French press coffee maker

SMSUCigarguy said:
Try one out and see what a difference it will make. You'll never want to have drip coffee again. Just don't use nasty Folgers or Millstone in it!
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Amen! I'm not a big coffee fan, but pressed coffee is really good. My wife has made her coffee with a press since I met her, the first time I saw it I was like "What is that?"

I also think the old perculators made better coffee than the new paper filter machines.
 
MrJerry said:
I own several Bodum's and I think they work great. A burr grinnder would be the way to go, but I've found that a blade grinder will also do the job. You do need to shake it like your making an martini for 8-10 seconds while grinding...this will innsure that you've got an even grind.

NEVER boil the water, remove your water just before the boil. Just like badhangover posted, introduce the water into the chamber between 195-205 degrees farenheit.
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Actually the general consensus is to always bring your water to a boil. Water boils at 212F, so, what I do is I boil my water, take it off the eye, grind my coffee and pour it in. It really doesn't take a lot to take the temperature of the water from 212F to 205 or 195, and just letting it sit those 15 seconds and the pour, generally, is held to be sufficient time. No qualms with MrJerry, because he knows his stuff too, but the theory behind not letting the water boil is to avoid essentially scorching the coffee with overheated water - I think that dropping 7F is accomplished easily enough in a short wait and pour. With not boiling, the risk of using too cool water and under-extracting outweighs its theoretical benefits. Something else to consider is that the elevation you are brewing coffee at affects boiled temperature as well, for example, in Denver, water typically boils below the 205F threshold.

One of the reasons that presses work so much better than the vast majority (or all) of the drip machines is that you can add water at the appropriate temperature, whereas drip machines rarely get water up to 195F (and even when they do, not many of them are designed to allow a full, even extraction of the grounds; something that a quick stir does in a press).

As to the burr vs. blade discussion, presses require a relatively thick ground to extract correctly, given the time of extraction in your typical press (3-4min). A quality burr grinder, the low end of which is the Bodum burr grinder, will give you a guaranteed even ground because that's what it's designed to do. A blade grinder, even with shaking, ends up giving you dust and chunks. The problem with dust and chunks is that the dust over extracts giving you bitter notes and the chunks under-extract, leaving oils and essentials in the coffee bean. The big grinds and little grinds don't cancel eachother out. If you're looking to have the best cup of coffee, you should really shell out for at least the Bodum grinder (which is about $70), and even it has its faults.

Honestly, I think the difference in blade vs. burr grind has a close analog between a properly maintained cigar and one that's been in and out of over and then under humidified environments. A good cup of joe really takes as much effort and knowledge as we're used to putting into keeping our cigars smoking well - and considerably less money. You could make the theoretically perfect cup of coffee for around $100 after buying a press and burr grinder (and paying attention to what you're doing). And remember to always use at least filtered water when making your coffee, you wouldn't put that chlorine-y sink water in your beads and you shouldn't put it in your coffee either.

Hope that helped!
 
Bodum's make great coffee for sure. Especially if you're using quality beans. I switched to a press a few years ago and now drip coffee just doesn't cut it. I might have to get one of those Columbia stainless pots. Thanks for the link.
 
Thanks for all the info guys.

I am going out today with a friend to hit all the cigar shops in town. Will have to make a side trip for a press along the way.
 
Think there's another thread on this somewhere in the days gone by, because I remember posting on a discussion of these once before.

As far as French-press goes, I have a Frieling 35 oz. Stainless steel, very sturdy, absolutely delicious coffee. I prefer this one over Bodum's similar model. I use it mainly when my lovely Cuban wife doesn't make Cuban coffee a la one of our many stove-top espresso machines.

I would personally recommend avoiding the glass models. As others have said, Bodum makes an outstanding stainless steel model.
 
Well I picked up a French Press yesterday and am enjoying a very nice cup of Carribean Cutthroat as I type this. Got a Bodum Chambord model. Paid 20 bucks for it on special.

Wish I had gotten one earlier. Pretty easy to use and makes a great cup of coffee.

Thanks for the advice.
 
JAEwing said:
Burnt Tongue said:
They seem pretty simple, can't imagine one is much different from another. Why bother anyway? A coffee maker is alot easier.
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I do not know from experience but I have been told (and saw on Modern Marvels - Coffee) that the French Press style makes a much richer and more flavorful cup of coffee. Something about not losing all the oils and stuff.

I too would love to hear from a Coffee Guru on this subject.
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By far the best way to extract flavor from a coffee bean is to use pressurized water, the way many espresso machines operate. French presses and traditional coffee makers just run non-pressurized water over relatively coarse chunks of ground up coffee. and what you get in your coffee is the run-off. With espresso-style coffee machines, you grind the bean mean finer, and hot pressurized water (or in some machines, steam) blasts through the finely ground coffee.

I've used French press-style coffee makers; they are really doing the same thing that drip coffee machines do, just in a different form factor. They've been around for a very long time.

A great place to go for everything coffee:

http://www.coffeegeek.com/

An explanation of different kinds of espresso machines:

http://www.coffee-makers-cafe.com/espresso-machines.html

There have been many scientific studies of how to best extract flavor from the coffee bean; a combination of very hot water, pressure, and a fine grind is generally agreed as being needed. You get none of this with drip coffee machines or French presses (which amount to the same thing as drip coffee).

French presses are a nice way to go for a portable coffee maker that doesn't require any kind of power to operate, though.
 
ThankYouForNotSmoking said:
One of the reasons that presses work so much better than the vast majority (or all) of the drip machines is that you can add water at the appropriate temperature, whereas drip machines rarely get water up to 195F (and even when they do, not many of them are designed to allow a full, even extraction of the grounds; something that a quick stir does in a press).
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That's a fair point, that is one advantage that a press has over many of the cheaper drip machines (assuming people use water that is the proper temperature). Presses are still missing the water/steam pressure and fine grind that really differentiates a high quality cup of coffee with maximum flavor extraction and minimum of the bitterness you don't want, though.
 
I have a pod style coffee maker as well. They use pressure in the process of making a cup. I have tried to use on of those adapters so that I can use some of Jerry's coffee in the pod unit, but it is not quite the same.

For a quick, single cup of coffee, I really like my Senseo machine. But for making a batch for the thermos, or multiple cups, I think the press will be my goto coffee maker.
 
I would love to own a high quality espresso machine like the Silvia. If I had one I would pull shots all day! :love:

Until then, I think using a French press is a good way for coffee.
 
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