How much coffee for French press

Can’t figure out how much coffee you need for 2 cups or a full French press?! Use these measurements and make a perfect cup of French press coffee at home without using a scale.

French press sizes

It’s important to note that French press cups are not the same as a standard US cups. While standard cup in US measurement is 8 fl ounces, a cup on your press is only 4 fl ounces. This means that a full 4 cup French press makes 2 standard cups (16fl oz), not 4. Here are some standard French press sizes:

3 cup French press – makes 12 oz coffee
4 cup French press – makes 17 oz (makes 2 standard US cups)
8 cup French press – makes 34 oz (makes 4 cups)
12 cup French press – makes 51 oz (makes 6 cups)

Now, let’s see what’s a good French press coffee to water ratio.

HOW MUCH COFFEE FOR FRENCH PRESS

Depending on how strong you like your coffee you may use more or less coffee, but the golden coffee to water ratio for a French press is: 2 tablespoons coffee for every 8 ounces of water. Here’s how much coffee to use for each cup:

French press coffee ratio for a good, strong brew:
To make 1 standard US cup = Use 8 oz water + 2 tbsp coffee
For 2 cups = Use 16 oz water + 4 tbsp coffee (this amount makes full 4 cups French press)
For 3 cups = Use 24 oz water + 6 tbsp coffee
For 4 cups = Use 32 oz water + 8 tbsp coffee (this amount makes full 8 cups French press)
For 5 cups = Use 40 oz water + 10 tbsp coffee
For 6 cups = Use 48 oz water + 12 tbsp coffee (makes full 12 cup French press)

For medium strong coffee, use:
1 standard US cup = 8 oz water + 1 1/2 tbsp coffee
2 cups = 16 oz water + 3 tbsp coffee
3 cups = 24 oz water + 4 1/2 tbsp coffee
4 cups = 32 oz water + 6 tbsp coffee
5 cups = 40 oz water + 7 1/2 tbsp coffee
6 cups = 48 oz water + 9 tbsp coffee

How much coffee for French press cold brew

The 8 cup or 12 cup French press is perfect for making cold brew, but you can probably make some small amount in a smaller press. Here’s how much coffee you need for French press cold brew:

17 oz press – 3 oz coarsely ground coffee + 2 cups (16 oz) cold water
34 oz press – 6 oz coarsely ground coffee + 4 cups (32 oz) cold water
50 oz press – 9 oz coarsely ground coffee + 6 cups (48 oz) cups cold water

Not sure how to do it? Here you can grab my French press cold brew recipe.

Enjoy!

HOW TO USE FRENCH PRESS

The French press is the simplest way of brewing a great cup of coffee at home. Here’s how to make French press coffee.

KEEPING YOUR FRENCH PRESS CLEAN

While there are a couple of ways to do it, I like to keep things as simple and as quick as possible. Here’s how to clean a French press in just 3 easy steps.

THE EAISEST FRENCH PRESS ICED COFFEE

Make a delicious iced coffee with your French press anytime, in less than 6 minutes. It’s even easier than making cold brew!