Updated October 2026 · French Press Recipe Series
The ratio is how much coffee you use (the dose) compared with how much water you pour into the press. In the French Press Recipe Series it changes with the density of your roasted beans, across all 121 recipes.
1:12 for the darkest roasts, 1:18 for the lightest, and 1:15 in the middle (Recipe 61, 0.390 g/ml). The ratio is coffee to the water you pour, so for a 350 ml press (300 ml of water) the dose runs from 25.0 g down to 16.7 g.
How the ratio is measured
The French Press Recipe Series quotes the ratio of coffee to the water you pour into the press, the way most French press guides do, including James Hoffmann’s method that the recipes adapt. (The Filter series is different: it measures the coffee in the cup.)
300 ml ÷ 15 = 20.0 g (Recipe 61)
In a press, all the water sits with the coffee for the whole steep, so the water you pour is the natural measure. Choose your press size on the recipe page and the water and dose scale with it. See the French press dose guide.
The grounds hold back roughly 2–2.5 g of water per gram of coffee, and you leave the last bit in the press so the sediment stays behind, so you’ll pour out a little less than you put in.
The range
The ratio rises in a straight line with density, 0.05 per recipe, from 1:12 at 0.330 g/ml to 1:18 at 0.450 g/ml. Doses below are for a 350 ml press (300 ml of water).
25.0 g for 300 ml · 0.330 g/ml, the darkest roasts (Recipe 1)
20.0 g for 300 ml · 0.390 g/ml, the middle (Recipe 61)
16.7 g for 300 ml · 0.450 g/ml, the lightest roasts (Recipe 121)
And in between:
Recipe 21 · 23.1 g
Recipe 41 · 21.4 g
Recipe 81 · 18.8 g
Recipe 101 · 17.6 g
Why this range
In an immersion brew like the French press, all the water sits with the coffee for the whole steep, so the ratio has a big effect on how much dissolves. In the series, each end of the range is matched to the roast that needs it.
Dark roasts are brittle and give up their solubles easily. Less water per gram keeps bitterness in check, and the stronger cup stands up to the roast.
Light roasts are dense and resist extraction. More water per gram extracts more, so they taste sweet and clear rather than sour.
It’s the same principle as the espresso ratio and the filter ratio: water is the solvent, and ratio is your most powerful lever. A fixed ratio for every coffee means dark roasts come out bitter and light roasts sour.
The midpoint
Recipe 61, at 0.390 g/ml, is the middle of the series, and its ratio is 1:15.
James Hoffmann’s French press method, which these recipes adapt, uses 30 g of coffee to 500 g of water, about 1:16.7. The series’ midpoint is a touch stronger, with the range running either side.
Every recipe uses the same 4-minute steep and 5-minute settle, so the ratio, dose, grind and temperature do the work of matching the brew to your roast.
The Filter series also runs from 1:12 to 1:18 with 1:15 in the middle. Filter measures the coffee in the cup; French press measures the water you pour.
Haven’t measured your beans? Start at Recipe 51 (0.380 g/ml, 20.7 g for 300 ml), then use Extract More or Extract Less. Measured? The coffee density calculator takes you straight to your recipe.
References
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