What Is The Best Coffee For French Press – Our Top 10 Picks!

Last updated on July 28th, 2024 at 14:00

We often get asked by our loyal readers and French press coffee lovers “What is the best coffee for French press?”

I’ll talk about the best coffee for French press and how to brew coffee shop quality coffee. For coffee enthusiasts that love Starbucks, I’ll name what I consider to be the best Starbucks coffee for French press brewing.

Keep reading as I dig down and detail this topic and help you select the best coffee beans for your French press coffee maker.

What Kind Of Coffee For French Press Is Best?

Coffee beans of all flavor profiles work well with the French press brewing method. Coffee is a very personal thing, and you will have your own personal preference regarding the kind of coffee that you enjoy.

All you really need to do is focus on the roast level. Medium-dark and dark roasts work best as these have more oils on the exterior of the beans and help you to get a full tasting coffee and more body in it.

Medium roast and light roast can be used also, but much will depend on your skills with a French press and the French press brew method.

Focus more on the tasting notes of the coffee and its description and, above all, enjoy the French press method.

Read: Best roast for French press

What Is The Best Coffee For French Press? Our Top 10 Picks

There is no better way to get started on naming the best coffee for French press than getting straight to it and listing what we consider to be our top 10 best coffee beans for French press coffee.

#1 Peet’s Coffee, Major Dickason’s Blend

Roast: Dark Roasted

Flavor Notes: Bittersweet chocolate coffee with smoky bold flavors and a velvet like texture. Nutty hints.

Pre-ground Or Whole Bean: Pre-ground And whole beans.

Origin(s): Americas, Indo-Pacific (exact nations not mentioned).

Established before Starbucks and at one time had the same owners, Peet’s is a giant in the gourmet and boutique coffee industry. Peet’s roast, brew and sell great coffee. Their Major Dickason’s blend is a mix of well established coffee cultivating regions. It’s bold, smokey, and has a rich velvet texture with notes of bittersweet chocolate and hints of nuts.

This is what I consider to be their best coffee, and the best coffee for French press.

Read: Can you use regular coffee in a French press?

#2 Koa Estate 100% Kona Coffee Runner Up!

Roast: Dark Roasted

Flavor Notes: Touches of coconuts and tropical fruit, nuts and notes of chocolate.

Pre-Ground Or Whole Bean: Whole Bean.

Origin(s): Big Island, Hawaii, USA

Kona coffee is simply fantastic and is very unlucky not to be the top choice. It is expensive and it is worth it. 100% USA grown and processed. With Kona coffee you need to keep your eyes out and make sure you get a legitimate one – blends, legally binding, only have to contain as little as 10% Kona beans to be called a Kona coffee.

Koa estate is much more than 100% Kona – all of their beans come from the same coffee estate. You are guaranteed to have no mixed flavors and that you are getting 100% Kona coffee.

Kona coffee is a volcanic coffee that is grown in a perfect climate with an abundance of sunshine and rain.

The complex flavors of coconut, hints of chocolate and tropical fruits and nuts with a full body are perfect for French press brewing.

#3 Lifeboost Medium Roast – Best Organic Option!

Roast: Medium Roast

Flavor Notes: Balanced, nutty and very smooth.

Pre-ground or Whole Bean: Both pre-ground and whole beans are available.

Origin(s): Nicaragua.

The beautiful mountain range of Central America is a favorite region that coffee enthusiasts look for when considering specialty coffee beans. This is where this great coffee by Lifeboost is grown. These organic beans are herbicide free, pesticide free, insecticide free and hand washed to ensure the highest possible quality.

The resulting coffee is earthy, low in acidity and with notes of chocolate and nuts.

#4. Volcanica Bolivia Peaberry – Best Medium Roast

Roast: Medium.

Tasting Profile: Expect notes of cocoa while being smooth and sweet.

Whole Bean Or Pre-Ground: Both

Origin(s): Bolivia

Peaberry coffee is a genetic rarity and mutation that results in the coffee cherry producing only one bean instead of two. This means that the one single bean will have all the nutrients and flavor compounds instead of sharing it with another bean.

Grown in nutrient-rich volcanic soil, you can expect it to be high in nutrients. This medium roast has everything that you will expect from a medium roast peaberry coffee. It is sweet, smooth and rich in cocoa flavor.

