Best Coffee Beans for French Press (Make Outstanding Coffee)

The French press method is one of the most popular ways to prepare coffee as it’s simple and doesn’t require power.

Depending on geographic location, French presses are sometimes called cafetières, coffee presses, or coffee plungers.

But regardless of your location, I’ve found some of the best coffee beans to make outstanding coffee with a French press.

Here are the 8 best coffee beans for French press to make outstanding coffee:

1. Stone Street Colombian Supremo
2. Intelligentsia Coffee Frequency Blend
3. Mystik Monk Coffee Beans: Paradiso Blend
4. Caffe Vita Bistro Blend
5. Onyx Coffee Lab Ethiopia Kercha
6. Bulletproof Coffee French Kick
7. Peet’s Coffee Major Dickason’s Blend
8. Lifeboost Coffee Medium Roast

In this article, I’ll share why I consider these coffee beans to be some of the best for the French press and give a step-by-step tutorial on how you can make outstanding coffee at home.

8 best coffee beans for French press

Let’s take a look at some of the best coffee beans for French press coffee and why I recommend them:

1. Stone Street Colombian Supremo

Stone Street’s Colombian Supremo coffee beans make an ideal partner for your French press, as they offer sweet notes of cocoa, berries, and caramel to offset the high acidity level.

Although this blend is a light roast, it’s surprisingly bold-tasting with subtle bitterness.

The perfect robustness of this coffee bean is best appreciated when prepared with a French press, and it’s an excellent option for all-day coffee drinking since it has a clean and smooth taste.

2. Intelligentsia Coffee Frequency Blend

If you’re looking for a general-purpose coffee bean that you can use all day and serve to guests, this variety is your best bet.

Its chocolatey taste profile and a mild hint of molasses make it an incredibly drinkable coffee type that won’t overwhelm you with bitterness if prepared in a French press.

The frequency blend is a single-origin coffee blend from Brazil, and its flavors change somewhat according to the season.

However, you can always expect a smooth coffee-drinking experience with very little bitterness from this medium-roasted bean.

3. Mystik Monk Coffee Beans: Paradiso Blend

If you enjoy trying unique coffee from exciting brands, I suggest Mystik Monk Coffee Beans.

These coffee beans are lovingly prepared and packaged by monks living in Wyoming, and the Paradiso blend is their most popular variety.

This is a medium roast blend offering a smooth, hazelnut taste flavor with subtle hints of orange zest, dark chocolate, and raisins, which are more pronounced the longer you brew the grounds in a French press.

4. Caffe Vita Bistro Blend

Caffe Vita’s Bistro Blend (available on Amazon.com) works incredibly well with a French press, as the medium to dark roasted beans yield a robust, smoky, and full-bodied taste that’s not too intense.

Apart from the smoky overtones, this Indonesian, South American, and East African coffee blend offers delicious caramel notes, baking chocolate, and almonds.

These sweet notes perfectly balance the smokiness, making it an ideal coffee type for the mornings or when you want to enjoy something soothing but strong.

5. Onyx Coffee Lab Ethiopia Kercha

Onyx Coffee Lab is an American coffee roaster that prides itself on its small batches of hand-roasted coffee beans.

Their Ethiopia Kercha variety is excellent for preparing with a French press, producing a smooth-tasting coffee with low acidity.

After allowing your coffee grounds to brew for around four minutes, you’ll be able to taste the unique Earl Grey, vanilla, blackberry, and blood orange notes.

This is a light to medium roast coffee bean, but it’s suitable for the French press method since the flavors are robust and emerge strongly when prepared in this way.

6. Bulletproof Coffee French Kick

As a strong, rich, and slightly acidic coffee blend, Bulletproof’s French Kick coffee beans (available on Amazon.com) are dark roasted and ideal for those who enjoy bold-tasting coffee.

Despite its robustness, the flavor profile is simple, with smoke and chocolate notes that complement each other in a balanced way.

When you prepare it in a French press, the result is a strong but clean-tasting cup of coffee.

7. Peet’s Coffee Major Dickason’s Blend

Peet’s Coffee is incredibly popular in Berkeley, California, where they sell their iconic Major Dickason’s blend (also available on Amazon.com), a dark roasted bean that’s full of flavor.

This premium blend is a combination of hand-selected coffee beans from the Indo-Pacific and the Americas.

Major Dickason’s Blend fans often comment that the taste profile is incomparable to any other coffee they’ve tasted, making it something to try at least once.

Preparing it in the French press gives you bold-tasting coffee with earthy, spicy notes that intermingle with subtle citrus and berry hints.

