The simple, forgiving method for a rich, full-bodied cup

French press is the most approachable brewing method. No special technique required. No precise pouring. Just coffee, water, time, and a plunger.

The result is different from pour over—fuller body, more oils, a thicker mouthfeel. Some prefer it. Some don't. Worth trying to know which camp you're in.

Why French Press

French press is an immersion method. Coffee grounds steep fully in water, then get separated by pressing a mesh filter down. Nothing paper-filtered out.

This produces:

• Full body: Oils and fine particles pass through the mesh, creating a heavier, richer texture
• Bold flavor: Extended contact time extracts thoroughly
• Forgiveness: The method is harder to mess up than pour over

The trade-offs: some sediment in the cup, less clarity than filtered methods, can become bitter if brewed too long.

Equipment

Essential

• French press: Any size. Glass or stainless steel. Bodum and Espro are popular brands.
• Kettle: Any kettle works. No gooseneck required.
• Fresh coffee: Coarse-ground. This matters more than the press itself.
• Timer: Phone timer is fine.

Helpful

• Scale: For consistent ratios
• Burr grinder: For consistent coarse grind (blade grinders struggle here)

The Basic Recipe

Ratio: 1:15 (coffee to water by weight)
Example: 30g coffee, 450g water (makes about 2 cups)

Grind: Coarse (like sea salt or raw sugar)

Water temperature: 195-205°F (just off boiling)

Steep time: 4 minutes

Step-by-Step

1. Preheat

Fill French press with hot water to preheat. Let sit a minute. Discard water.

2. Add Coffee

Add coarse-ground coffee to the empty press. Shake gently to level.

3. Add Water

Start timer. Pour hot water over grounds, saturating all of them. Fill to desired level. Don't stir yet.

4. Wait

Let it sit for 4 minutes. At about 1 minute, you can gently stir to ensure all grounds are saturated. Then leave it alone.

This is your pause. Four minutes of nothing. Resist the urge to rush.

5. Plunge

At 4 minutes, press the plunger down slowly and steadily. Don't force it. If there's major resistance, your grind may be too fine.

6. Pour Immediately

Important: pour all the coffee out right away. If it sits in the press, it continues extracting and becomes bitter.

Pour into cups or a carafe. Serve.

Troubleshooting

Bitter or Over-Extracted

• Grind coarser
• Steep for less time (try 3:30)
• Use slightly cooler water
• Pour immediately after plunging (don't let it sit)

Weak or Under-Extracted

• Grind finer (but still coarse-ish)
• Steep longer (try 4:30)
• Use more coffee
• Ensure water is hot enough

Too Much Sediment

• Grind coarser—fine particles slip through the mesh
• Let brewed coffee settle a moment before drinking the last sips
• Consider an Espro press (double micro-filter reduces sediment)

Hard to Press

• Grind is too fine. The mesh clogs with fine particles. Coarsen significantly.

The 4-Minute Ritual

French press has a built-in pause: the 4-minute steep.

You can fill this time however you want. Check your phone. Prep breakfast. Zone out.

Or: use it intentionally. Four minutes of nothing. Standing in your kitchen, waiting. Noticing the steam, the smell, the quiet.

The coffee will be the same either way. You might not be.

Coffee for French Press

French press handles a range of roasts well:

• Medium to dark roasts: The full body complements these roasts' chocolate, caramel, nutty notes
• Bold, earthy coffees: Indonesian, Brazilian, darker blends
• Any fresh coffee: Freshness matters more than roast level

Lighter roasts work too—they'll taste different than in pour over, with more body and less clarity. Some people prefer this.

Shop our coffees →

Cleaning Your French Press

Don't skip this. Old coffee oils go rancid and affect taste.

1. Empty grounds (compost or trash, not down the drain)
2. Disassemble the plunger (most have multiple parts)
3. Wash all parts with soap and water
4. Let dry completely before reassembling

Deep clean weekly if you use it daily. Coffee oils build up invisibly.

French Press vs. Pour Over

Neither is better. They're different.

Try both. See what your palate prefers.

Sip in the moment.

Spiritus Coffee Co.
Consciously crafted. Roasted with intention.