When you brew this Bolivian Peaberry coffee with cream and sugar, it enhances the texture and body. Think of this: when you French press brew it, it is more like a hot chocolate drink than a coffee.

Due to being a Peaberry it is hand-picked.

#5 Cold Brew Coffee By Stone Street

Roast: Dark-Roasted

Flavor Notes: Smooth, bold low acidity coffee with chocolate notes.

Pre-Ground Or Whole Bean: Both pre-ground and Whole Beans.

Origin(s): Colombia.

Labelled as a cold brew coffee, this is excellent, or perfect if you wish for your coffee plunger as you can use it to make both hot brewed and cold-brewed coffee. These beans work very well while brewed hot to make a coffee that is bright, full-bodied and with lovely chocolate tones.

This is a great single-origin coffee from Colombia. Undoubtedly, you already know and have heard great things about Colombian coffee.

#6 Volcanica Coffee Ethiopia Yirgacheffe – Best Volcanic Coffee!

Roast: Light-Medium Roast

Flavor Notes: Citrus lemon notes with Blackberry and Blueberry undertones.

Whole Bean or Pre-Ground: Both Whole Bean And Pre-Ground.

Origin(s): Ethiopia.

This coffee, Yirgacheffe, is one of my favorites. To pull it off and make a great plunger coffee, you need to be competent with this brewing technique due to these coffee beans being a light-medium roast. If not, you might end up with a grainy tasting coffee.

There is a degree of coffee enthusiasts that love this coffee due to the connection the region has and its place in coffee history as the birthplace of coffee.

It is a great coffee with great flavors and floral notes. Expect notes of lemon, citrus, blue and blackberries and a light bright acidity. It tastes like no other when you brew it well – regardless of which coffee drink and which brewing method. Hot water brewing or making a cold brew with ice-cold water works very well.

#7 Ivonne Herrera Onda Origins – Best Light Roast!

Roast: Light-Medium.

Flavor Notes: Almonds, Ginger snap, red apple and chocolate notes.

Pre-ground Or Whole Bean: Both Pre-ground and Whole Bean.

Origin(s): Guatemala.

Every once in a while in the coffee world, we come across a heroine in the coffee industry. Hard-working single mom, Ivonne Herrera, is one such heroine, and rightfully so. She assists her unbanked seasonal staff in getting bank accounts in Guatemala.

This coffee is very peculiar, and tastes of almonds, ginger snap and red apple with tones of milk chocolate. As long as you are good at French press brewing, you will make a great tasting coffee with this light-medium roast.

#8 Cocarive Onda Origins

Roast: Medium

Flavor Notes: Fruity peach cup, with flan and pecan pie notes.

Pre-ground Or Whole: Both Whole bean or pre-ground.

Country Of Origin(s): Brazil.

This is ethical coffee from a well-organized coffee co-operative that pooled their finances and resources to get the equipment that they needed and a warehouse as a storage facility.

The coffee that you will make with these beans will result in a very lovely tasting coffee that is perhaps like no other coffee that you have tasted. It has pecan pie flavors with fruity peach cup notes with hints of flan and chocolate.

This really makes for a great cup of coffee either in the morning or one of those rather flavorful afternoon brews.

#9 Huckleberry Roasters Flores Belas

Roast: Medium

Flavor Notes: Milk chocolate with sweet vanilla and nutty tones.

Pre-Ground Or Whole Bean: Whole Bean

Origin(s): Latin America, (the country is not specified).

Roasted by award-winning roasters and 2019 US roasting champions. Flores Belas, or beautiful flowers as it translates to, is 100% naturally processed. Expect a coffee that has a lingering caramel taste on your tongue with the taste of chocolate and sweet-tasting vanilla coming through.

This might be 9th on our list, but believe me, there is not a lot between any of the 10 on this list.

#10 Kenya AA Nyeri Ichamara Coffee Beans

Roast: Medium-Dark

Flavor Notes: Fruity Orange zest and peach blossom notes with Black Tea undertones.

Pre-Ground Whole Bean: Whole Coffee Bean.

Origin(s): Kenya.

