Brew like a pro: difference between French press and pour over brewing [2022 edition]

The main difference between French press and pour over is the extraction method.

While French press allows coffee beans to be immersed in hot water for an extended period of time, pour over extracts coffee flavors through a brief interaction between coffee beans and water. To be more specific, French press extracts coffee oils through coffee bean submersion in hot water. In the meantime, pour over extracts coffee oils through a brief interaction between coffee beans and water, which drips slowly but steadily into a container underneath.

Therefore, the contact time between coffee grounds and water is much shorter when using the pour over. When using the French press, however, coffee grounds get completely immersed in water, and they stay there for 4-5 minutes.

While both French press and pour over are manual, we believe that pour over is a bit more challenging. It requires more patience to pour water over coffee grounds at the correct required speed in order to infuse the grounds properly.

Another difference between pour over and French press is the ability to brew filtered and unfiltered coffee. Unlike a French press, a pour over can accommodate a paper filter. Therefore, pour overs can brew filtered coffee. In the meantime, because French presses extract coffee oils through a coffee bean submersion, they can only brew unfiltered coffee. (We do not recommend unfiltered coffee for individuals with certain conditions.)

Other than that, both the pour over and the French press can brew high quality coffee. Both also require some patience and understanding of the brewing process (timing, quality ingredients and the right grind size).

Definitive Guide: similarities and differences French press vs pour over

French press

→ French press requires some basic knowledge on how to brew

One of the differences between French press and pour over is the coffee extraction. While the pour over method involves the water to pass through coffee grounds, French press is a steeping method. In it, coffee grounds remain submerged in hot water for an extended period of time (4-5 minutes).

As a matter of fact, the French press method requires that the coffee grounds stayed completely immersed in water for several minutes, which does not happen in a pour over dripper.

In theory, French press seems like an easy method to brew. However, it does in fact require some basic knowledge on brewing coffee.

Brewing coffee in a French press needs to occur in a systematic way, following certain steps. The French press is typically a glass or metal cylinder shaped container with a lid with a plunger. The plunger goes through the center of the lid. At its lower end, the plunger has a metal filter. Its diameter is equal to the diameter of the container.

In order to brew coffee in a French press, we need to add coffee grounds in the beaker, and then pour hot water over coffee grounds.

After a few minutes (no more than 4), we should press the plunger down. The metal filter will separate coffee grounds from coffee-infused water.

→ French press perks

What sets French press apart from pour over is the actual involvement. While both require some manual work, French press is much easier to handle because we have to pour water only once. In a pour over, we need to manually pour small amounts of water over coffee grounds through the duration of brewing.

However, both French press and pour over offer unprecedented flexibility and ownership in reaching the perfect temperature and flavor.

→ French press challenges

The main challenge of a French press is that it brews unfiltered coffee. While a pour over can brew filtered coffee with the use of a paper filter, the French press can only use metal filters. There are differences between filtered and unfiltered coffee, which may have impact on health.

Further, similarly to a pour over, a French press is a manual brewing method that requires a lot of involvement and time.

The French press is mainly a single serve method, and while larger beakers are available, the French press typically brews smaller quantities of coffee.

→ Expected flavors

French press brews complete and full coffee. Coffee connoisseurs consider this brewing method to brew the best coffee possible.

Why? Unlike other coffee brewing methods, the French press allows a lot of the oils in the coffee to pass through the filter, which, it is believed, results in a stronger, richer taste.

→ Who may enjoy French press brewing method?

French press can be perfect mainly for people who love coffee and care about its strength and flavor. In fact, we believe that only these individuals have the patience and desire to put the required attention and time.

→ Recommended appliances & coffee

Unlike a drip coffee maker, French press is more of an art than science. It may require a couple of small appliances:

• A French press itself. French presses come in different sizes, although many prefer to use smaller French presses.
• A water kettle can be helpful to heat up water. There is a wide variety of kettles, from stove-top kettles to electric gooseneck kettles.
• A coffee grinder may be useful to use fresh ground coffee. Mind that ceramic blades are always better than steel blades.
• A simple kitchen scale might be particularly handy for coffee lovers who want to get their quantities absolutely right.

