French Press Coffee to Water Ratio (With Chart)

For French press, start with 1 part coffee to 16 parts water by weight. That is about 22 g of coffee for a 12 oz (350 ml) mug. Then adjust to taste: use 1 to 15 for a stronger cup and 1 to 17 for a lighter one.

French press ratio chart

Water	Stronger (1 : 15)	Balanced (1 : 16)	Lighter (1 : 17)
12 oz / 350 ml (one mug)	23 g	22 g	21 g
17 oz / 500 ml (small press, two mugs)	33 g	31 g	29 g
34 oz / 1 liter (large press)	67 g	63 g	59 g

These are starting points, not rules. Weigh the coffee and the water if you can.

No scale? Use tablespoons

A level tablespoon of ground coffee is roughly 5 g, though it varies with the grind and how it is packed. For the balanced ratio:

One 12 oz mug: about 4 level tablespoons.
17 oz press: about 6 level tablespoons.
34 oz press: about 12 to 13 level tablespoons.

Make it step by step

Grind the coffee coarse, like coarse sea salt.
Add the coffee to a warmed press and pour in hot water, just off the boil.
Put the lid on and wait about 4 minutes.
Press the plunger down slowly, then pour all of the coffee right away so it doesn't keep brewing.

Our full recipe is French Press Basics.

Adjust the ratio

Tastes weak or sour? Add a little more coffee next time, or grind slightly finer.
Tastes bitter or heavy? Use a little less coffee, or grind coarser.
Muddy or gritty? The grind is too fine for a metal filter. See the coffee grind size guide.

Change one thing at a time so you know what made the difference.

Other brewers

French press needs more coffee than most people expect, and less water than a pour-over cup. For pour-over, AeroPress and cold brew, see the coffee to water ratio chart for every brewer. For cold brew with a French press, see French Press Cold Brew. Still tasting something off? Read why is my coffee bitter.