Oh! Those French are on to Something!!

I bought a French Coffee Press. It looked cool at the store and looks cool on my counter.

If you are unfamiliar, a French Coffee press is a small glass pitcher that has a tight fitting lid with plunger-like strainer. When pressed down into the brew, the strainer pushes the ground coffee to the bottom of the decanter and effectively separates the grounds from the coffee.

I followed the directions and put a few tablespoons of coffee in the press, added boiling water and waited, letting the mixture steep. After pressing, I tasted the output.

Coffee made this way is intense—almost espresso. There is an element in the aroma and in the aftertaste that is not present in the drip-method of brewing. I am looking forward to combining this coffee with a dessert (cheesecake, perhaps).

One lesson learned. When you finish the cup and see a little bit of coffee still in the press, don’t pour it into your cup and drink it. I found that out the hard way. You see, the awful stuff you don’t want has time to come out of the grounds during that long steep time. What you will taste is twice as bad as the worst truck-stop style, reheated, day-old, instant coffee you ever had.