French Press

I got a French Press Coffee maker for Christmas.

I drink a lot of coffee. Before the French Press, I only made my coffee with a Keurig machine. Usually with the Biodegradable K-Cups I mentioned quite a few years ago.

I wanted a French Press for a few reasons:

• I thought it would be convenient to take on trips ... maybe even camping.
• I wouldn't use so many k-cups, which are more expensive than I think they should be.
• It seemed like it would be a cool way to make coffee.
• You can froth milk for lattes (more on this in a later post).

To make coffee in this French Press, I pour about a liter of water into the container just above a (sort of) mark that lets me know where 32ish ounces is.

Then, I put that into a pot and heat that up to boiling on the stove.

While the water is heating, I measure out about 30 grams of ground coffee into the container (somewhere I read that the perfect ratio of coffee to water is 30 grams to 1 liter).

When the water reaches boil, I let it cool just a bit and then pour about a third of it onto the coffee grounds and stir it up.

I'll let that sit for a minute or so and then pour the rest of the water in. I'll stir again, put the top with the press on, and let the mixture "brew" for about 4 minutes.

After 4 minutes, I slowly press down until the press won't go down any further.

I'll pour that into a large coffee mug. It yields (about) 32 ounces, which means the whole thing doesn't quite fit into my mug. Don't worry, I top off the mug after a few sips.

It might just be my mind tricking me, but I believe the resulting coffee tastes smoother and more delicious than the k-cup coffee I usually have. 

I still use the Keurig and k-cups most of the time. The French Press coffee is a nice weekend treat.

I'm not sure if I'll end up traveling with this thing. We'll have to see.

But so far, I like having the French Press.

Go Blackhawks!