Drip Coffee Vs French Press: The Difference, Simplified

Once you close the lid, the inner machinations of what goes on inside of a drip coffee maker are a mystery. Conversely, with the all-glass body of a French press, coffee lovers have an unobstructed window into what exactly is happening with their brew. Today, we're unpacking the differences between these two popular types of coffee makers to find out how, exactly, those differences affect your finished cuppa joe.

The matter of whether single-serve appliances like Keurig count as drip coffee makers is somewhat debated, but to be specific, a drip coffee maker is the electric plug-in countertop appliance with a water reservoir and large glass carafe. This bad boy is the ultimate workhorse for cranking out large quantities of hot coffee at the touch of a button.

The French press's association with barista culture may seem a tad pretentious (or maybe it did five years ago, before the home-brewing boom), but its high-involvement reputation is well-deserved. This brewing method requires significantly more attention to detail and knowledge of craft than press-the-button-and-forget-about-it drip coffee. Although, the extra labor isn't without payoff. The French press's gentle brewing helps express the more nuanced flavor notes roasted into artisanal or single-origin beans. In short, drip coffee might be a great way to brew Maxwell House into a quick, bold, efficient pot to serve a crowd, but when you're looking to get the most out of those small-batch beans you splurged on at your local coffee shops, French press is a better brewing method. 

Drip coffee makers are all about efficiency and capacity. All it takes to whip up a pot large enough to serve a full house are a couple of scoops of grounds and a few minutes. The water is poured into a large reservoir with a small hole at the base. Attached to the hole, a thin tube carries the water through or beside a heating element — typically a coiled wire and aluminum filament extrusion not unlike the heating element inside of a toaster.

From there, that hot water passes into the top chamber, where the coffee grounds wait inside their paper filter. The hot water is dispensed via a shower head-like spray, evenly soaking the grounds, which drip down into the carafe below when brewed. Drip coffee makers stop brewing automatically, so you can physically walk away and come back to a warm, finished pot of java. Just be sure not to interrupt the pot mid-brew.

Drip coffee produces a full-bodied brew with a fairly one-note flavor. For fans of the platonic ideal of "coffee" — a bold, strong, bitter, comforting taste — drip coffee gets the job done quickly and well. Despite its one-note reputation, drip coffee makers come in a variety of models. We're loving the Technivorm Moccamaster KBGV Select, a fully-outfitted modern marvel that comes in a rainbow of colors for around $350 on Amazon. Alternatively, the Hamilton Beach Programmable 12-Cup Coffee Maker is a formidable tool in the coffee-lover's daily arsenal at a more modest $34.99.

A French press consists of four components: The glass carafe, filter, metal stopper plate, and the plunger affixed to the lid. The filter and metal stopper plate are screwed onto the bottom of the plunger for easy removal when it's time to clean. As the plunger is lowered and the brewed coffee is poured, the filter keeps those grounds held down, preventing them from filling your cuppa joe with loose sediment. You can also use your French press to steep loose leaf tea!

To brew French press coffee, simply fill the carafe with grounds and hot water. After about a minute, a thin layer of grounds will begin collecting on the surface of the water. Break this up with a good stir using a long-handled spoon, then pop the lid on top (without plunging) and allow the grounds to steep for three to four minutes (set a timer). Then, slowly lower the plunger, gently pushing the grounds to the bottom of the carafe, and serve.

For a medium-strength brew, use 20 grams (roughly three tablespoons) of grounds per cup (8 ounces) of water. The water temperature should hit between 195 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit. A decent-quality French press tends to run in the ballpark of $20 to $40. This 1-liter model by Bayka features stainless steel and borosilicate glass walls for increased durability and roomy capacity for brewing multiple cups at a time.

Where drip coffee makers rest on a warming plate post-brew (which can scald your coffee and turn it bitter), French press coffee pretty much stops brewing the moment those grounds are plunged to the bottom of the carafe. This is crucial for preserving the nuanced dimensionality of craft roast beans. However, this also means that French press has to be served immediately, or else nuked in the microwave. With drip coffee, you can come back for a warm-up later on.

It's also worth noting that French press coffee requires a separate heating element for the water. The Bodum gooseneck electric kettle performs especially well for quickly heating water and facilitating a slow, controlled pour over those grounds in the French press. With drip coffee, the water heater is built into the appliance. This also means that you can make cold brew in a French press by steeping the grounds in cold water, whereas drip coffee makers always create a hot brew.

To help your batch stay warmer, a French press carafe can be preheated by filling it with hot water for a few minutes, then dumping it out. Some models provide increased insulation, like the double-walled Stanley classic stay-hot French press. The drawback here is that, with its opacity, it's harder to access the strength of your brew. Your French press game has to be honed down to a science to use a model like this.

Beyond temperature, another factor influences the taste of each brew: paper filters. Coffee beans are naturally loaded with flavorful fats and oils called diterpenes, which get caught and absorbed in the paper filter in a drip coffee maker. With French press, those taste-bearing oils get steeped directly into the coffee, creating more dimensionality of flavor and a robust tasting brew. Paper filters also mean that drip coffee makers have a larger ecological footprint than the French press with its reusable metal filter. However, after six months to a year of regular wear, coffee fans might find more sediment ending up in their mugs, as that metal filter wears down and needs to be replaced.

Whichever model you prefer, the grind size matters for an optimal cup of coffee. French press grounds should be coarser so that the metal filter can catch them, preventing a gritty sip. Drip coffee grounds should be finer so that they can dilute through the paper filter. Having your own coffee grinder at home can help here, but different grind sizes can also be found in grocery store coffee aisles; take a close look at the packaging before you buy. Or if you're purchasing whole beans from a coffee shop or roaster, you can ask the barista to grind them to a specific size for you behind the counter.