Master the pour over method for a cleaner, brighter cup

Pour over is the method that made specialty coffee mainstream. It's simple in concept—pour hot water over ground coffee—but the details matter. This guide covers everything you need to make excellent pour over coffee at home.

What Makes Pour Over Special

Pour over produces a clean, bright cup that highlights a coffee's distinct characteristics. Unlike immersion methods (French press, cold brew), pour over continuously filters the coffee as it brews, removing oils and fine particles that can muddy the flavor.

The result: clarity. You taste the coffee itself, not just "coffee flavor." Origin characteristics shine through. Fruit notes, floral hints, subtle sweetness—pour over reveals what's actually in the bean.

The trade-off: pour over requires attention. It's not a set-and-forget method. But that attention becomes part of the ritual.

Equipment You Need

Essential

• Pour over dripper: Hario V60, Kalita Wave, Chemex, or similar. Each produces slightly different results, but all work well.
• Paper filters: Matched to your dripper. Unbleached or bleached both work.
• Kettle: Ideally gooseneck for control. Standard kettle works but makes precision harder.
• Fresh coffee: This matters most. No method compensates for stale beans.
• Grinder: Burr grinder strongly recommended. Blade grinders produce inconsistent particle size.

Helpful but Optional

• Scale: For consistent ratios. Measuring by weight beats measuring by volume.
• Timer: To track brew time. Phone timer works fine.
• Thermometer: To check water temperature. Less critical than other variables.

The Basic Recipe

Start here. Adjust based on taste.

Ratio: 1:16 (coffee to water by weight)
Example: 20g coffee, 320g water

Grind: Medium-fine (like table salt)

Water temperature: 195-205°F (90-96°C). Just off boiling works if you don't have a thermometer.

Total brew time: 2:30-3:30 minutes

Step-by-Step Process

1. Prep

Heat your water. Place filter in dripper. Rinse filter with hot water—this removes paper taste and preheats your vessel. Discard rinse water.

2. Grind and Dose

Grind your coffee fresh, right before brewing. Weigh it (or use approximately 2 tablespoons per 6 oz water). Place grounds in filter. Shake gently to level the bed.

3. Bloom

Start your timer. Pour just enough water to saturate all grounds—about 2x the coffee weight (40g water for 20g coffee). The coffee will bubble and expand as CO2 escapes. This is the bloom.

Wait 30-45 seconds. This degassing allows for more even extraction in the main pour.

4. Main Pour

Begin pouring in slow, steady circles from the center outward. Avoid pouring directly on the filter. Keep the water level relatively consistent—don't let it drain completely between pours, but don't flood it either.

Pour until you've reached your target water weight. Total pour time should be about 2-2:30 minutes.

5. Drawdown

Let the remaining water drain through. Total time from first pour to final drip should be 2:30-3:30 minutes. Longer suggests grind is too fine. Shorter suggests too coarse.

6. Serve

Remove dripper. Swirl the coffee to integrate. Let it cool slightly—flavor develops as temperature drops. Taste.

Troubleshooting

Too Bitter or Harsh

Likely over-extracted. Try:

• Coarser grind
• Lower water temperature
• Faster pour (less contact time)

Too Sour or Weak

Likely under-extracted. Try:

• Finer grind
• Higher water temperature
• Slower pour (more contact time)

Drain Time Too Long

Grind is too fine, or you're pouring too aggressively (causing "fines migration" that clogs the filter). Coarsen the grind.

Drain Time Too Short

Grind is too coarse. The water rushes through without extracting properly. Fine up the grind.

Variables to Experiment With

Once you have the basics, play with:

• Ratio: Try 1:15 for stronger, 1:17 for lighter
• Grind size: Small changes have big effects
• Pour pattern: Continuous pour vs. pulse pouring (multiple pours with pauses)
• Water: Filtered vs. tap can make noticeable difference

Change one variable at a time. Take notes. Find your preference.

Coffee for Pour Over

Pour over excels with light to medium roasts. The clarity of the method reveals origin characteristics that darker roasts mask.

