BREW GUIDE

Plunger

Learn how to brew perfect batch that has low bitterness and balanced flavours.

Roast level

Medium and medium-dark roasts work best for plunger. Very dark roasts can become muddy, smoky, and bitter.

Grind size

Grind size should be coarse. Feels like coarse sea salt flakes or rough breadcrumbs.

Roast date

Plunger prefers rested coffee. Ideal: 5–21 days off roast

RECIPE

20g

DOSE

Coarsely ground coffee

3-5 minutes

TIME

Total extraction time

320g

YIELD

Espresso liquid in your cup

20g dose / 4mins steeping / 320g yield — a 1:16 ratio in around 3-5mins

Let's break it down some more.

Illustration of a scale with a cup of coffee beans on a white background

DOSE

Getting Your Dose Right

The dose is the amount of dry coffee grounds going into your basket. A standard single serve Plunger /French press is typically designed for 18–20g of coffee and 320g of water.

Plunger coffee is very forgiving, but keeping your ratio consistent makes it easier to repeat a great cup

Brown line drawing of a stopwatch on a white background

TIME

Getting Your TIME Right

Plunger works best with a longer immersion brew.

Add all the water and make sure all the grounds are saturated. Place the lid on with the plunger pulled up. Steep for 4 minutes. Break the crust and skim off excess foam if desired. Plunge slowly and steadily

If it tastes weak, extend the brew time by 60secs. For a lighter tasting coffee stop the steeping 1 minute earlier.

YIELD

Getting Your YIELD Right

A 1:16 ratio produces a balanced plunger coffee with body and sweetness.

For stronger coffee:
Try 1:13–1:14 (eg: 20g coffee to 260-280mls)

For a lighter cup:
Try 1:17–1:18 (eg: 20g coffe to 340-360mls)

You can scale this recipe depending on the size of your plunger.

Troubleshooting PLUNGER Brew

We recommend 1 scoop of coffee grounds per 300ml of water (1 tablespoon equals ~ 20g coffee grind)

While we recommend weighing your coffee out for any brewing method, we understand that not everyone has precision scales.

Yes, immediately pour the coffee out of the plunger once you are ready to serve. This prevents the coffee from continuing to extract and stops it from becoming bitter and burnt tasting.

If you have a precision kettle, set your temperature to 95C/203F as this is perfect for medium roasted coffees.
Alternatively, bring the kettle to boil and let sit for 30s and the water will have cooled to about the right temperature.

Whilst there will most likely always been a few grinds in the bottom of your plunger brew, this is normal. The plunger allows for a few coffee "fines" to give a bolder and heavier coffee (compared to filter) but if you find there are too many grinds you may need to grind a bit coarser.

Each method uses a different grind size but as a rough guide: Cold Brew is very coarse (like salt flakes), French Press or Plunger is coarse, Filter/Pourover and Drip coffee is medium, Stovetop is fine, and espresso is very fine. Every brew guide includes a recommended grind range to make it easy.

Yes. Each coffee extracts differently depending on the how it was roasted, when it was roasted, how the coffee was processed, and what flavours you want to highlight. However, Espresso is the most temperamental, and thats why every product page includes a specific recipe with the ideal dose, yield, time and temperature for that coffee.

Nope. You only need the appropriate brewing device. A grinder does make for a better tasting coffee in the long run, and a precision kitchen scale helps with accuracy. But don’t get caught up in the hype to buy fancy expensive coffee accessories!

Our brew guides help you understand what affects the flavour the most.

As a guideline: