What is
French press?

The field notes

Coffee and water.
A little time together.

French press coffee is made by steeping ground coffee in hot water, then lowering a mesh plunger to help separate the grounds from the drink. The coffee and water share the same vessel while brewing. That makes the French press a useful example of immersion brewing.

1. Steep the grounds in water

   Keep the plunger raised while brewing

   Add coffee and water according to your chosen recipe. In the guides linked below, the lid is placed on the brewer without pressing the plunger down during steeping. A gentle change in color illustrates extraction in our film; it is not a measurement of flavor or elapsed brewing time.

2. Lower the plunger gently

   Let the mesh separate most of the grounds

   Lower the plunger slowly. Liquid can pass through the mesh while most larger grounds remain beneath it. The screen does not catch every fine particle. Some oils and tiny particles can remain in the drink, contributing to the fuller, more textured feel often associated with French press coffee.

3. Pour and serve

   Leave the grounds in the brewer

   Pour gently into your cup. The animation uses a cutaway so you can see the coffee level fall in the press and rise in the cup. The brewer and its mesh are simplified illustrations; the magnified particles are not shown to scale.

Brew Basics · Part 1 of 3. We begin with the French press: coffee and water steep together, then a mesh plunger helps leave the grounds behind. The series next explores pour-over before bringing the two methods together.

Read the narration Full video transcript

What does the plunger in a French press actually do? Let's follow one cup.

Ground coffee and hot water sit together in the same pot.

This is immersion brewing: as the coffee steeps, water draws flavor from the grounds. Give the coffee time to steep with the plunger still raised, following your chosen recipe.

Then comes the press. Lower the plunger slowly,

and its mesh screen separates most of the grounds from the liquid above.

Some coffee oils and tiny particles can remain in the drink.

That can give French press coffee a fuller, more textured feel.

Pour gently into your cup, and serve.

Your grind, amounts and steeping time will shape the result.

That's the French press: coffee and water steep together, and the plunger helps you leave the grounds behind.

French press · Sources

1. Stumptown Coffee Roasters · French Press Brew GuideA primary roaster guide: add grounds and water, steep with the plunger raised, then press and pour. Its quantities and timing are one recipe, not a universal rule.
2. Starbucks at Home · Coffee PressThe producer’s brewing guide describes a slow, steady press to separate coffee from the grounds, followed by pouring and serving.
3. Sweet Maria’s Coffee Library · Coffee Filter FAQA coffee supplier explains filter materials, residual fine particles and oils, including the texture of French press coffee.
4. Stumptown Coffee Roasters · Bodum French PressThe roaster describes French press as immersion brewing and discusses its characteristic textured, fuller-bodied cup.

Original illustrations simplify the brewer and process. The cutaway, magnified particles and compressed steeping time explain the mechanism; they are not a precise appliance model, a numerical recipe or a measure of taste. This lesson makes no health or caffeine claims. Sources checked November 1, 2026.