Look for coffees described as:

• Bright, fruity, floral
• Complex, layered
• Light or medium roast
• Single origin

At Spiritus, our lighter roasts and single origins shine in pour over. The method shows off what we're trying to highlight.

Explore our current coffees →

The Ritual of Pour Over

Beyond technique, pour over offers something valuable: enforced presence.

You can't walk away. The process requires 3-4 minutes of attention. No scrolling, no multitasking. Just you, water, coffee.

For some, this is inconvenient. For others, it's the point.

Those few minutes become a pause in the day. A small ritual of attention. The cup you end up with is almost secondary to the practice of making it.

Sip in the moment.

Spiritus Coffee Co.
Consciously crafted. Roasted with intention.

Understanding why batch size matters for your morning cup

"Small batch" gets thrown around a lot in coffee marketing. Like "artisan" or "craft" or "premium," it's become a buzzword that can mean everything or nothing.

But batch size actually does matter. Not because small is inherently better—it's not magic—but because it changes what's possible. The constraints of commercial-scale roasting create trade-offs. Understanding those trade-offs helps you make better coffee choices.

This is what we've learned from roasting small batches in Lombard, Illinois, and from drinking plenty of commercial coffee before that.

What "Small Batch" Actually Means

There's no official definition. No certification body determines what counts as "small batch" coffee.

In practice, small batch usually means:

• Roaster capacity: 1-30 pounds per batch (versus hundreds or thousands in commercial operations)
• Roast frequency: Multiple roasts daily rather than continuous production
• Human attention: A person watching, adjusting, deciding—not just monitoring automated systems

At Spiritus, we roast in 10-15 pound batches. That's small enough that each roast gets individual attention, large enough to maintain consistency.

Commercial roasters might run 500-pound batches continuously. Different game entirely.

The Freshness Gap

This is where small batch matters most: freshness.

How Commercial Coffee Works

Large roasters optimize for scale and distribution. They roast massive quantities, package them, and ship to warehouses, distributors, grocery stores, and fulfillment centers.

By the time that bag reaches your kitchen:

• It was roasted weeks or months ago
• It sat in multiple warehouses
• It traveled through distribution networks
• It waited on shelves for you to find it

The "best by" date might be a year out. But coffee peaks at 3-14 days after roasting. Everything after that is decline.

How Small Batch Works

Small roasters can operate differently. Without massive inventory to move, we can roast to order.

At Spiritus:

• Your order triggers a roast
• Coffee is roasted within 48 hours of shipping
• It arrives days from roast, not weeks or months
• Every bag has the roast date printed—no hiding behind "best by" dates

The freshness difference is real and detectable. You'll smell it when you open the bag. You'll taste it in the cup.

The Attention Difference

Roasting coffee is cooking. Like any cooking, attention affects outcome.

Commercial Roasting Attention

At scale, attention per batch decreases. The roaster manages systems, monitors dashboards, ensures consistency across massive output. The goal is repeatability—making the same coffee the same way, thousands of pounds at a time.

This isn't wrong. It's how you supply grocery stores and coffee shop chains. It's how you make affordable coffee available everywhere.

But it's different from craft roasting.

Small Batch Attention

A small-batch roaster can attend to each batch individually.

• Adjusting for the beans: Coffee from different origins, harvests, and lots behaves differently. Small batch allows adjustment.
• Responding to conditions: Humidity, temperature, and other factors affect roasting. Human attention catches what automation misses.
• Pursuing nuance: The difference between "good" and "exceptional" often lives in small decisions made mid-roast.

This doesn't mean small batch is automatically better. A skilled commercial roaster beats an amateur small-batch roaster every time. But given equal skill, small batch allows more precision.

The Sourcing Difference

Scale affects what coffee you can source.

Commercial Sourcing

To fill a 500-pound roaster multiple times daily, you need massive, consistent supply. This means:

• Working with the largest farms and cooperatives
• Blending across many sources for consistency
• Prioritizing availability over uniqueness

Commercial coffee isn't bad coffee. Major roasters employ talented cuppers who select quality beans. But they're selecting from what's available at scale.

