste on subsequent brews.

Step 3: Grind Your Coffee (If Using Whole Beans)

Grind size is the single most important variable in cafetiere brewing. You need a coarse grind , about the texture of sea salt or raw demerara sugar. If the grind is too fine, coffee will over-extract (bitter, harsh, muddy) and grounds will slip through the mesh filter into your cup. If it is too coarse, the coffee will under-extract (thin, sour, watery).

A burr grinder produces a far more consistent grind than a blade grinder. If you are using a blade grinder, pulse in short bursts rather than holding the button down , this produces a more even grind. If you prefer convenience, our cafetiere grind coffees are ground to the correct coarseness for you.

Step 4: Add Coffee to the Cafetiere

Tip the ground coffee into the pre-heated cafetiere. Give it a gentle shake to level the bed.

Step 5: Pour the Water

Start your timer and pour the hot water (92-96°C) over the coffee grounds in a steady, circular motion. Pour all the water in one go , do not pour half and wait. Make sure all the grounds are saturated. You will see the coffee "bloom" , a release of CO2 gas that causes the grounds to rise and bubble. This is normal and desirable, particularly with fresh-roasted coffee.

Step 6: Stir and Place the Lid

After about 30 seconds, give the surface a gentle stir with a spoon. This breaks the crust of floating grounds and ensures even extraction. Place the lid on the cafetiere with the plunger pulled up , this retains heat during steeping. Do not plunge yet.

Step 7: Steep for Four Minutes

Leave the coffee to steep for exactly four minutes. This is the standard immersion time that balances extraction , long enough to develop body, sweetness and flavour, but not so long that you extract the bitter, astringent compounds from the grounds.

If you prefer a lighter, less intense cup, try 3 minutes 30 seconds. If you prefer more body and intensity, extend to 4 minutes 30 seconds. Do not go beyond 5 minutes , over-extraction becomes increasingly obvious past that point.

Step 8: Plunge and Serve

When the timer reaches four minutes, press the plunger down slowly and steadily. Do not force it , a gentle, even pressure over 15-20 seconds is ideal. If the plunger feels very hard to push, your grind is too fine. If it drops straight to the bottom with no resistance, your grind is too coarse.

Serve immediately. Do not leave the brewed coffee sitting in the cafetiere. Even after plunging, the grounds at the bottom continue to extract into the liquid, making the last cups increasingly bitter. Pour all the coffee into mugs or a serving jug straight after plunging.

Why Grind Size Matters So Much

In a cafetiere, the coffee grounds sit in contact with the water for the full four minutes. This "full immersion" brewing means every particle is extracting for the same duration. If the grind is too fine, the massively increased surface area means the coffee over-extracts , you get bitterness, astringency, and a muddy, thick texture. Fine grounds also pass through the metal mesh filter, leaving sediment in your cup.

Coarse grinding reduces the surface area, slowing extraction to a rate that produces a balanced, sweet, full-bodied cup over the four-minute steep. It is the single easiest way to improve your cafetiere coffee overnight.

Water Temperature: 92-96°C

Water temperature is the second most important variable. At 92-96°C, the water is hot enough to extract the desirable compounds (sugars, acids, aromatics) without extracting the undesirable ones (bitter phenols, harsh tannins) at a rate that overwhelms the cup.

A simple rule: boil the kettle, wait 30-60 seconds, then pour. If you have a temperature-controlled kettle, set it to 94°C for cafetiere brewing. If you are using water straight off the boil, it is almost certainly too hot , and this is one of the most common reasons people find cafetiere coffee bitter.

The 1:15 Ratio

The coffee-to-water ratio determines the strength of your brew. 1:15 (1 gram of coffee to 15 grams of water) is the standard starting point for cafetiere , it produces a full-bodied, flavourful cup without being overpowering.

If you prefer a stronger cup, try 1:13. If you prefer a lighter, more delicate brew, try 1:17. These are small adjustments, but they make a noticeable difference. Once you find your preferred ratio, use it every time for consistency.

Best Coffee for Cafetiere

Cafetiere brewing extracts body and oils more fully than filter methods, producing a rich, full-textured cup. This suits coffees with substance , medium and dark roasts with chocolate, nut, caramel and earthy notes work particularly well.

Our top picks for cafetiere:

• Brazilian Santa Hedwirges , a natural-processed medium roast with dark chocolate, hazelnut and caramel sweetness. One of the best cafetiere coffees we have ever roasted. Full body, low acidity, deeply satisfying.
• Mellow Morning , a medium roast blend designed for easy drinking. Smooth, balanced, sweet. An excellent everyday cafetiere coffee that is impossible to dislike.
• Colombian Inza Pedregal , a washed light-medium roast with clean citrus acidity and a medium body. More nuanced than the Brazilian, but still substantial enough for cafetiere brewing.

Browse our full coffee for cafetiere collection for beans and pre-ground options specifically suited to this brew method. Our medium roast range is also an excellent place to start.

Common Cafetiere Mistakes

1. Grind Too Fine

This is the most common mistake by far. If your cafetiere coffee is bitter, muddy, or has visible sediment in the cup, your grind is too fine. Switch to a coarser setting or buy pre-ground cafetiere coffee.

2. Water Too Hot

Pouring boiling water directly onto the grounds scalds the coffee. Let the kettle sit for 30-60 seconds after boiling. The difference between 100°C and 94°C is dramatic in the cup , one produces bitterness, the other produces sweetness.

3. Leaving Coffee in the Cafetiere After Plunging

The coffee continues to extract even after plunging. If you leave it sitting for 10-15 minutes, the last cups will be noticeably more bitter than the first. Always decant immediately into mugs or a jug.

4. Not Pre-Heating the Cafetiere

A cold glass cafetiere drops the water temperature significantly the moment you pour. Pre-heating with hot water takes 30 seconds and keeps the brew temperature stable throughout the steep.

5. Pressing Too Hard

If the plunger requires significant force, do not power through , you will push fine grounds through the mesh and into your cup. Hard plunging usually means the grind is too fine. Adjust the grind first.

6. Using Stale Coffee

Coffee more than a month past roast date will taste flat and lifeless regardless of technique. Freshly roasted coffee , ideally within 2-4 weeks of the roast date , transforms the cafetiere from an ordinary brew into something genuinely special.

Cafetiere Brewing Tips from Our Roasters

• Skim the surface before plunging. After the four-minute steep, use a spoon to skim off the floating grounds and foam from the surface. This reduces sediment and produces a cleaner cup.
• Try the "wait and skim" method. Instead of plunging at four minutes, wait until six minutes, skim the surface, then plunge gently. The extended steep with skimming produces a remarkably clean, sweet cup , a technique popularised by James Hoffmann.
• Clean the mesh filter regularly. Old coffee oils trapped in the mesh go rancid and taint every subsequent brew. Disassemble and scrub the filter after every use.
• Start with medium roasts. Medium roasts are the most forgiving in a cafetiere , they tolerate small variations in temperature, grind and timing without becoming bitter or sour. Once you have dialled in your technique, explore darker and lighter options.

Frequently Asked Questions

Ready to Brew?

The cafetiere is one of the most rewarding ways to make coffee at home , simple, affordable, and capable of producing genuinely exceptional cups with good beans and a few minutes of care. Explore our cafetiere coffee collection for beans ground to the right coarseness, or buy whole bean and grind fresh for the best possible results.

All our coffees are flame-roasted in small batches in Glasgow, SCA-scored to speciality grade, and dispatched within days of roasting. Free delivery on orders over £25.