For a French press, you generally want a coarse grind, roughly the texture of coarse sea salt or small breadcrumbs.

Quick Scoop

  • Aim for a coarse grind (sea-salt sized particles).
  • Too fine = bitter, muddy, lots of sludge and a clogged filter.
  • Too coarse = weak, thin, or sour-tasting coffee.
  • Brew time is usually around 4 minutes with a coarse grind.

What grind for French press?

Most guides and roasters recommend:

  • Primary choice: Coarse grind for a classic French press — cleaner cup, fewer fines sneaking through the metal filter.
  • Alternative: Medium or medium‑coarse grind if you like a stronger cup, but you should shorten the brew time a bit to avoid over‑extraction.

A simple rule of thumb:

  • Looks like table salt → still a bit fine.
  • Looks like sea salt / cracked peppercorns → in the right French‑press zone.

Little troubleshooting story

Imagine you brew and the cup tastes harsh and gritty. That usually means you ground too fine : the tiny particles slip through the mesh, sit in the cup, and keep extracting, which leads to bitterness and sludge.

Next morning, you dial your grinder a lot coarser. Now the coffee is super clean but tastes hollow or watery. That means you went too coarse , so you either need to grind a bit finer again or extend the steep time.

After a couple of tweaks, you land on a grind about like coarse sea salt, 4‑minute steep, and the press suddenly starts tasting rich, smooth, and balanced — that’s the sweet spot most people target for French press.

Forum-style side note

You’ll see some debate in forums: a few people swear by finer grinds with long steep times and careful pouring to let the grounds settle, while others insist only coarse grind “counts” as proper French press. The broad consensus though, including baristas and coffee guides, is that a coarse grind is the safest and most repeatable place to start for French press brewing.

TL;DR: Set your grinder to a coarse setting (sea‑salt texture), brew about 4 minutes, then adjust slightly finer or coarser over a few brews until the taste is just right.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.