The 10 Best Coffees For French Press In 2024

Last Updated on March 16, 2024 by brewthatcoffee

Looking for the best coffees for French press? Look no further! Our expertly curated list of top-quality coffee beans will give you the perfect brew every time. From bold and rich to smooth and balanced, we’ve got you covered.

Fresh-brewed coffee is one of the most popular drinks enjoyed worldwide. Whether you enjoy it hot or cold or for a morning wake-me-up or a quick afternoon pick-me-up, it is a therapeutic drink many coffeeholic enjoy.

But one of the best ways to enjoy a fresh cup of joe is by using a French press to get your favorite coffee’s full flavors while enjoying the natural characteristics of the roasted beans.

Tips For Buying French Press Coffee

There are hundreds of different coffee products out there. The choices can be overwhelming if you are a newcomer to French-pressed coffee. Which coffee is best, what form of coffee should you buy, and which brand has the most flavors?

Coffee is like wine. The flavors and characteristics come from the coffee beans’ geographical location. Affected by various plants, soil chemistry, weather, rainfall, sunshine, and altitude, each coffee has its own distinct profile.

Because French presses don’t use a paper filter but rather a wire mesh, the oils in the coffee are allowed to seep into the brew compared to drip coffee. This is why French-pressed coffees allow you to experience the full natural characteristics of the different coffees.

Get The Right Roast

Dark roasts complement the French press method of brewing coffee. Darker roasts are oilier than medium and light roasts. The flavors are easier to extract during the short brewing period offering maximum flavor and richness from each cup.

Light Roasts

Light roasts are coffee beans roasted at 356-401 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning they have not passed the first crack, which occurs at about 205 degrees Celsius. Light City, Half City, and Cinnamon Roast are common names used to describe light roast varieties.

• Light in color
• Has no oils
• Light-bodied cup of coffee
• Grainy textured
• It’s not an ideal roast for French press
• Most acidic type of bean for coffee
• Higher in caffeine
• The bean origin is more easily distinguished
• Fruitier aroma
• Preferred from black brews

Medium Roasts

Medium roast beans are roasted between 410-428 degrees Fahrenheit to the end of the first crack and just before the second crack. Some common names used to describe medium roast varieties are Regular Roast, American Roast, and Breakfast Roast.

• Medium brown in color
• Smooth
• A balance between acidity and bitterness
• Sweeter than light roasts
• Average caffeine content

Medium-Dark Roasts

Medium roasts mean the beans have been roasted between 437-455 degrees Fahrenheit to the beginning or middle of the second crack. Common names for describing medium-dark roast varieties are Fully City Roast, After Dinner Roast, and Vienna Roast.

• Rich dark color
• Oils start to surface on the bean
• The taste is bittersweet with hints of spices
• Aromas and flavors start to emerge
• Smooth and balanced
• Acidity disappears
• Heavier bodied than the two previous roasts

Dark Roasts

The beans have been roasted close to the end of the second crack, roasting between 464-482 degrees Fahrenheit. Some more common names used for dark roasts are French Roast, Italian Roast, and Continental Roast.

• The beans have a dark chocolaty to almost black color
• Oily surface
• The taste is bitter from the burnt notes with a smokiness to it
• Roasting flavors are more distinct than the origin of the bean
• Caffeine is the lowest in these types of roasts
• Best complimented with milk and sugar

Check Roasting Date

Freshly roasted coffee beans need time to off-gas. The timeframe between the final roast and consumption can vary depending on the roast level and origin of the coffee beans.

Some coffees can be used within three days of roasting the beans, while others taste best after resting the coffee beans for a week. Each producer will have a general guideline on when it is best to consume their coffee after the roasting date.

A good general rule of thumb, if you don’t have any guidelines, is to wait at least three days after beans have been roasted before using them to allow the carbon dioxide to be released. Consuming coffee from freshly roasted beans that contain too much CO2 makes coffee taste more acidic and sourer.

There are too many variables to give an exact timeframe for the perfect cup of coffee. Still, coffee beans are generally best between one week and two months from the roasting date.

After two months, the coffee beans start to degrade, losing flavor and the richness you enjoy from coffee. The bean can still be used, but you will start to notice that the rich, bold flavors of your coffee will fade.

Whole Bean Coffee

When it comes to buying coffee for the French press, buying whole beans is better. They stay fresh for longer, and you can ground just enough beans for the quantity of coffee you want; there is much less waste this way.

Ground coffee becomes stale much quicker as a higher surface area is exposed to oxygen, allowing for much faster oxidization.

Another reason why coffee beans are the better option is you can determine the coffee ground size for the perfects French press brew.

French presses require coarse to medium-ground coffee. Finer coffee grounds are less permeable, which leads to excess force pushing the plunger allowing the grounds to escape into the coffee drink on the outer sides of the press and clogging the filter.

