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[ElectricBlanketFire]

I was skeptical. Assumed it was simply a hipster way of making coffee that did not affect taste. But I was wrong. French press coffee is damn good.

For those unfamiliar:

A French press requires coffee of a coarser grind than does a drip brew coffee filter, as finer grounds will seep through the press filter and into the coffee. Coffee is brewed by placing the ground coffee in the empty beaker and adding hot (93-96 degrees Celsius, 200-205 degrees Fahrenheit) water, in proportions of about 28 grams (1 ounce) of coffee to 450 ml (15 fluid ounces) of water, more or less to taste. Start by adding about 1/3 of the water, stir slightly, let "bloom" for 30 seconds, and add the remaining 2/3 of the water, pouring gradually over the entire surface of the floating grounds. Cover and let brew; the total brewing time from beginning to end should be four minutes. Press the plunger to separate the grounds and hold them at the bottom of the beaker, and pour. One may wish to decant the coffee into a serving vessel at this point; if the brewed coffee is allowed to remain in the beaker with the used grounds, the coffee can become astringent and bitter, though this is an effect that some users of the French press consider desirable. It is widely believed that the optimum time for brewing the coffee is around 4 minutes. Others may consider the coffee spoiled after about 20 minutes. Other approaches, such as cold-brewing, require several hours of contact between the water and the grounds to achieve the desired extraction.

Anyone else enjoying a damn fine cup of French press coffee this morning (or evening)?

 

[NewFresh]

I Don't think it tastes better. It's a different taste entirely. Usually my weekend method of brewing.

 

[PassiveObserver]

Usually get this at coffee shops if it's offered, but I prefer the pour-over. That V60 taste.

 

[ponpo]

High quality drip forever. Glad pretty much every good coffee place in Tokyo does drip. Also drip is way more 'hipster' than french press.

Have pretty much stopped brewing my own drip coffee at home though since a) the cold bottled coffee here is pretty good and b) making hot drip coffee and having it not curdle my soy milk is like a dice roll.

 

[Wiktor]

Turkish brew > all

 

[codhand]

Turkish, Drip, French Press

These are all acceptable answers.

 

[kick51]

Assumed it was simply a hipster way making coffee that did not affect taste

that's just sad

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

that's just sad

I SAID I WAS WRONG DAMMIT.

 

[JBourne]

Tea is a pretty good in a french press as well.

It's a shame that it's so easy to make a cup of coffee with a keurig. I've gotten too lazy to make my morning cup with a press.

 

[Nikodemos]

making hot drip coffee and having it not curdle my soy milk is like a dice roll.

Isn't that caused by highly acidic coffee? You might want to switch to a lower-acidity blend, since IIRC highly acidic coffee isn't all that good for your stomach lining.

 

[travisbickle]

I think being hipster just jumped the shark if it includes drinking french press coffee!!

 

[Arksy]

I love French press coffee, rated #2 after espresso, of course.

You're right in that it's a completely different taste all together. I find it really brings out a lot of subtlety in the coffee that you wouldn't normally get in an espresso and drip is just too brazen to really be good for coffee at all.

 

[kick51]

I SAID I WAS WRONG DAMMIT.

i forgive you

 

[Dachande]

Every way of making coffee affects its taste.

Do the same coffee as espresso, French press, pourover, siphon, and Moka pot and it'll all taste different, some better than others depending on the specific coffee.

French press will not always taste better than everything else for every coffee. Although 99% of all drip machines ever made are bad, so pretty much anything else, properly made, will be an improvement.

 

[ponpo]

Isn't that caused by highly acidic coffee? You might want to switch to a lower-acidity blend, since IIRC highly acidic coffee isn't all that good for your stomach lining.

I thought it had something to do with temperature, but I'll try that.

 

[Makabe]

Aeropress is my new favourite way, but French Press is pretty great - especially for making cold coffee.

 

[Kerned]

Back in 2002 I worked at Starbucks for a few years and that's where I became a real convert to using a press. It's pretty much the only method I've used to brew coffee at home for over a decade. You really do get better, more nuanced flavor.

 

[bloodydrake]

sounds like 1/2 the right equation for great coffee.

Need to add a proper Conical Burr Grinder..fresh ground just before you brew + a french press is the best Coffee I've ever had.

sometimes ignorance is bliss tho. afterwards you can taste how stale ground coffee is..its like flat pop never noticed till after I started grinding my own beans..now I can't buy ground coffee and for somestrange reason its way cheaper

 

[George Oscar Bluth II]

I do both French Press and

 

[ponpo]

Where the siphonbros @

 

[Fritz]

I use a pump driven espresso machine from Delonghi.

 

[thesoapster]

Yep. Had a couple cups this morning myself. Colombian. Yummy.

 

[entremet]

I think being hipster just jumped the shark if it includes drinking french press coffee!!

Seriously. LOL.

 

[SugarDaddy]

I SAID I WAS WRONG DAMMIT.

Leave this man alone, he's already been punished through years of drinking inferior coffee, you're on the winning side now, champ

 

[Divvy]

What's a good model of french press to use? The one I have from starbucks doesn't do a good enough job filtering out everything. The bottom of my cup is always really sandy.

