Brewing plunger coffee is one of the easiest brew methods to master. With a little care and attention to detail, you can brew outstanding plunger coffee at home. Our step-by-step brew guide above outlines everything you need to know.

How much coffee you need will depend on the size of your plunger and how much coffee you want to brew. We prefer to weigh our coffee for ultimate precision, so that you can replicate a delicious brew time and time again. A great place to begin is with a ratio of 60g of coffee to 1l of water.

You can use either filter roast or espresso roast coffee to brew plunger. Filter coffee is roasted lighter and retains all the delicate origin characteristics and higher acidity. We recommend using filter coffee for a brighter, fruiter brew to drink black. Espresso coffee is roasted darker than filter coffee, and will result in a fuller-bodied brew with lower acidity. We recommend using espresso coffee for a richer, bolder plunger brew, and an espresso blend coffee if you like to add milk to your plunger coffee.

A small amount of fine sediment will always make its way to the cup when brewing plunger coffee. This is because the plunger has a metal filter that allows fine particles to make it to the cup, resulting in a bolder brew with a heavy mouthfeel - one of the things people most love about plunger style coffee. If you seem to have lots of large grounds in your cup, it might mean your grind is too fine - try coarsening up the grind.

We recommend serving all of the coffee from the plunger when the brew time is up. If you have more coffee than you can serve straight up, we recommending decanting your brew into a carafe or insulated server. If you leave it in the plunger, it will continue to brew resulting in an over-extracted, bitter and astringent cup.

The size of plunger or french press you should buy really depends on how many people you regularly brew for. The beauty of plunger coffee is that you can brew so easily for a group of people, so if you’re likely to brew for 4-6 people, we recommend a 1l plunger. You don’t have to brew the full 1l every time, but it allows you to cater for a group if you’re entertaining. If you only ever brew for yourself, a 350ml plunger will be perfect, and will allow you to brew fresh for every cup. Likewise, if you brew for 2-3 people, a 600ml plunger should suffice.

The beauty of plunger or french press is that you don’t need much equipment, other than the plunger itself. You’ll also need an electric or stove-top kettle. You’ll get a more flavourful brew if you grind the coffee fresh for each brew, so we recommend having a grinder (a hand-grinder is ideal for plunger brewing). And for ultimate precision and to be able to replicate a delicious brew time and time again, we recommend a set of small digital scales, and a digital timer.

Plunger coffee requires a medium-coarse grind size. If you find your brew contains lots of fine particles, or is very hard to plunge, or tastes really bitter and over-extracted, try coarsening up your grind.

A great starting ratio for plunger - and lots of other filter brewing methods - is 60g of coffee to 1l of water. Use this ratio to scale a recipe for the size of your plunger, or desired yield.

We recommend starting with a 4 minute brew time for plunger coffee. If you want your coffee a little bolder and fuller bodied, leave it to brew for a little longer. If you want a lighter style plunger brew, reduce the brew time by 30-60s.

You could make cold brew in a french press, although we would recommend straining it through a paper filter at the end of the brew time. For cold brew, scale up the coffee to water ratio, as cold water doesn’t extract the coffee as easily as hot water. Try 80-120g coffee to 1l water. Brew plunger as you normally would, but with cold rather than hot water. Then lit it brew for 12-15 hours.

We prefer to brew plunger with water that is around 95-98°c. You can simply bring your water to a boil and then let it sit for 30-60 seconds.

We recommend starting with a 4 minute brew time for plunger coffee. If you want your coffee a little bolder and fuller bodied, leave it to brew for a little longer. If you want a lighter style plunger brew, reduce the brew time by 30-60s.

Normal dishwashing detergent should be all you need to clean your plunger if you’re cleaning it regularly. Simply empty the grinds into your compost, then fill the plunger with hot soapy water and pump the plunger up and down a few times. Be sure to rinse everything thoroughly.

Size and material are the two main things you’ll want to consider when purchasing a french press or plunger. The plunger body can be made from glass, plastic or metal. We prefer glass as it doesn’t impart any flavour on the brew, and you see the coffee brewing! It is delicate, though, so be gentle. The size of plunger or french press you should buy really depends on how many people you regularly brew for. The beauty of plunger coffee is that you can brew so easily for a group of people, so if you’re likely to brew for 4-6 people, we recommend a 1l plunger. You don’t have to brew the full 1l every time, but it allows you to cater for a group if you’re entertaining. If you only ever brew for yourself, a 350ml plunger will be perfect, and will allow you to brew fresh for every cup. Likewise, if you brew for 2-3 people, a 600ml plunger should suffice.