Press Pot/French Press Coffee

[Richard Kilgore]

I have been pouring mine out of the French press and into a SS thermos in order for the grounds not to sit in the coffee after the brew is finished. But I have noticed that the cofee continues to cook and begins to have a burned taste after a period of time. Fortunately it is usually gone before the burned flavor sets in.

[Jason Perlow]

As far as I am concerned, if the coffee stays hot for an hour, I'm happy with that. The Columbia can keep it hot for 2 hours -- after about an hour, I agree, it does start to taste burned. But 1 hour is a huge convenience, especially if you are making 8 cups of coffee. It takes me about an hour or so to drink 2 man sized mugs (10-12 oz each). However with an equivalent sized glass Bodum, your'e lucky if it stays hot for 10 minutes.

[Richard Kilgore]

Okay, sounds like our experieces with holding the coffee in ss are similar. But doesn't the Columbia keep the grounds in contact with the coffee? No negative effect from that?

[Jason Perlow]

Okay, sounds like our experieces with holding the coffee in ss are similar. But doesn't the Columbia keep the grounds in contact with the coffee? No negative effect from that?

No more so than any other French press.

[Richard Kilgore]

That's why I prefer to pour it into a separate container.

[malachi]

Buy a smaller Press Pot.

Make more pots of coffee and drink it fresh.

Shrug.

Extraction will continue as long as the grounds are in contact with water.

Fresh coffee is generally considered to be less than 20 minutes old - though I, personally, wouldn't drink coffee that had sat, period.

[winesonoma]

Campmor sells a number of presses that are unbreakable including a Nissan stainless. http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s...category_rn=239

[phaelon56]

But doesn't the Columbia keep the grounds in contact with the coffee? No negative effect from that?

Yes there is. IMHO and based on perosnal experience, after 15 - 20 minutes in the thermal french press, the coffee starts to change because it's still absorbing bits of flavor components from the grounds in the bottom. I'm with Richard on this one - pour it off into a carafe.

My cheapie-works great-almost as good as french press alternative is a Melitta cone with one of those gold mesh reusable filters - it lests most of the flavor oils through the way that press pot coffee does. I brew directly into a cheap thermal carafe that happens to fit the base of the Melitta cone nicely. Makes great coffee and it's simple.

[Marlene]

I must admit that part of the reason I want one is I'm lazy . Well that and I try to conserve water when camping because quite often we aren't connected to city water and are running off our water tanks.

In the evening, I set up our percolator for morning coffee. Yes, yes I know. You're supposed to do it fresh in the morning. However, in the confined spaces of an RV, when I'm the first one up in the morning (almost always), I try to make as little noise as possible so everyone else can sleep. This way, all I have to do is plug it in as opposed to grinding beans, running water etc. Nice and quiet.

In the evening, we really like coffee and Baileys or Grandmarnier after dinner. If I use the percolator, I have to wash it out before going to bed so I can set it up. So we've been using instant coffee at night (ick ick ick), and I can't stand it. So my answer is a French Press. I like the stainless one because I try to keep glass things out of the RV. And I always pour the morning coffee into a separate carafe and I would do so with the French Press coffee as well.

[Jim Cotter]

I think the nissan from Campmor is the best bet for being on the road or in my kitchen where I have broken several Bodum glass presses.

[Marlene]

My new French Press has arrived, just in time for our next RV trip. I'm about to start grinding beans for it. Do I grind them the same as I would for Perked coffee or coarser?

[Richard Kilgore]

Coarser, Marlene, or you'll have extra sludge.

[Jason Perlow]

Coarser, Marlene, or you'll have extra sludge.

Unless of course, you LIKE the sludge, like I do.

[Richard Kilgore]

Of course.

[Mottmott]

I use the bodum french press for a single cup of coffee, but when I want to make a larger amount I love using the chemex. The grounds stay up in the paper filter which can be easily tossed. If anything needs reheating, it can easily be done in a waterbath. I think there's some little contraption that you can order to use to keep it warm, but I've never bothered. (Or am I thinking of the Jena teapot contraption which I also don't use?)

[adegiulio]

Just bought a Frieling 7-8 cup SS insulated French Press. It looks great and makes terrific coffee. The coffee stays hot for a good hour (the coffee doesnt last that long very often ).

Anyway, just thought I would mention a coffee product I am actually happy with...