This is a great single origin coffee from a coffee growing region that you may have not tried. In Kenya, and the whole of Africa, all coffee beans are naturally processed and sun dried. It is the perfect roast to bring out the undertones and notes of black tea and the fruity orange zest and peach blossom to a full-bodied and bold coffee that is very rich in flavor.

This coffee will probably have you ready to brew and enjoy a second cup!

Best Starbucks Coffee For French Press

Starbucks has 3 coffees that go very well with this brewing technique. Sumatra, Caffe Verona, and French Roast. All of these will make you great coffee.

The best, in my opinion, is their Caffe Verona, which is sweet, roasty and has a dark chocolate taste yet very, very balanced.

Where To Buy Coarse Ground Coffee For French Press

At Latte Love Brew our focus is on helping you to make coffee as best as you can and as fresh as you can. We don’t advocate buying pre-ground coffee of any kind for any coffee brewing method.

Pre-ground coffee tends to be medium-coarse ground, which is not ideal for this brewing technique. If you must, you can buy your pre-ground coarse coffee on Amazon, Walmart, Target, and all major retail outlets.

FAQ Frequently Asked Questions About What Is The Best Coffee For French Press

What’s A Good Coffee For French Press?

As a quick summary, any one of our top 10 picks are great for brewing with this method, here they are in a quick list.

• 1. Peet’s Major Dickason’s Blend.
• 2. Koa Estate 100% Kona Coffee.
• 3. Lifeboost Medium Roast.
• 4. Volcanica Bolivia Peaberry.
• 5. Cold Brew Coffee y Stone Street.
• 6. Volcanica Coffee Ethiopian Yirgacheffe
• 7. Ivonne Herrara Onda Origins.
• 8. Cocarive Onda Origins.
• 9. Huckleberry Roasters Flores Belas.
• 10. Kenya AA Nyeri Inchamara Coffee Beans.

Can You Use Regular Ground Coffee In French Press?

No, to brew a great coffee with your French press you need to use coarse coffee grounds. The use of coffee grounds that are finer than coarsely ground coffee, you will end up with a coffee that is over extracted, and with some coffee sediment in your cup of coffee which will continue to extract as you drink your coffee.

Can You Use Dunkin Donuts Coffee In A French Press?

Yes,

you can use Dunkin’ coffee grounds in your French press to brew a cold brew or a hot brewed coffee. Dunkin’ advises that you use cold filtered water and pour in a circular motion and steep your brew overnight for a cold brew and then press the plunger to filter the coffee when it is ready in the morning.

What’s The Difference Between Drip Coffee And French Press?

The biggest difference between French press coffee and drip coffee is the method of hot water extraction. In a drip coffee maker, your hot water is dripped onto and then extracted through a bed of coffee grounds, extracting the oils and flavor compounds. Your drip coffee is then filtered through a paper, cloth or metal filter.

A French press uses the full immersion brewing method and has a brewing time of between 3 and 4 minutes depending on the beans used. The extraction time is much longer. With a French press you can make a cold brew coffee – not something you can do with a drip coffee machine.

Why Does French Press Coffee Taste Better?

The French press tastes better as it is an immersion brewer that gives you full control over all the variables involved with coffee brewing. Due to the extraction taking place below the mesh filter during the brewing process, all the oils from the coffee grounds are extracted into your coffee. The great, natural flavor of your coffee grounds are not filtered out.

The result is a great cup of coffee with the maximum coffee flavor extracted.

What Coffee Is Good For French Press?

Medium roast, medium-dark roast and dark roasts are great for brewing French press coffee. Lighter roasts are best roasted using the pour over method to extract the intricate and delicate flavors.

Can You Use Any Coffee For French Press?

Yes, while you can use any coffee for French press, French press coffee extracts better using a medium to dark roast coffee.

Should I Use Arabica Or Robusta In French Press?

You will bet a better tasting coffee using an Arabica coffee as Arabica beans have more taste, aroma and flavor than a Robusta coffee.

Frappé-Ing It All Up – What Is The Best Coffee For French Press?

There is no need for you to wonder what is the best coffee for French Press as you have a list of 10 great coffees in the list above.

I encourage you to use fresh whole beans and store your beans in a professional coffee canister with an airtight lid and a one-way valve. Then store your coffee canister in your fridge for maximum freshness.

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