10 Best Coffees For French Press

Here are the ten best coffees for the French press to try in 2023. From medium to dark roast, these coffees are sure to make any coffee moment a memorable one.

1. Azobe Coffee Whole Bean

Azobe Coffee is the most robust coffee made from gourmet coffee roasters, Safari Pride Coffee. A medium-dark roast of blended Arabica and Robusta beans sourced from Cameroon and Malawi, in altitudes of 3900 to 8200 feet.

The beans are responsibly sourced, and direct trade with coffee bean producers ensure farmers are fairly compensated for the harvest of beans.

Its bold, rich flavors and high caffeine concentrations make this a smooth, long-lasting brew perfect for a French press. It offers a silky, full-bodied cup of coffee with notes of molasses, dark chocolate, and hints of berries.

Roast: Medium-dark

Size: 12oz & 5lb

Origin: Blend

Variety: Arabica and Robusta

Process: Wet/Washed

Taste notes: Bright, chocolate, fruity

2. Papua New Guinea No.1001

Papua New Guinea No.1001 from Oceana Coffee is an exotic blend made from beans from the Sigri Coffee estate in the Waghi valley of Papua New Guinea. Growing at 4900 feet altitude using precisely managed shaded trees to ensure even ripening and improved quality.

The beans are medium-roasted, providing a balance of bitterness and acidity with a medium-bodied cup of java. Rich, creamy note of chocolate with traces of nuttiness from pecan and hints of honied green apples, peaches, and melons.

Roast: Medium

Size: 12oz

Origin: Single origin

Variety: Typica

Process: Wet/Washed

Taste notes: Tropical fruits, lemon acidity, spice, milk chocolate

3. Spirit Animal Bourbon

Spirit Animal’s Bourbon whole coffee beans are of single origin from the Marcala region in Honduras. The beans grown in micro-plots are hand-picked, and a selective picking of 1% of beans is used to produce mircolot coffee batches to ensure the quality and freshness of this organic coffee.

The medium roast boasts a rich flavor with notes of tropical fruit, exotic hints of guava, a nutty nuance of hazelnut, with a rich butter sweetness of chocolate nuances. It’s a smooth coffee with low acidity and contains no GMOs.

Roast: Medium

Size: 12oz

Origin: Single-origin

Variety: Bourbon cultivar

Process: Dry/Natural

Taste notes: Cocoa, maple syrup, nutmeg

4. Bocca Soulmate True Price

Bocca’s Soulmate true-price coffee beans from Brazil in the Sul de Minas region are true-price certified, ensuring that all social and environmental costs are fairly paid to improve the impact on everyone included in the chain of coffee.

The rich dark flavors for Soulmate have a bittersweet note of dark chocolate infused with nutty notes. The yellow catuai beans are robust and bold, giving you a magical connection to make you fall in love with coffee.

Roast: Medium

Size: 8.8oz & 2.2lb

Origin: Single-origin

Variety: Yellow Catuai

Process: Dry/Natural

Taste notes: Dark chocolate, nutty, sweet

5. La Osa Anaerobic Honey

La Osa from 92 Degrees Coffee is a blend of beans from Peru. Named after the local bear that frequents the area.

Coffee is produced by four women that have experimented with the process called anaerobic honey. This is an added step to fermenting coffee in pressurized sealed tanks that are deprived of oxygen. The process adds a distinct flavor profile to the coffee.

Notes of exotic fruits like pomegranate infuse the sweet caramel notes with hints of red berry fruits like strawberries, adding to the depth of the coffee flavors.

Roast: Medium

Size: 8.8oz

Origin: Blend

Variety: Bourbon, Typica, Robusta, Arabica

Process: Anaerobic, Dry/Natural

Taste notes: Pomegranate, caramel, strawberry

6. Verene Street Nine Miles Sunset

Verena Street Roasters has made a dark roast of various levels of roasted beans to produce an exceptionally bold, full-bodied coffee that balances roast flavors and coffee characteristics.

This full city plus roast is blended with sustainably sourced Arabica beans from Central America and Indonesia that create a rich and appealing coffee with no bitterness and no burnt smoky notes, just pure characteristics of coffee beans.

Roast: Dark

Size:  2lb & 5lb

Origin: Blend

Variety: Arabica

Process: Dry/Natural

Taste notes: No burnt smoky flavors, no bitterness

7. Stumptown French Roast

Stumptown French Roast is a classic cup of joe where Stumptown has expanded on classical dark roasted bean flavors. Extending the heat and roast time adds sweetness and body to the classical French roast.

Stumptown Roasters are certified B-Corp, formalizing their commitment to community and sustainability. Their products are organic from long-term sourcing relationships.