[Marlene]

We are on the road this week, and have been using the new French Press every night. I'm very impressed with this. It makes wonderful coffee, which we immediately pour into an insulated carafe. A little French Press coffee, a little Bailey,s some whipped cream, and a campfire. Doesn't get much better than this.

[lancastermike]

My darling wife got me a Bodum french press and burr grinder for Christmas. This moring is the first time I used it following the instructions from Sweet Maria link in the pinned brewing topics thread.

The beans were Sumatran froma local roaster. I used bottled water instead of tap.

I found the flavor to be much brighter than my usual drip. And the arouma was stronger and filled the room. I think the temperture was the reason as my DeLonghi dripper does not get hot enough anymore.

I doubted I would notice a big difference, but I really did. I have a friend who has a coffee shop. He has always told me a press is the only way he drinks coffee. Now I know why. Very happy, it was a lovely gift.

[SteveCleve]

I love it as well. I started using one about a year ago. You might want to consider getting the gold filter that Sweet Maria's sells to replace the standard 3 piece contraption that comes with Bodum's presses. I don't know if the gold filter makes the coffee taste any better, but it sure is a lot more convenient.

[blork]

Apparently those Swiss gold one-piece things are sold out and are no longer being manufactured. Too bad.

I've been using French presses for years and I love the results. My method is pretty straighforward:

- one scoop per cup,

- use hot (not boiling) water,

- let it sit for almost two minutes,

- stir (using the plastic coffee scoop, not a metal spoon -- the glass is delicate),

- let it sit for another (almost) two minutes,

- plunge, and drink right away, or transfer to an insulated decanter.

Mmmmmm. Coffee....

[jgould]

Apparently those Swiss gold one-piece things are sold out and are no longer being manufactured. Too bad.

I've been using French presses for years and I love the results. My method is pretty straighforward:

- one scoop per cup,

- use hot (not boiling) water,

- let it sit for almost two minutes,

- stir (using the plastic coffee scoop, not a metal spoon -- the glass is delicate),

- let it sit for another (almost) two minutes,

- plunge, and drink right away, or transfer to an insulated decanter.

Mmmmmm. Coffee....

←

what size french press do u use?

[Varmint]

I'm a french press newbie, too, and there's absolutely no comparison between the coffee made with this thing and a drip pot. The french press brings out a depth of flavor, including chocolate overtones, that I never experienced in a drip pot. I'm using the same blade grinder, same tap water, but the flavor is amazingly different. Also, I seem to get more of a caffeine buzz from the press. God, I love this thing!

[BrentKulman]

How many teaspoons does you use per cup?

The reason I ask is that I had breakfast at a restaurant yesterday that recently introduced individual Bodum french presses for customers who wanted premium coffee. You could choose from Kona, Blue Mountain and Yirgacheffe. Initially, I was ecstatic, although the cheapest of the three (Kona) was $2.95 for a two cup press.

That excitement quickly faded to disappointment when I tasted the coffee. Despite letting it sit for four minutes, the coffee was incredibly weak and watery.

It's hard to tell the volume of coffee once it is wet, but my guess is that there were no more than two teaspoons of coffee in the press.

At home, we use about four teaspoons per cup and generally brew French Roast. It's very full bodied but a bit bitter. That's how my wife likes it so that's what we go with, however.

[CharityCase]

One more press fan here.

Is four minutes the accepted standard? I drink a fair trade coffee, and I find even 4 minutes to be a bit too long...it tastes so bitter and acidic at that point that's no fun at all.

With a simple cuisinart blade grinder, what's a decent grinding time for Bodum? I lost the manual :(

[His Nibs]

How many teaspoons does you use per cup?

At home, we use about four teaspoons per cup and generally brew French Roast.  It's very full bodied but a bit bitter.  That's how my wife likes it so that's what we go with, however.

←

Depends on the size of your cup, I generally use 4 tablespoons of whole beans for 750 ml of water.

One more press fan here.

Is four minutes the accepted standard? I drink a fair trade coffee, and I find even 4 minutes to be a bit too long...it tastes so bitter and acidic at that point that's no fun at all.

With a simple cuisinart blade grinder, what's a decent grinding time for Bodum? I lost the manual :(

←

If it's too bitter, then you either :

a) brewed it too long

or

b) power is too fine a grind.

Since you are letting it steep for 4 mins, I'd say you are grinding your coffee too fine. From Good Eats' episode on coffee, I'd say 12 short pulses should do the trick. The consistency of the powder should be somewhat coarse.