Small Batch Sourcing

Small roasters can work with smaller lots:

• Micro-lots: Exceptional coffees from specific farms, specific harvests, sometimes specific sections of a farm
• Direct relationships: Buying from farms directly, not just importers
• Seasonal offerings: Featuring coffees when they're at peak, rotating as availability changes

This allows access to coffees that simply aren't available at commercial scale. The 50-bag lot from a small Colombian farm isn't going to Folgers. But it might be at your local roaster.

The Price Difference

Small batch coffee costs more. Here's why:

Economies of Scale

Commercial roasting is efficient. Automated systems, continuous operation, bulk purchasing, optimized distribution—all of this drives cost down.

Small batch sacrifices some efficiency for other benefits. More labor per pound. Smaller ingredient purchases. Less automated everything.

What You're Paying For

The price premium of small batch coffee reflects:

• Fresher coffee (roasted to order vs. inventory)
• More attention per batch
• Access to smaller, special lots
• Supporting smaller businesses
• Often, better wages and working conditions

Whether that premium is worth it depends on what you value.

Actual Numbers

Commercial grocery store coffee: $6-10/lb
Specialty grocery coffee: $12-16/lb
Small batch roasters: $14-22/lb

Per cup, the difference is about $0.20-0.40. Noticeable over a year. Marginal per cup.

What Small Batch Won't Fix

Small batch isn't magic. It won't:

• Fix bad beans: Quality green coffee matters more than batch size
• Overcome poor roasting: An unskilled small-batch roaster makes bad coffee, just less of it
• Make stale coffee fresh: A small batch roaster with slow sales has the same staleness problem as commercial
• Guarantee ethics: Batch size doesn't determine labor practices or environmental impact

Small batch creates potential. It doesn't guarantee outcomes.

How to Evaluate Small Batch Claims

When a roaster claims "small batch," ask:

What's your batch size? Actual pounds per roast tells you more than marketing language.

When was this roasted? If they can't tell you, freshness isn't a priority.

Do you roast to order? The freshness advantage of small batch only materializes if they're not sitting on inventory.

Can I visit? Small roasters often welcome visitors. If they hide their operation, wonder why.

Who roasts? Names and faces suggest craft. Anonymity suggests industrial.

Who Should Choose Small Batch

Small batch coffee makes sense if:

• Freshness matters to you—you want coffee at its peak
• You appreciate nuance—you taste and care about subtle differences
• You value relationship—knowing your roaster matters
• You want to support small business—local economy, independent operators
• You're willing to pay a modest premium for these benefits

Who's Fine with Commercial

Commercial coffee makes sense if:

• Convenience is primary—you want coffee everywhere, always available
• Cost is primary—budget constraints are real
• Consistency is primary—you want the same taste every time, no variation
• Coffee is fuel—you're not particularly seeking a sensory experience

Neither choice is wrong. They're different tools for different purposes.

The Spiritus Approach

We roast small batches in Lombard, Illinois. 10-15 pounds at a time. We roast to order—your purchase triggers a roast.

Every bag ships within 48 hours of roasting, with the roast date printed. No guessing, no hiding behind "best by" dates.

We source from importers we trust, selecting coffees that excite us. When we find a special lot, we feature it until it's gone.

This is our version of small batch. It's not the only valid version. But it's what we believe in.

Explore our current offerings →

Tasting the Difference

If you've only had commercial coffee, you might not know what you're missing. If you've only had small batch, you might not appreciate what you have.

Try both. Side by side if possible. Same brewing method, same water, same attention.

Notice:

• Aroma when you open the bag
• Complexity of flavor
• Finish and aftertaste
• How the taste evolves as the cup cools

Your palate will tell you what matters to you.

The Bigger Picture

Coffee is one of the most traded commodities on earth. The commercial coffee industry employs millions and delivers caffeine to billions.

Small batch roasters are a tiny fraction of that. We're not going to replace Folgers or Starbucks. We're offering something different for people who want it.

If you want fresh, carefully roasted coffee from people who care about the craft—small batch is where you'll find it.

If you want cheap, convenient, always-available coffee—commercial delivers that reliably.

The coffee world has room for both.

Sip in the moment.

