Coffee for French press

[blaugrau]

Hei,

so I got myself a "French press" and have now been wondering with what type of coffee it yields best results.. I noticed that it should be a more coarsely ground coffee, and that some packed coffee brands have a French-press sign on the package, in addition to the filter-coffee sign.

My question is: will any "suodatin"-coffee do, or is it recommended to stick with the coffee-brands that explicitly state the French press symbol?

Might be that this question is maybe more of a hairsplitting affair; the reason I'm asking is that I'm kind of uninitiated in the world of coffee (at least in actively preparing it and preparing it for others) since I've been more of a tea person to date. (And now that the inlaws are coming to visit I don't want to make too much of a fool of myself).

If someone can recommend a good fairtrade/organic coffee type suitable for this Frenchpress thingy, I'd also be grateful.

[Rosamunda]

C'est quoi un "French Press" ?

[sammy]

C'est quoi un "French Press" ?

C'est un gadget du café comme ici... "le journalisme francais?"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_press

In fact we've just received a similar coffee "press". I haven't used it yet since I'm more of a tea drinker myself, but will follow this thread with interest.

[Rosamunda]

OK. A Bodum.

I lived in France for 20 years and never saw anyone use one. I bought mine in South Africa.

But they are useful for camping etc. Coffee gets cold quickly though.

I suggest trial and error because at the end of the day when all is said and done it's just a question of personal preference.

[Hank W.]

And now that the inlaws are coming to visit I don't want to make too much of a fool of myself.

Well, if you'd stuck with instant coffee the results would have been drinkable Or then gotten a proper filter pot. Those... hrm... thingies I thought were for tea. Reminds me I might clean out the coffee machine if I can find it, I seldom make filter coffee.

[wattypiper]

Bodum has all kinds of presses - but the product which has been absolutely fantastic each morning for 3 years or so is this:

http://www.bodum.com/b2c/index.asp?shpI ... id=1208-01

only thing to realize is that there will be a bit of 'sludge' which one just leaves at the bottom - the pot is even designed seemingly that you can easily pour and leave the dregs - basically don't be in a terrible hurry and let matters 'settle.'

Anyone wanting 2-3 cups of great coffee should try it (it's basically the old Silex system which people familiar with the US pre-Bush/Reagan would know.)

[Hank W.]

Wau! That looks pretty... madprofessoresque... need to get one when I get my labor... kitchen reorganized

[hanj]

the normal stuffs are too fine for french press....it needs to be coarse enough. Paulig's 'premium' packaging, those espresso (Italien) and french roast (Parisiene) stuffs are ground for these. i use those illy, segafredo or lavazza's espresso coffee...some does get through but generally its taste fine to me. not sure if your in laws like these dark roast or not.

then again, specialty stores will grind the beans to the right size.

i have seen Bodum's Santos and am very tempted to get it...though I told myself I'd be too lazy to brew it and the clean up and storage is not very appealing to me.

[wattypiper]

The cleaning isn't all that much - in fact you can leave the upper part assembled and just rinse the top well - and then once a week disassemble and put it through the dishwasher

It really makes marvelous coffee and I'm a stickler for good coffee - refusing any stuff that appears to have been on one of those heaters for more than maybe 5 mins - also because boiled water goes quickly down to the bottom the coffee remains amazingly hot without further heating for the 2nd cup 10-15 mins later. (The rush down is a fun thing - 'whoosh' - leave it sit for a minute or so to settle the coffee dust/dregs at bottom.)

[Rosamunda]

Bodum has all kinds of presses - but the product which has been absolutely fantastic each morning for 3 years or so is this:

http://www.bodum.com/b2c/index.asp?shpI ... id=1208-01

only thing to realize is that there will be a bit of 'sludge' which one just leaves at the bottom - the pot is even designed seemingly that you can easily pour and leave the dregs - basically don't be in a terrible hurry and let matters 'settle.'

Anyone wanting 2-3 cups of great coffee should try it (it's basically the old Silex system which people familiar with the US pre-Bush/Reagan would know.)