The French roast coffee beans are all dark roasted, sourced from Central and South America and Eastern Africa to expand on the inherent flavors adding toasted and malty notes with hints of clove spice and bittersweet chocolate caressed by the sweetness of toasted marshmallow.

Roast: Dark

Size: 12oz, 5lb

Origin: Blend

Variety: Arabica

Process: Wet/washed

Taste notes: Clove, bittersweet chocolate, toasted marshmallow

8. Kicking Horse (Decaf Option)

Kicking Horse is a Canadian Roasting company that uses coffee beans from all over to create some kick-ass coffees. Their products are all organic and fair-trade products. Coffee beans come from shade-grown trees to ensure even ripeness and quality of each bean.

The decaf option is decaffeinated using a Swiss water process based solely on water and carbon filtration. No chemicals are used to remove caffeine from the beans.

Although kicking Horse Decaf has a lower caffeine content, it still provides the same delicious roasted flavors you would expect from a dark roast. The coffee beans are sourced from Central and South America and exude deep chocolaty flavors and a complex nutty profile. The mellow flavors offer a long-lasting finish.

Roast: Dark

Size: 10oz, 2.2lb

Origin: Blend

Variety: Arabica

Taste notes: Roasted hazelnut, chocolaty, long finish

9. Estate Medium Roast 100%  Kona Coffee (Pre-Ground Option)

Real Kona coffee is cultivated only in Hawaii’s “Big Island” Kona. The 600 to 2500 ft elevation and volcanic terrains give Kona Coffee its unique taste. The beans are all selectively hand-picked, and a wet process is preferred due to the high humidity levels.

Notes of fresh floral, citrus tangs, and berry hints provide a perfect balance for the creamy, rich nutty undertones. It’s smooth and lacks bitterness, which provides a velvety coffee perfect for any occasion.

The pre-ground option is available for general use for an easy, quick brewed cup of your favorite java.

Roast: Medium

Size: 7oz

Origin: Single Origin

Variety: Typica

Process: Wet/washed

Taste notes: Floral, citrus, berry, nutty

10. Great Value 100% Arabica Colombia (Budget Supermarket)

Great Value 100% Arabica is a supermarket option for ground coffee that is more affordable. Its enticing aromas with rich flavors accentuated by the rich volcanic soils in Colombia provide a well-balanced body and acidity.

For an entry product, it’s enjoyable, easily found, and pre-ground for convenience and easy use to newbies to the artisan and craft roasted coffee world.

The grounds may be a bit find for French press, though, and will allow some substrate to push past the plunger filter into the coffee drink.

Roast: Medium-dark

Size: 12oz

Origin: Single origin

Variety: Arabica

Taste notes: Bright, fruity

Quick French Press Brewing Guide

Using a French press allows you to taste the richness and natural characteristics of coffee you don’t get from drip coffee. Although a French press requires a bit more work and patience, it’s worth the effort.

Equipment needed for a French press coffee:

• French press
• Coffee grinder
• Kettle
• Long stirring utensil
• Scale
• Timer
• Thermometer for the perfect water temperature

It’s best to use fresh whole coffee beans you freshly ground at home before adding to your French press. Beans stay fresher longer than ground coffee. Once the beans have been ground, they start to lose flavor due to the higher surface area allowing the coffee to oxidize.

A medium-coarse to coarse-ground is best to use in the French press method. This prevents fine grounds from seeping into the coffee drink, and the coarser grinds allow for an easier plunge.

Measure out your coffee, don’t eyeball the quantity needed. A good guideline is to use 1.1oz of coffee grinds to 17 fluid ounces of water. Still, you can add more or less depending on personal preference.

Don’t boil your water, as boiling water can burn the grounds making your coffee taste more bitter and acidic than it really is. If you have a thermometer, check your water’s temperature, and use water heated to 199°F for the perfect brew.

For the best flavors, the ideal time to allow your coffee to brew in hot water is four minutes. This allows the water to extract the flavors from the coffee grounds and provides a perfectly brewed cup of French-pressed coffee.

After four minutes, plunge your coffee and serve as you prefer.

Coffee For French Press FAQs

Here are some more frequently asked questions regarding French press coffee.

Conclusion

French pressed coffee is, according to coffee connoisseurs, the ultimate way to brew an exceptional cup of coffee. Using freshly ground coffee beans before you brew your favorite coffee brand gives you the best flavors possible. French press coffee allows the flavors and characteristics of the ground beans to be extracted into the water, providing you with the best natural flavors coffee can offer.

Resources

https://www.ncausa.org/about-coffee/coffee-roasts-guide#:~:text=Roasting%20brings%20out%20the%20aroma,the%20bite%20and%20smells%20grassy

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/coffee-grind-size-chart

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/coffee

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee_roasting

https://www.britannica.com/story/how-is-coffee-decaffeinated