THE BREAKDOWN:

To get a clear lowdown of why there's different recipes for different roasts, it's essential to understand where the flavour of coffee comes from.

Coffee flavour gets decided by two key factors - the bean and the roast.

While the bean is influenced by whatever was in its surroundings while it was growing, the roast is what we bring to the table. It wouldn't be fair to say roasting adds flavour - its a process that involves fire so it never adds, it only subtracts.

The only question is how much of the natural flavour do you want to remove?
By the way in this case, natural flavours don't always mean good. Some can be very vegetal and unpleasant.  

LIGHT ROASTS - Mostly natural notes with a hint of roasted notes

MEDIUM ROASTS - Balanced mix of natural flavours and roasted notes 

DARK ROASTS - Mostly roasted notes with a hint of the natural notes

Since they're on the fire longer - Medium to Dark Roasts have more roasted flavours. You can tell this by how weak the density of the bean is. They also have a lower caffeine content as a result of it being burned out. 

What they trade in for that are some of the most popular flavours associated with coffee - the dark chocolate, nuts and toasty smoky tastes that people have known and loved for 100s of years.

FRENCH PRESS Med to Dark Roasts 

Coffee: 15.8g's
Grind Size: Coarse
Water: 250ml at 93 Degrees C
Brew Time: 5.30 mins

RECIPE:

1. Grind 15.8 grams of coffee to a coarse size (think sea-salt consistency). If it's pre-ground move straight to step 2!

2. At room temperature, the French Press absorbs heat faster from water. To keep it steady, preheat the Press by pouring in some hot water and stirring it about. Remove the water afterwards. 

3. Add in the coffee and slowly pour a third of the water (83ml) in a spiral starting from the centre. Make sure all the grounds are evenly wet.    

4. Let the coffee brew sit this for 30 sec. You should see a lot of bubbles coming out right about now. This part of the brew is called the ‘bloom’

5. Stir gently for about 10 sec. Break the crust of coffee that’s formed at the top. Pretend it’s a creme brûlée if that helps.  

6. Add in the rest of the water (167 ml). Slow and steady spirals really help. We're not trying to shake em' up. We're trying to spread the water evenly. 

7. Put the plunger on the top and let it sit so that the coffee can brew for 4 minutes.

8. Slowly plunge the press down evenly. Once it reaches the bottom, pour your coffee out into a mug.

9. And boom! You just brewed some dope coffee.