Spiritus Coffee Co.
Small batch roasted in Lombard, Illinois.
Coffee with a Soul.

So, a friend of yours purchased some Spiritus coffee, and can’t stop raving about it. You enjoy coffee now and again, but you’re hardly an expert; everyone’s always talking about Americano this and Latte that. It’s hard to find your favorite style when you don’t know what your options are. You are not alone. So, let’s check it out. Depending on who you consult, there are over 20 different ways to create a coffee drink. But, let’s get to some of the basics.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t say the most basic coffee drink is … well, coffee. Our freshly-roasted coffee is perfect for a cup of drip – put it in a filter and give Mr. Coffee a run for his money. While we encourage you to participate in Ritual, it doesn’t have to be fancy; savoring a cup of coffee at the kitchen table can be every bit as satisfying as lounging on a beach.

Espresso

The classic base of most coffee drinks: espresso. It’s a concentrated form of coffee that is offered in “shots,” small cups the approximate size of a shot glass. Espresso is made by pressurized hot water forced through very finely ground coffee. You use the same beans for espresso as you do for your French Press or Mr. Coffee. The difference is that the beans are ground to a finer consistency – and we’ll do the grinding to your preference, if you so desire.

Latte

Hot lattes are created with espresso, steamed milk, and foamed milk. Generally, it is one-third espresso and two-thirds steamed milk topped with a layer of foamed milk. You can enjoy them hot or iced, and many other drinks use the latte as a foundation. If you use half and half instead of milk, you change the latte into a Breve.

Mocha

What’s a mocha then? It’s yum? Seriously, though, it’s a latte made with chocolate sauce and usually has some whipped cream on top.

Cappuccino

And the cappuccino …? You guessed it – more espresso, milk, and foam. Here the proportions are generally one-third espresso, one-third steamed milk, and one-third foam.

Macchiato

There’s more? Oh, so much more, friend. Same espresso, same milk. But now, we put the steamed milk in first and add the espresso on top. Another difference is that the Latte is mixed together upon serving, while the macchiato presents with more foam on top, served as a layered drink. It is sometimes referred to as a Cortado in other countries. Here we know a Cortado as consisting of espresso mixed with a roughly equal amount of warm milk to reduce the acidity.

Con Panna

Now, we’re going to take that espresso and make a con Panna. It sounds fancy, but it’s a simple and delicious treat. Take a shot of espresso and put some cream on top. Preferably, heavy whipping cream. We suppose a dollop out of a can will do, but to truly enjoy breaking through the cream to a rich coffee requires a thicker cream. That’s it. That’s con Panna; a delightfully simple drink. (We personally enjoy some cinnamon and a sprinkle of sea salt on ours.)

Red Eye

It’s a late-night flight that can leave one bleary and sluggish. An antidote is the coffee drink named for that very situation. A Red Eye consists of brewed coffee topped off with a shot of espresso. It’s particularly strong, because it starts with the caffeine in a cup of brewed coffee and adds espresso to up the next level.

Americano

An Americano is another simple option – it’s merely espresso with hot water. It brings espresso closer to the drip coffee that Americans have been drinking for years, which might have led to the name Americano. You can vary the shots of espresso and the amount of hot water to your taste.

Frappe

The frappé was invented in 1957 by a Nescafe representative in Greece. They have become a hallmark of postwar outdoor Greek coffee culture. Derived from French, the name frappe describes a drink chilled with ice. Some are similar to slushes, others are more like iced coffee. Today, they are often made with a milkshake machine, but can also be made using a cocktail shaker. The blend is instant coffee and water (sugar optional) that are blended until a thick foam forms on the top. It’s poured into a glass with ice cubes and cold water, and served with a drinking straw.

No matter your favorite drink, it will be all the more amazing when you use Spiritus Coffee to create it! Enjoy.

Single-Origin – What Does it Mean?

“Single-origin”: The coffee comes from one source. One country? One region? One specific farm? Yes.

In general, single-origin refers to a coffee that can be traced to a single source. Sometimes, that means a single region of a country, but as often as we can, Spiritus strives to know what farmer/collective it comes from, too. It’s very important that we know where our coffee comes from; we only want ethically sourced coffee that brings success to those growing and harvesting it.

