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French press - I'm impressed!

Sam Cogley

Sam Cogley

Last of the Time Lords
Subscriber
On a whim, I forked over $5 to Goodwill for a little bitty (12oz.) Bodum Chambord coffee press several months ago. It sat unused on my counter for a long time until I got a bug up my ass to try it out a few days ago. This morning was the test. Coarse-ground Gevalia Breakfast Blend went into the beaker, the microwave heated up the water, I let it brew for 4 minutes and pressed. The results - excellent! The manual I found online for the Chambord talks about paper coffee filters absorbing some of the oils that give coffee it's flavor, and I can see why. The cup from the press was much more flavorful yet balanced and pleasing to the tongue than making coffee from the same beans in my drip pot. The only downside is that it uses quite a bit more ground coffee for the same quantity of coffee produced.

This experience has left me with two thoughts:
1) I need a bigger press. Hopefully one will pop up at a thrift or garage sale, I really don't want to fork over $50. The 12oz press makes barely enough for one mug.
2) I'm going to try one of those reusable cone filters in my drip pot, they seem to be made from the a filtering material similar to that used in the press. Hopefully that will give the best of both worlds - flavor and materials efficiency.

Bonus thought: I'm going to go make some more coffee. :D

Extra bonus thought: Now I'm interested in exploring the different methods of brewing coffee. Maybe my dad will let me borrow Grandma's antique vacuum pot.
 
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Yep, I used a Bodum press for years, it's a very cheap route to excellent-tasting coffee. Then I read about all the bad stuff in coffee that gets filtered out by a drip coffee maker, so have been using that method for a couple of years, but sure miss the taste of French pressed coffee. Maybe I need to live on the edge a bit more...
 
Sam Cogley said:
I'm going to try one of those reusable cone filters in my drip pot, they seem to be made from the a filtering material similar to that used in the press. Hopefully that will give the best of both worlds - flavor and materials efficiency.
Click to expand...

That's what we use, the non-disposable cone filter. I did notice an immediate improvement in flavor back when we started using it. I haven't used paper filters in years in an effort to reconfirm the improvement, but it seems to be the ticket in my view.
 
Bodum user here. Tastes best with fresh ground coffee. I always buy whole bean and grind it just before consumption- stays fresher that way. French presses rule- I even take a stainless steel one every weekend in the spring and summer with me backpacking.
 
Made another cup, this time Gevalia Kenya. Still excellent. Upon further measurement (and looking at Bodum's online catalog), this is actually an 8oz. press, something they don't even have listed for sale anymore. It appears to use the same handle/base assembly as the 12oz, but with a shorter beaker. Gotta find a bigger press, I might end up hauling this little tiny thing to work.

Definitely gotta get one of those reusable filters.

I'm too lazy to clean up my grinder every time I want coffee. I know it isn't perfect, but I grind up a half pound of several varieties at once, seal the ground beans in freezer-grade Ziploc, then put the Ziploc bags either in the freezer (for fancier stuff I don't drink as much) or one of two Gevalia-brand airtight canisters (for the daily brew). It takes a LONG time before I notice any degradation in taste. In fact, the only stuff that was degraded were some beans that I'd ground up in '07 and forgot about for two and a half years, after using about half of each bag.
 
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Sam Cogley said:
On a whim.............
Extra bonus thought: Now I'm interested in exploring the different methods of brewing coffee. Maybe my dad will let me borrow Grandma's antique vacuum pot.
Click to expand...

The presses do leave a bit more of the fines in the finished product, but careful decanting helps to minimize this. I have both large and small. They get less use than they deserve.

I have recently been informed of a 'cold brew' process. I don't know much about it yet, nor have I tried it. Basically you soak the grounds in cold (or not heated at least) for 24 hours or more. The benefit is that with out the use of very hot water, there is a less much less acid released from the grounds, resulting in a smoother cup of coffee. The coffee is also reported to taste naturally 'sweeter' as other undesirable elements released by the heat are absent as well. Unfortunately, I have heard that caffeine is less extracted as well :scratch2:, but not according to this, I Need Coffee

You can heat the brew after the grounds have been removed or make iced coffee.
 
congratulations on discovering what real coffee tastes like! I've been using a french press for decades, for reasons you now understand..if it ain't pressed, I ain't drinkin it :no:
 
Some friends of mine use this cold brew system. I have had a cup of coffee at their house and it is excellent! This will be my next system:

http://www.toddycafe.com/customerservice/instructions.php

My friends also have one of those small hot water tanks under their kitchen sink. They just put in cream, the proper (to their taste) amount of cold-brew coffee concentrate, and top off with the hot water at the kitchen sink.

