Warm the cafetière

Rinse it with hot water and tip it out. A cold vessel steals heat from your brew, and heat is flavour.

Weigh your coffee

15g for every 250ml of water. No scales? A single heaped measuring spoon per cup gets you there just fine.

Let the kettle rest

Boil it, then wait about 30 seconds. Fully boiling water scalds the grounds and can taste bitter or burnt – you want it just off the boil, around 94°C.

Bloom it first

Pour just enough water to cover the grounds, give it a gentle stir, and let it sit for 30 seconds. You'll see it bubble and puff up slightly – that's the CO2 escaping, and it's a good sign of freshly roasted coffee.

Fill and let it brew

Pour the rest of your water, pop the lid on (plunger up, not pressed down), and leave it for at least 4 minutes. A timer helps if you have one, but a rough guess is fine too – just don't rush it.

Break the crust

At 4 minutes, give it a gentle stir to break up the layer of grounds sitting on top, then skim off any foam floating on the surface with your spoon.

Plunge slowly

Press down gently and steadily – rushing it agitates the grounds and can push fine sediment through into your cup. Slow and even wins here.

Pour it all out

Don't leave coffee sitting in the cafetière once it's brewed – it keeps extracting and will turn bitter. Pour the whole batch out into a separate jug or straight into cups.

Your water was probably too hot, or it steeped too long. Let the kettle rest a little longer, and don't leave the plunge sitting past 4 minutes.

Bump your coffee up slightly – try 16-17g instead of 15g, or double-check your scales are actually being used rather than a rough spoon measure.

Plunge more slowly and gently. If it's still an issue, your grind might be finer than ideal – give us a shout on WhatsApp and we'll help sort your grind setting.