French press coffee makers- any hints?

[lillbet]

Hey folks- long time lurker, first time poster. Not sure if this is appropriate for the comm, mods, but I figured where better to ask about a gadget (and COFFEE) than a comm ostensibly peopled entirely with geeks? ;D

Comments

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[farawaypoints]

I have a French press coffeemaker and, admittedly, have absolutely no idea how to use it despite the directions provided; all coffeemaking attempts with it have been complete and utter fail. So I'm curious to see what others have to say about them, myself :)

[magaidhbhan]

I love my french press; it makes really flavorful, rich coffee. I've always been very happy with Bodum as a brand

[lillbet]

Awesome! I've been looking at Bodum and reading the reviews on Macy's site ($50 HOUSEWARMING GIFT CARD FTW!) for Bodum, so I'm really glad to hear you say that. At Sur la Table they were selling something called an "Aero" but I'm SO not a first adopter, so Bodum it is.

Most folks on the site mentioned the size of the 4-cup being more like a one and a shot- do Europeans really only need that little? Just one small shot of... that can't be right. They must make up the difference with all those chocolate croissants and... stuff.

And thanks for the coarse grind info. That must have been one HALE of an exciting morning! *lol*

[magaidhbhan]

Aero presses are a little bit different -- they use vacuum pressure to force the water through the coffee. So it’s like a combination of espresso, French press and filter techniques (and I think it uses espresso grounds?). Anyway, it's supposed to make super-smooth coffee, since you don't leave it to steep at all. But for plain ol' french press, you can't go wrong with Bodum. :)

I just double-checked on amazon, and I was totally wrong about the size of my own french press -- I have an 8-cup. Sorry! So yeah, probably a cup + a bit is about right for a 4-cup one. An advantage to a smaller one, though, is that when you want a second cup you make it fresh -- the coffee that sits in the press is still only divided from the grounds by a metal filter, so it can get a little bitter if you leave it sitting too long. If you drink coffee at the rate I do, though, it won't be a problem :)

That must have been one HALE of an exciting morning!

Um, yes. Exciting is definitely one word for it ... *shudder*

[nnoi]

I LOVE my french press!! I have a LaCafetiere 8 cup which we have no problem finishing off but there are multiple people in my house. It is stronger then normal coffee but super super smooth. And if it is too strong it is easy to adjust the amount of coffee to your own preferences

It needs to be fresh ground coffee because the ground needs to be bigger then say folgers (not that this is a problem if you love coffee enough to own a french press I doubt you are buying folgers anyway)

They are super easy to use and I have never had any problems making a half or forth of a pot when I am the only one in the mornings or I just need an afternoon boost. The cleaning is a little annoying because much like a tea sieve you tend to get coffee grounds stuck in the metal filter but it is well worth it! And the best part for me was recently going on camping and not having to worry about how I was going to get my coffee