Updated October 2026 · French Press Recipe Series
Dose is the weight of dry ground coffee. In the French Press Recipe Series it isn’t fixed: it comes from how much water goes into your press and the ratio for your bean density, across all 121 recipes and four press sizes.
Dose = water ÷ ratio. For a 350 ml press (300 ml of water) that’s 25.0 g for the darkest roasts, 20.0 g in the middle and 16.7 g for the lightest. Choose your press size on the recipe page and the water and dose scale with it.
How it's worked out
Water is how much you pour into the press. The ratio comes from your bean density, from 1:12 for the darkest roasts to 1:18 for the lightest, with 1:15 in the middle. Divide one by the other and you have your dose.
300 ml ÷ 15 = 20.0 g (Recipe 61)
On each recipe page, choose your press size and the water and dose scale with it.
The press needs room for the grounds, the crust that forms while it steeps, and the plunger, and the grounds hold back some of the water. So a 350 ml press gets 300 ml of water. The recipe works out the right amount for each press size.
Across the series
For a 350 ml press (300 ml of water), the dose falls from 25.0 g for the darkest roasts to 16.7 g for the lightest. Light roasts get less coffee because they need a higher ratio: more water per gram to extract properly.
1:12 · 0.330 g/ml, the darkest roasts (Recipe 1)
1:15 · 0.390 g/ml, the middle (Recipe 61)
1:18 · 0.450 g/ml, the lightest roasts (Recipe 121)
Dose by press size
Choose your press size on the recipe page. Each card shows the water, then the dose for Recipe 1 · Recipe 61 · Recipe 121 (darkest · middle · lightest).
300 ml water · 25.0 g · 20.0 g · 16.7 g
430 ml water · 35.8 g · 28.7 g · 23.9 g
860 ml water · 71.7 g · 57.3 g · 47.8 g
1300 ml water · 108.3 g · 86.7 g · 72.2 g
Use about 86% of the press size in water, then dose = water ÷ ratio.
350 ml is the default. Haven’t measured your beans? Start at Recipe 51 (20.7 g for 300 ml).
Tips
A 0.1 g scale makes a real difference: half a gram is a noticeable change in strength.
Pour the water shown on the recipe, not up to the top. The press needs room for the crust and the plunger.
Use the recipe’s medium grind setting. The long settle, not a coarse grind, is what keeps the cup clean.
Changing the press size changes the dose, not the taste. To fix sour or bitter, taste and press Extract More or Extract Less.
Keep reading
Find your starting recipe, then dig deeper into what drives extraction.
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