French press uses coarse grounds. Therefore, the size of the grounds needs to be similar to that of bread crumbs.

Smaller coffee particles cannot be used in a French press, because the resulting coffee would be over extracted. In a French press, coffee grounds are completely immersed in water. Thus, the finer the grounds are, the shorter the contact time between water and grounds needs to be.

Pour over

→ Pour over requires some basic knowledge on how to brew

As we mentioned earlier, the most significant dissimilarity between pour over and French press is the coffee extraction.

Specifically, pour over extracts coffee through a drip method. A user needs to pour small amounts of water over coffee grounds for 4-5 minutes. On the other hand, a French press is a steeping method. A user needs to pour all the water at once, and let it steep for 4-5 minutes.

In theory, pour over seems like an easy method to brew. However, it does in fact require some basic understanding of brewing coffee.

Pour overs are a bit more challenging than French presses. They require heavier involvement and more patience throughout the brewing process.

Pour overs come with a cone shaped recipient called “dripper” for coffee grounds. The dripper can be lined with either a permanent filter or a paper filter. (We recommend the use of the paper filter for filtered coffee vs unfiltered coffee.)

This brewing method gives a lot of freedom, because we can choose the quantities, strengths and temperatures to our personal preferences.

→ Pour over perks

Among the differences between pour over and French press is the ability to brew filtered coffee. While pour overs can brew filtered coffee with the use of a paper filter, French presses can only brew unfiltered coffee.

Another advantage of pour over over French is the possibility of coffee ground pre-infusion. Unlike a French press, a pour over can pre-infuse coffee grounds for deeper and more nuanced flavors. We can choose to allow the grounds to pre-infuse, for instance, by pouring a small quantity of water over the grounds and letting the grounds bloom for 30 seconds.

→ Pour over challenges

Unlike French press, pour over needs a more significant manual involvement in the brewing process. While a French press requires us to pour all the water at once, a pour over needs us to pour small amounts of water over an extended period of time.

The pour over is mainly a single serve method, and while larger drippers are available, pour over typically brews smaller quantities of coffee.

→ Expected flavors

Pour over offers a more complete coffee extraction. Therefore, we can expect much fuller, deeper and more complete flavors.

Because of the control and flexibility in pour overs, we can largely impact the the strength of final product by modifying quantities of water and coffee.

If we allow grounds to pre-infuse for about 30 seconds, we can expect coffee to be even more flavorful and rich.

→ Who may enjoy pour over brewing method?

Pour over can be perfect mainly for people who love coffee and care about its strength and flavor. In fact, we believe that only these individuals have the patience and desire to put the required attention and time.

→ Recommended appliances & coffee

We do not need to much to brew coffee in a pour over. We will only need a dripper or a chemex, a water kettle (electric or oven) to heat up water, a paper coffee filter and a coffee grinder.

Further, pour over uses medium or medium-fine grounds.

So which one is it? French press or pour over?

Choosing between French press and pour over will largely depend on each person’s individual preference, lifestyle and relationship with coffee.

When it comes to choosing between using the pour over or the French press, the main factor to be taken into consideration is whether one can drink unfiltered coffee or not. French press brews unfiltered coffee, while pour over can brew filtered coffee.

The oils in the coffee grounds were shown to have an impact on increasing cholesterol, and, consequently, they were shown to have a harmful impact on the normal liver and heart functions. Hence, people who have already been warned by their doctors regarding their cholesterol levels, should stay away from unfiltered coffee.

Further, pour over is slightly more demanding than French Press.

Other than that, choosing between the two methods will have a lot to do with each person’s taste. French press coffee is deemed to have a stronger and richer taste than the pour over, exactly because of all the coffee oils and components that it cannot filter. A coffee lover might want to try both methods and see which one fits his or her life style and coffee tastes best.

What do you think? What are some similarities and differences between French press and pour over  for you? Which coffee brewing method do you like better? What machines do you use to brew your coffee?

Let us know in the comments!