French Press Ratio Calculator

Most French press recipes land between 1:12 and 1:15, noticeably stronger than the 1:16-1:18 used for drip coffee.

A balanced starting point is 1:13.5 — a full-bodied cup without going syrupy.

Go toward 1:12 for a bolder cup or 1:15 if 1:13.5 tastes too heavy.

Because the grounds sit fully immersed in water for the entire brew instead of having water pass through them once, and there's no paper filter removing oils and fine particles.

Both effects add body and strength, so a French press ratio that matched drip's 1:16 would taste thin by comparison.

4 minutes is the standard steep time at a ratio in the 1:12-1:15 range, with water just off the boil (around 200°F / 93°C).

If it tastes over-extracted or bitter at 4 minutes, shorten the steep in 30-second increments rather than changing the ratio first.

Yes — a coarse, uniform grind (similar to sea salt) is essential.

A finer grind slips through the mesh filter into your cup and over-extracts during the long steep, producing sediment and bitterness regardless of how carefully the ratio was measured.

A 34 oz press holds roughly 1,000 ml, so at 1:13.5 you need about 74 g of coffee.

Use the press size preset above to get the exact figure for your strength, since press capacities vary slightly by brand.

Fine particles pass through the mesh filter, mostly from a grind that's too fine or uneven.

Grind coarser with a burr grinder, pour gently, and leave the last sip in the cup.

See our guide to burr vs blade grinders for why uniformity matters.