 

[Dachande]

What's a good model of french press to use? The one I have from starbucks doesn't do a good enough job filtering out everything. The bottom of my cup is always really sandy.

Bodum ones are a pretty safe bet, but you're always going to get some sediment at the bottom of a cup of French press. Nature of the beast.

 

[shira]

its hot bean juice, my taste isn't refined enough to differentiate if press or drip tastes betetr

 

[xenist]

I do both French Press and

Yup. I keep some instant bullshit around in case of emergencies but I will give up my tripple shot moka pot and french press when I die.

 

[Arksy]

Yup. I keep some instant bullshit around in case of emergencies but I will give up my tripple shot moka pot and french press when I die.

You know, instant coffee IS bullshit. It's terrible...but...sometimes...I just can't be arsed and just use instant.

Edit: By sometimes I mean a lot of the time recently. Sigh.

 

[Loofy]

Ive tried all this stuff, and keurig.

Im back to drinking instant coffee. Guess I dont really have a sophisticated palate for coffee.

 

[Pizza con salsiccia]

Nothing else.

 

[Ludovico]

Just finishing off my afternoon cup of Aeropress made bullet-proof. Delicious.

Pour-overs, french press, and aero - I mix it up every few days depending on how much I need and how much cleanup I feel like doing.

Also having an itch to get back into tea, especially in the morning's when I'd rather not run the coffee grinder...

 

[Zophar]

French Press can spell doom if you don't grind the beans right. Too fine and your coffee can taste awful. Doing it right, though, is heaven.

These days I mostly use Chemex at home, because I'm not very exacting and it leaves me a lot more leeway on amount of grounds/texture of grounds/time brewing. It still always turns out amazing.

 

[Sneds]

Nothing else.

I think this is the best way to make coffee followed by a French press (cafetiaire). I'm not a fan of drip coffee.

 

[Arkos]

Does anybody have that Nick Cage pic?

 

[triplestation]

is the french press really that much better?

please id really like to know

i use a coffee maker

 

[MilkBeard]

I've never tried french press, although I am the type that prefers the taste of espresso over drip even though I drink drip because of the higher quantity.
I'm not sure how many shops in Seattle offer french press. There is one Starbucks in the UW area that has a different coffee machine called a 'clover,' I believe, and I can say that it does taste better than their normal method in my opinion. I have noticed one other coffee shop using it, but I don't prefer their coffee because they add a lot of flavors, and I like coffee with its more original flavor.

 

[BannedEpisode]

I do both French Press and

Every time I buy one of those I inevitably put it on the stove without putting any water in the bottom. Then the shitty plastic handle melts off and causes a massive mess and my house fills with acrid cancer smoke,

I've done this three times.

 

[Lihwem]

I think this is the best way to make coffee followed by a French press (cafetiaire). I'm not a fan of drip coffee.

Cafetière, as we say here, monsieur

 

[Rootbeer]

Sometimes the simplest way is the best way...

All the pros of a French Press but with 0% risk of grit or grinds in your cup. Grind your coffee any damn way you like, it's not picky. The finer the better!

Also faster cleanup, 100% compostable

But welcome to the world of quality coffee!

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

I use a French press for everyday coffee. It's just so easy and small I don't see why anybody would want a drip machine in their house.

I do both French Press and

I use a Mokka pot when I make Cuban Coffee. So good.

 

[triplestation]

actually forget the french press

shits so messy

and the multistage ritual and tedious clean up aint worth it

drip 4 lyf3

 

[SRG01]

Clovers are much better, because you never run into the risk of over-extraction. A couple of the coffee shops here in town bought Clovers before the company got bought out by Starbucks.

 

[MuscleMan]

Every time I buy one of those I inevitably put it on the stove without putting any water in the bottom. Then the shitty plastic handle melts off and causes a massive mess and my house fills with acrid cancer smoke,

I've done this three times.

They haves electric ones problem solved.

 

[ipitydatfu]

 

[Javaman]

is the french press really that much better?

please id really like to know

i use a coffee maker

I've never noticed much of a difference between the two apart from French press being stronger.

I've taken to manually grinding (burr grinder) for all my drip though.

 

[black_13]

Yea ever since I switched to french press I haven't gone back.

I tried making a turkish brew but didn't turn out how I imagined. French press is the easiest of all the non-drip methods.

 

[triplestation]

I've never noticed much of a difference between the two apart from French press being stronger.

I've taken to manually grinding (burr grinder) for all my drip though.

There we go

That's how its done

There it is

 

[Sneds]

Cafetière, as we say here, monsieur

Pardon!

actually forget the french press

shits so messy

and the multistage ritual and tedious clean up aint worth it

drip 4 lyf3

I don't think it's that messy. You can get out most of the coffee with a spoon and then just wash out the rest under the tap. It's worth it to me but I suppose it depends how much you enjoy coffee.

 

[Luigiv]

Meh, my automatic espresso machine with one touch cappuccinos is easier and tastes better.