I have had french press coffee for years. If you get one of those fast-heat water kettles and use it along with the press, it is a pretty simple and fast way to a great cup of coffee.

For our main coffee, we have been using a good drip coffee maker for years with the reusable filter. It does let a great deal of sediment (fines?) through. My wife cannot stomach the last cup because of this.
 
I like my Bodum press, I think it's about 1L, but not sure. My coffee is never more than about 1 minute from grind to brewing, that fresh ground taste just can't be matched.

Bought a reusable, fine mesh filter for my Mr. Coffee but I think I actually prefer a paper filter. Seems to make a smoother brew for what ever reason.

A buddy swears by the Chemex system. Perhaps he needs to provide a demo. ;)

Also :thmbsp::thmbsp: on the Kenya. Might be my favorite coffee style of all. :yes:
 
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Press all the way!!!! I used a percolator for years. I preferred it over a drip brewer.....switched to a press a few months ago and won't go back.
 
tensleep said:
Some friends of mine use this cold brew system. I have had a cup of coffee at their house and it is excellent! This will be my next system:

http://www.toddycafe.com/customerservice/instructions.php
Click to expand...

I have one of those but have never used it. I emailed the company and asked them about the kind of plastic it's made of, because of that BPH (or whatever) stuff that is in some plastics. They never responded, so I've never used it. Oh well it was from Goodwill.

I have thought about trying to replicate it in glass, but not enough thought to actually do anything about it. I've got a gallon pickle/tea jar I could "brew" the coffee in, but I'd want a convenient way to filter it.

Now, I want a cup of coffee........ maybe I'll get my French Press out tonight.
 
I use one of those gold mesh filters in my Braun and it seems to work just fine. I can't say I noticed a huge difference when I switch between it and the paper filters, but between dumping cream and sugar into it and being half awake; I'm not doing any "critical drinking" :lmao:
 
I rarely drink coffee but loved to head to my friends house who used one quite often. He also had his beans custom roasted for him, was serious about his coffee.

Right now when I do want a cup I use a MOKA and love it! Next is a press for something a little less like a cappuccino and something more than about 5oz.
 
I use an old Chambord press (mid 70s) with an old Braun coffee grinder and a Pasquini Espresso machine.
 
French press makes some of the smoothest cups of coffee I've ever had. Friend turned me onto it several years ago. For grinding I use one of those mill things and clean it infrequently. That part's easy. Also roast my own beans which is the real PITA since I can only do a little at a time. But... it is a lot of fun trying different beans and roasts. Mostly we make espresso (well, iced lattes, truth be told, which isn't exactly a connoisseur drink, but whatever) on a Gaggia.
 
I've been using a couple of Bodum presses for a couple of years. A standard size at home and a small one at work. I recently added a Bodum electric kettle to the coffee arsenal and it has improved my coffee a bit over using the MW. The Bodum shuts off right at the boiling point which keeps more oxygen in the water. I get a decent grind pulsing a kitchen aid centrifugal, but a burr grinder is next on the wish list. A consistent grind is key.

To those that keep their beans in the freezer or fridge - rethink that. Refrigeration in a frost free fridge or freezer is just sucking the essential oils out of your beans. You're loosing flavor. Air tight, dry and dark is best.
 
My brother has been in the wholesale coffee business for decades. He turned me on to the French Press method about 15 years ago. He's a big proponent of buying whole beans, so you can grind them just prior to brewing.

I upgraded from the small BODUM press a couple years ago (gave it to a coffee connoisseur co-worker to try out) and can make two large mugs of coffee at one shot now.

I love my stainless steel BREVILLE electric water kettle for heating my coffee water, too.

http://www.brevilleusa.com/tea/ikon-electric-kettle-1-7.html

Cheers.
 
French press and whole roasted beans here, a % Kona blend is a favorite. I found a 1 cup and 2-cup F. Press at garage sales for $1 each.

I wait until the water is at a near boil before grinding - with the goal to get that water onto the fresh ground beans as quickly as possible after grinding, steep for several minutes. Quite a lot of bang for the buck - in fact I can probably get ~6 or 7 cups of great coffee for that buck!

You might want to check out the coffee gadgets sold at Ikea. I have an old school coffee thing purchased years ago, I think it's a Trivsel. I can't find it online. It kind of works like a percolator, but you're left with an espresso sized shot of very strong, tasty coffee.

shimniok said:
French press makes some of the smoothest cups of coffee I've ever had. Friend turned me onto it several years ago. For grinding I use one of those mill things and clean it infrequently. That part's easy. Also roast my own beans which is the real PITA since I can only do a little at a time.
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Nice. One of these days I'll try some roasting, I even picked up a hot-air popcorn popper at a thrift for that purpose.
 
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