One rounded tablespoon per 118 ml, water at 92–96 °C, exactly four minutes. The simplest method there is, and the easiest to ruin at the last step.
Grind: Coarse. With a fine grind the mesh does not hold it back, and the coffee keeps extracting in the carafe even after you press.
Served in: Large cup
Coffee and water scale together. The four minutes do not: they hold for one cup as for eight, because it is steep time and does not depend on volume.
A swirl of hot water in the empty carafe: cold glass takes away part of the heat of the steep.
One rounded tablespoon of coarse grounds per 118 ml. Pour the water at 92–96 °C, wetting all the coffee.
Stir with a wooden or plastic spoon — never metal on glass — and skim the foam off the surface.
Put the lid back on without pressing and let it steep for four minutes.
240 s
Push the plunger down slowly, then decant immediately into another carafe or into the cups.
The French press is pure immersion: no paper, no pressure, just coffee and water sitting together for four minutes. The metal mesh lets the oils through, which is why the result has the body it has — and the sediment it has.
The mistake almost everyone makes is the last one: you press the plunger and leave the coffee in the carafe. Extraction continues, and ten minutes later the second cup is no longer the same drink. Decant it straight away.
Models that declare they cover this grind: the manufacturer states it, we do not measure it.
94 °C. The temperature does not change with the number of servings.
240 seconds. Making more servings does not change the time.