So, what’s the big deal?

Let’s take a look at wine as an example: grapes grown in wineries around the world all have different flavor profiles and characteristics. Even the same varietal – Chardonnay, for example – is going to taste different in Napa than it does in France. The environment, the elevation, and the efforts of each producer all bring different subtleties that we are excited to explore.

We hope to be able to educate you on all of these different aspects. It’s imperative that coffee tastes great, but it’s always nice to know exactly why it tastes that way. Some people really want in-depth knowledge about their coffee, their meat, their wine. Others just want a great sip or taste. It doesn’t really matter to us – if you want to get more info, we’re happy to provide it. If you just want to enjoy, we can help you find a roast that fits your style.

Does Single-Origin really matter?

Single-origin is not just a coffee buzzword. Although it was brought to the forefront of things when local coffee shops started focusing on brewing coffee with pour-overs and other alternative brews, the concept is much more than a fad. Knowing specifics about the source – climate, land, people, processing, etc. – helps to understand what kind of coffee to expect. How we roast it, and how you will enjoy it.

Because we value relationships with farmers and collectives, we strive to get seasonal, fresh beans. It does mean that we may only have some roasts for a short time, but it also means that we’ll be roasting new varietals regularly. Don’t fret – coffees that come from one region often have similar characteristics – it’s likely if you enjoy one, you’ll likely appreciate another from the same place.

What’s the process here at Spiritus Coffee?

Spiritus Coffee has several avenues to procure beans. Sometimes, we work with Royal Coffee to facilitate getting beans from the farmer to our roasting house. They work with “over 30 countries of origin, an extensive network of producing partners, and have decades of experience in the roasting community.”
When we can, we like to engage with direct-trade with the farmer/collective ourselves. It allows us to see the process of grow, all the way to roast, every step of the way. It means that we can get and give first-hand information from the farmer/farm themselves. All of our partners take great pride in the quality of their coffee, and we take great pride in roasting it so you can enjoy a delicious cup.

Sip in the moment.

Coffee undergoes hundreds of remarkable transformations on its journey from growing regions around the world to its final destination in your cup. There are reactions and transformations at every stage: harvesting, processing, roasting, and brewing. Even as a hot cup of coffee cools, changes are still taking place that influence taste. How some of these changes occur still remains a mystery. The biggest transformation occurs during the roasting process, where over 800 different compounds are released. Yes, over 800!

What Happens When Roasting Coffee?

As coffee begins to roast, gases build up inside the beans. When the roast is complete and the beans begin to cool and rest, pent-up carbon dioxide continues to escape from the beans. This is why you see a little valve on one side of our coffee bags. The valve allows CO2 and other gases to escape. If coffee is ground and brewed too soon after roast, the escaping gas can cause an uneven extraction and a less desirable cup of java.

It can take anywhere from two days to two weeks for freshly roasted coffee to fully de-gas. A general guide is that the darker the roast, the faster the de-gas process. The lighter the roast, the longer it needs to rest before brewing for optimal taste. A coffee like our Spiritus Ethiopian Natural will have the best flavor when brewed about 5-7 days after the roast date indicated on your bag. Our Colombian and House Blends a bit sooner, around 3-5 days.

While coffee needs a few days to reach its maximum potential, air is the enemy of fresh coffee. The roasted beans are full of oils, compounds, and acids, and when exposed to air, the oxidation process begins, which degrades the oils and compounds that contribute to flavor. This oxidation process is why old coffee has a stale, flat, bitter, lifeless taste — and why all Spiritus coffee is shipped in a stay-fresh, heat-sealed bag with a one-way valve to let the gas out without letting the air in.

How Does That Compare?

In comparison, when you buy a bag of coffee or a tin from a large, chain grocery store, 80% of the time that coffee was roasted 6+ months ago… so, all of the gas has long since escaped, along with all of the flavor.

Learn More About Coffee

We’ve loved everything we’ve had the opportunity to learn about the world of coffee, and there is so much more to know. Check out our Facebook and Instagram to follow us on our Spiritus Coffee journey!