8. Lifeboost Coffee Medium Roast

Lifeboost coffee medium roast coffee beans are single-origin beans from Nicaragua, offering plenty of body and low acidity for those with sensitive stomachs.

When you prepare these coffee grounds in your French press, you’ll enjoy smooth-tasting coffee with very little bitterness.

Furthermore, it allows the fruity, chocolatey, and slightly smoky undertones to emerge.

Using the French press method

Using a French press at home is an excellent idea if you want a fuss-free and easy coffee preparation.

It’s a manual method; thus, no electricity is required. Rather, the glass container contains a plunger-like coffee strainer.

You add coffee grounds to hot water and allow the coffee to brew, then gently press the plunger down to separate the coffee grounds.

French presses come in various sizes, including single-cup capacity types. This, and its simplicity, are what make the French press one of the most versatile and favored methods.

For a French press, coffee beans should be coarsely ground. Coarse grounds prevent coffee flavor over-extraction, which can cause excess bitterness.

Unlike finer grounds, they won’t float up into the coffee after you’ve depressed your coffee plunger.

In addition, the best coffee beans are medium to dark roasted beans. With their full-bodied taste profile and flavor, you’ll be able to appreciate the floral and fruity notes when they’re coarsely ground.

Finally, using freshly ground coffee beans is also essential as they burst with flavor, which will emerge after you have prepared your coffee.

How to make outstanding coffee at home using a French press

You can make amazing coffee using the brief how-to guide listed below, or you can check out the complete article on how to brew coffee with the French press here.

If you’re searching for a way to brew French press coffee without the sludge on the bottom of your cup, you might want to check out the James Hoffmann method here.

Here’s how to make French press coffee at home in 6 easy steps:

1. Spoon some coarsely ground coffee into your French press

Using coarsely ground coffee beans with a French press is vital as the extraction process is longer, and coarser grounds prevent over-extraction and bitterness:

Unlike finely ground coffee beans, coarse grounds don’t tend to float back up when you depress your plunger and end up in your coffee mug.

2. Use the correct coffee to water ratio

Aim for a coffee-to-water ratio between 1:14 and 1:16 (or 2 to 2.5oz/60 to 70g of coffee per 33 oz/1 liter of water).

You can always add less or more coffee grounds if you prefer weaker or stronger coffee, but this is a handy guideline.

3. Add freshly boiled water to the coffee grounds

After pouring freshly boiled water into your French press, wait for about 35 seconds and give the coffee mixture a gentle stir to promote coffee extraction.

When the coffee grounds have sunk to the bottom of the beaker, it’s a sign that the coffee is brewing.

4. Let your coffee brew for four minutes

In order to achieve optimal flavor results from a perfect coffee extraction balance, you must allow your coffee to brew for about four minutes.

Notably, it’s just as easy to rush this step as it is to drag it out. Just be sure to keep a close eye on the clock, or better yet, set a timer.

5. Gently push the plunger down

Once you’re happy that your coffee has brewed sufficiently, gently and slowly depress the plunger into the beaker.

Avoid being too rough or fast, as this can accelerate the coffee extraction, resulting in coffee that’s too bitter. The process is complete when the plunger reaches the bottom of the beaker.

6. Pour out the coffee

Although most of the coffee extraction has now happened because the coffee has been separated from the grounds, it’s a good idea to pour your coffee out as it may still extract a little and bring out more bitterness or sour notes.

Coffee consists mostly of water, so if you don’t like the tap water in your area, consider using bottled water to prepare your coffee to ensure it delivers on taste.

Other great coffee beans

Not sure yet about brewing French Press coffee with the coffee beans mentioned in this article? Or just curious to see which coffee beans are out there?

I’ve got you covered! Check out the lists below to find great coffee beans for different brewing methods and recipes:

• Best Coffee Beans for Cappuccino
• Best Coffee Beans for Chemex
• Best Coffee Beans for Cold Brew
• Best Coffee Beans for Espresso
• Best Coffee Beans for Latte

Conclusion

The best beans for a French press are fresh and coarsely ground. Coarse grounds help prevent over-extraction (which can cause bitterness) and do not tend to float upwards again when you depress the coffee plunger.

Medium to dark roasted coffee beans are best as these allow the solid flavors and hints of bitterness to come through in your prepared coffee.

To brew the perfect cup of coffee in a French press, you may need to deviate slightly from the recommended 1:14 to 1:16 coffee-to-water ratio or consider using filtered or bottled water instead of tap water.

French press coffee recipes to try

• Peanut Butter Coffee: 5-Minute Hot and Cold Recipes to Try
• Can You Make Espresso in a French Press? (Controversial)
• Caramel Coffee: A Homemade Recipe You Need to Try