Bodum French press - Page 3

Definitely get the stainless steel Bodum.

Several notes about some of the comments above:

- You do not have to use a "coarse" grind for French Press coffee. The ideal grind will be about the size of beach sand. Most people grind much too coarse. To prevent additional sediment, get a nylon filter to add to your press mechanism. The best ones are Swiss.

- The notion of insulation in a French Press is counterintuitive. You should *not* leave coffee in your press. It must be brewed (pour, stir, wait, stir, press). Let rest (to allow grinds to settle). Gently poured into your mug (pre-heated) and then the balance should be poured into a thermal carafe. Leaving your coffee in the press after you have brewed it will result in over-extracted coffee. I transfer the coffee that doesn't go into my mug into a large travel mug -- I use and recommend the Contigo double wall vacuum insulated tumbler, it keeps coffee hot for well over an hour [claims 4 hours].)

- The Aeropress makes excellent coffee.

- The Technivorm bewers brew excellent coffee.

- Any brewing method that employes a filter will strip coffee of it's natural oils and result in a thinner, less rich drink.

I have the bodum in the unbreakable plastic or whatever it is. It's nice, solidly built and all. Wouldn't mind a fancier looking one just to feel cooler though. Also, to the person who recommended the IKEA one, i'm sorry but that one is awful. It doesn't even seal and all the heat escapes the press because you can't actually close the pouring spout of the lid. Not very good considering you can find the bodum i'm speaking of for like $18 at starbucks. Also, when i bought mine there they gave me a free cup of coffee which was nice.

I use a Mr. Coffee coffee maker that makes good coffee. What does a press do that a coffee maker can't? I think it would be more work with a coffee press, you have to get the temprature right and not too hot or the coffee comes out bitter. A maker does all that once you find a good one.

A press gives you some crema, if you're into that sort of thing.

Provided you use decent quality freshly roasted freshly ground coffee, a press will give you a beverage with more body, more crema (because the essential flavor oils haven't been filtered out ) and a more complex flavor profile overall. IMO, the correct temperature for press brewing is just off boil and I haven't personally noticed any bitterness, though I'm fairly "bitter insensitive".

You're crazy, man. I like you, but you're crazy.


Although I've read this in many places, I can't say I've noticed much of a difference.

I recently got the Nespresso maker and it makes some amazing coffee. 15 bar pressure mean extra crema and real italan style coffee. Not watered down like the Keurig systems do.

the Bodum is a fine product, I have the exact one you're considering and really like it, well worth the money and I've yet to have issues with sandy coffee or anything like that.

Interesting. The easiest way to gather your own impression about this fact is to do a side-by-side brewing. It may sound tedious, but the experiment is easy and informative. For this exercise you need to start with freshly roasted and ground coffee -- pre-ground coffee or coffee that's not as fresh will have lost some of its natural oils. This will work with most any coffee -- you do not need to use a more darkly roasted coffee (i.e. one where the beans 'glisten' because they have surface oils) for this test. Assuming you have a French Press, you can buy an inexpensive single cup coffee filter and do parallel brewing with the same amount of grinds and water. Single cup filter holders are very inexpensive: http://www.amazon.com/Melitta-64008R...8677476&sr=8-4 For filters, I recommend un-bleached. Or you can just brew in a regular drip machine. However, if you brew in a drip machine to compare with the French Press try to control the experiment as much as possible -- i.e. try to brew the same amount of grounds with the same amount of water. The simplest ratio for coffee is 2 Tbsp. (about .35 oz or 10g) to 6 oz of water per cup. 2 Tbsp. is somewhat misleading, because the weight of the coffee can vary due to the grind or even the weight of the beans. However, unless you plan to play Professor Science early in the morning, go with the 2 Tbsp. (most "coffee scoops" are 2 Tbsp. in size). One of the variables that you can actually "see" (in addition to taste) are the residual oils which rest on the surface of fresh press-pot (or any infusion method of brewing) coffee. This "oil slick" imparts a richness to the cup that is stripped when paper is introduced as a filter.

Christ, you cheap bastards! Forget the Bodum! You can get a Bodum at Wal-Mart!

Do you want to be known as a Wal-Mart Shopper!

Get online and get a Frieling Stainless Steel press pot! I've had one for 5 years and it's GREAT (Not to mention, a WHOLE lot classier than a Bodum pot)

http://www.amazon.com/Frieling-Stain.../dp/B00009ADDS

Bodum. Jeezus...

Also, If you haven't had WELL MADE French-pressed coffee... You haven't lived

and yeah - it DOES need to be coarsley ground

^ way to blow the bourbon budget

True.

The only bad thing I have found from using a French Press you will never want to go back to drip again.