mmm...coffee

[carolinecrane]

A couple days ago egretplume asked how I make coffee in my French Press. Because I am a big dweeb, I wrote a little tutorial. With (lousy) action shots. It's very dweebie, I'm not gonna lie.

Comments

[ci5rod]

Tips from someone who only uses a French Press (we call it a "cafetière"): if you are the sort of person who buys beans and gets them ground for you (there's this really nice market stall in Cambrige...), tell them to grind for a French Press rather than (say) paper filter or espresso machine. This will give you slightly larger coffee grounds that slip through the filter so often.

Does boiling water really make that much difference? I know it does for tea -- tea made with merely hot water is pretty disgusting -- but I was under the impression that coffee was more forgiving.

Presumably a proper French Press cosy would be more along the lines of a tea cosy?

[carolinecrane]

Coffee is more forgiving than tea, allegedly, but I find I get the best results with boiling water. Could be just psychosomatic, of course.

There are press cozy patterns that are more like a traditional cozy, yes. They just aren't as cute as the little cozy jacket. I admit that I kind of want to knit a cozy jacket with little buttons just because it's OMGADORABLE, but I realize it is completely useless, therefore I haven't. I have knitted tea cozies for my mom, however. I should probably make one for my own teapot one of these days.

[carolinecrane]

Though I am a little in love with this. I might have to sew one out of felt for myself.

[egretplume]

THANK YOU SO MUCH for this. I will try it soon and report back.
I must say I love the photo of the boiling water. You are the best.

[carolinecrane]

You're very welcome! I hope it works for you. Everyone disagrees with me about boiling the water, so take note! I could be wrong, even though I make delicious coffee ;)

[poteidia]

I've always been told that you should never make fresh coffee with boiling water -it 'burns' the grounds and affects the flavour. It was one of the cardinal rules handed down from my nan, like always warming the pot before you make tea!

This has made me want to go and dig out my own cafetiere now...

[carolinecrane]

I'm a rebel! I boil the water!

No, I've heard that too, but I find I have better results with boiling the water. I hate automatic drip coffee because the water never gets hot enough to really bring out the flavor of the coffee. But I might just be weird. Well, I know I'm weird, but I mean about this specifically.

She is right about warming the tea pot, though.

[writingpathways]

Hmm, see now I'm thinking why don't I have a French Press to try these directions :-)

[carolinecrane]

For coffee drinkers, there is no better way to go. It seems like more work at first, but really it's super-easy.