French Press vs. Automatic Drip

I got a taste of this new coffee-subscription service, Storyville Coffee. In their marketing materials they focused on among other things the benefits of the french press coffeepot. Since I've been unhappy with the taste of my Mr. Coffee I went out and dropped $30 on a Bodum. Apparantly the going rate for a large glass cylinder with a push-top and a handle is no less than $30. I did see an Ikea version (I think it was Ikea) for $15ish but too little, too late.

The knock against the french press is that the water needs boiling first and then about 4 minutes of steeping. So coffee in 10 minutes, not quick and there's no way to set a timer and wake up to it. It also gets cold quickly without a hot plate under it. It also needs a pretty coarse grind or you're left with settled sludge at the bottom of your cup. Lucky me I have a microwave and a good coffee grinder. And that means good coffee.

5 minutes in the microwave means water that's hot enough for me. I put 6 heaping tablespoons of coarse ground coffee in the 8 cup Bodum filled 4/5ths of the way with water. Mine pot came with a ridiculous 4 minute digital timer that clips onto the push-pot's post that let's me know when it's ready.

I find the coffee lighter tasting but not watery. It's a somewhat fruity flavor that's very even and not bang-your-head strong or barely-there weak. And the best part is that there's absolutely no plastic taste at all. I've read about over-fresh coffee and the near-crema suds that you get but my 8 o'Clock beans gave me a nice molten espresso-head and still tasted good, not as good as the Storyville coffee but better than the drip.

Comments

[megan]

My partner and I switched to french press last year and haven't looked back since. I also invested in an electric kettle, it boils the water in a few minutes. We saved the insulated carafe from our old drip coffee maker and transfer the coffee into it after it's done brewing in the Bodum. The coffee stays hot in the carafe for hours. All of these items take up a lot of counter space, but it's worth it.

[Matth]

I've always been satisfied with French press, but a friend of mine, who is a coffee fanatic, bought a Turkish coffee grinder (one of the hand-turned burr grinders) last year in Sarajevo and started grinding his coffee with it every morning. It makes, of course, an exceedingly fine grind, but it also makes the best cup of coffee I've ever had.

Basically, this is how he makes it: Put enough of the ground coffee in a mug and then pour boiling water over it; stir and let it steep long enough (maybe two minutes, it starts to get bitter after about eight). The flavor is intense, but it is very well balanced compared to espresso; only enough bitterness to highlight the complexity of the coffee's flavor. Sure, there's a froth of grounds on top, and the bottom of the mug is full of a sludge, but most of the mug is just excellent coffee. Milk also goes surprisingly well with this style of brew.

[Jeremy]

I've been using a French press for a couple of years now, a practice which started as a way to make the expensive locally roasted coffee I like to buy go a little further. Besides inferior taste, a 10-12 cup auto drip requires so much ground coffee! Using a French press obviously makes less coffee, but one great cup of coffee goes a much longer ways then a bottomless cup of auto drip brownish water.

French press brewing isn't always perfect; so much depends on the size of the grind and we use a simple blade grinder since a quality double-burr grinder retails at about $299 or thereabouts last time I checked. But, it's always full-flavored and bold. Interestingly, after a trip to Italy last summer, where espresso and cappuccino is drunk like water of course, my wife and I drank only coffee made in a Bialetti stove-top "espresso" maker for many weeks. We couldn't cope with the fact that good espresso wasn't everywhere so our best effort at bringing a little of Rome to Chicago was to use our Bialetti. It's not espresso, not even close, but it still is able to make a rich, rich cup of powerful coffee. (We always make Americanos actually - half a mug of hot water and half a mug of the thick, black brew.)

[Matt Flickinger]

So I know there are some people there who fine the french press too, "chunky", or gritty, or harsh, even with a good grinder, its a muddy, and by no means clean cup. I would suggest a vacuum pot for those who want a tasty and clean cup. Just remember french press fans, one mans clean is another man's weak.

[Brian]

Here is a method that seems to work just fine.
French Press allows the coffee to sit in the water for however long you like to, to extract more flavor from the grinds.
Messy to clean up, also dust gets through the metal screen.
You can pour the coffee through a paper filter after this process is completed.

Perculated is fine for allowing water to continually drip through the grinds, again for however long you like, but it BURNS the coffee.

Here is a method that I just used today and it works great. You can almost get the best from both worlds.

I used my Hamilton Beach Cone Drip Coffee Maker. It has an automatic stop when the Carafe is removed as many coffee makers do.
If you swing out the Basket approx. 1/2 inch, the coffee does not drip through the bottom.

Important, this coffee maker has one hole up top the the hot water drip into the basket from. If there are multiple holes spread out around the entire circumference of the top, you could have water dripping all over the place. So please make sure that if you swing out the basket on your coffee maker, that the hot water still drips directly into the basket and that the coffee does not drip through the bottom of the basket until you push it back into place.

So, here is my method.

Place the desired amount of coffee grinds into the basket and pour the desired amount of water into the reservoir.

Now, swing out the basket just enough so that you can see into the basket. Turn the coffee maker on.......Watch the water as it fills into the grinds in the basket. When the water in the basket rises to about a half inch below the top of your filter, turn off the coffee maker. Now, let the water sit in the basket for 5 minutes. More or less is up to you.
I did this with 48 ounces of water and 8 tablespoons of coffee.

Now push the basket back into place and let the coffee drip into the Carafe. When drained, do this process again. I did this 3 times and then I just allowed the remaining water to drip right in the basket and into the carafe.

This method allows you to have coffee grinds submerged in the water for however long you like. You don't have to go through this process for the entire brew either. You can do it for only the first or second basket fills or through the entire process.
You'll get more flavor out of the grinds like french press.

You can also do this by removing the basket and placing it over the carafe on the counter top. Pour your hot water into the Basket........Let it sit. Then depress the lever underneath the basket to release the stopper and let the coffee drip into your carafe. Then pour more water into the basket.
Just like using a Melita portable coffee brewer with the cone basket that sits over a carafe or the smaller one that fits over a cup. Just find a way to keep the hole at the bottom close until you decide to allow the coffee to drip out.

NO dirty coffee grinds to clean out of the bottom of the French Press' screen and bottom of the Glass.

Give it a try. You have nothing to lose. Just improvise a little and you can do a lot of amazing things that are so simple.

[Collie Man]

To me this is no question. I have had a french press for a couple of years now and don't look back. Honestly I only bought one because I got sick of buying filters. Plus the closest place I could buy them did not carry the filter size I needed.

I strongly disagree with the original statement that french press coffee is lighter in taste. Using a french press correctly will bring out so much more. The filter only takes away caffeine and flavor. Plus the body that the coffee gets can not be matched with a drip machine. I also agree that putting your coffee on a hot plate only will give you the opportunity to burn.

It is not always just the pot though. Perhaps you don't like the taste of your Mr. Coffee simply because Mr. Coffee is not a great brand. I will not buy any coffee that is pre-ground. I only buy locally fresh roasted beans. Alikief, if you know the brand, is based in the town I live in and that makes the coffee I buy very fresh. It may cost $8 or $9 per pound, but that's the price you pay for a good cup.

I love to drink straight espresso, so perhaps that is why I do not mind a little bit of powder ends up in the bottom of my cup. If you find the bottom of your french press to be "sludge", maybe you need to think the same thing happens in your drip coffee makers. Sure you actually have to clean the pot versus taking out the filter. Quit being lazy and just do it.

[Bob Laughsatyou]

Coffee elitists, lol.

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