Wow!!! Haven't seen one of those since the 60s. My parents thought they were the Bees Knees when they bought one of those.... for special occasions.... (I don't think they really like filter coffee ). We called it (IIRC) a Cona
It was impressive. As kids we would actually sit and watch, waiting for it to do the whoosh thing

[wattypiper]

http://www.oldcoffeeroasters.com/vacpots.htm

[Rosamunda]

Found our "Cona" from 1961.




(No, I haven't been looking for it all afternoon , I was at work, just got home! Found it on here)

[wattypiper]

Wonder what doohickey aspect they got patented - because the basic Silex idea was decades before and not patented. You can't patent something that is already in use so those patents must relate to some 'sub-gimmick'

In any case GOOD COFFEE!

[Rosamunda]

... or maybe the "ornamental" design (as stated in the drawings). I remember it was always left "on show" in our house. It was extremely modern, almost futuristic looking for its time. Something I would happily have in my kitchen today. I remember my dad - who usually did the washing up - could make a tune by dipping the glass bowl in hot soapy water and then running his finger around rim We thought that was cool. Must phone home and ask them what they did with it, I don't remember it getting broken or thrown out.

[Rosamunda]

- because the basic Silex idea was decades before and not patented. You can't patent something that is already in use so those patents must relate to some 'sub-gimmick'

http://baharris.org/coffee/History.htm

The earliest glass vacuum pots appear to have been in use in Germany by the 1830’s, as witnessed by a patent filed in France by Mme. Jeanne Richard in 1838. This patent shows a design which which referenced an existing vacuum pot by Loeff of Berlin. The popularity of the vacuum coffee pot spread quickly from Germany to other parts of Europe, as evidenced by patents filed by Louis François Boulanger in France (1835) and Mority Platow and James Vardy in England (1839). It was about this time that there was an explosion of patent filings for a variety of "improvements" to the glass vacuum pot, chief among them being those of Madame Vassieux of Lyons. Her 1841 design consisted of a double-globe assembly, with a spigot in the lower globe to dispense the coffee, and a decorative, pierced-metal crown at the top. This French Balloon design is virtually indistinguishable from the early Silex and Cona models of a half century later.

In 1894, the House Furnishing Review reported the arrival in America of a new patented English coffee machine, composed of a "glass globe or boiler which hangs by means of trunnions from an ornamental stand, the base of which is a spirit lamp. A funnel-shaped vessel, terminating in a long glass tube, the junction being surrounded with a cork fitting the mouth of the boiler, forms the remaining portion of the appliance." This "new" machine was obviously a revival of Mme Vassieux’s 1841 French Balloon.

When the glass vacuum pot was re-introduced in the early part of the twentieth century, it was accepted as a new and unique American invention, despite its long history in Europe. Interestingly, most modern writers who do acknowledge the vacuum coffee brewer’s European antecedents usually associated it with James Napier’s side-by-side siphon brewer rather than with its true forebears, the French designs of Vassieux, Fortant, and the like.

A recognizable double-glass vacuum pot does not appear in the patent records until 1914 - a "Coffee Percolator" designed by Albert Cohn of London. This design is clearly the direct descendent of Mme Vassieux’s French Balloon. That year also saw the design of an early Silex vacuum brewer designed by Gerhard Behrend of New York. A flurry of similar design patents were filed in the subsequent few years, all consisting of upper and lower glass vessels fitted together with a flexible stopper, some type of filter assembly, and a base to support the brewer over a spirit lamp. Because the glass vessels of this era were hand-blown, they each varied somewhat in size and shape. As a result, many early patents pertain to the design of handles, stands, and rubber seals that could adapt to these variations. A number of double-glass balloon vacuum pots appeared in the patents with imaginatively designed support stands.

In 1915, a vacuum coffee maker was made from Pyrex, the Corning Glass Work’s newly introduced ovenproof glass, and was marketed under the name "Silex." The name reportedly derives from the phrase, "Sanitary and Interesting method of making Luscious coffee. It is Easy to operate on account of its being X-ray transparent."