Thanks a lot to everyone who said how great they were. Now I’m going to be addicted I didn’t realize how much better the coffee could taste!
My only problem is that the pot is small . The write up about it said it holds 48 ounces, but it doesn’t even come close (some GUY must have written the write up, methinks). But at least it doesn’t take long to make another pot. So, my only OTHER problem is that since the taste is out of this world, and it doesn’t take very long to make a pot, I’m indulging far too much. The wee one is doing far too many cartwheels now that I have one
Thanks again for all the information (way back when…I don’t even remember when we discussed it now).
Very cool Izz. I’ve thought about that now and again. I really only make coffee at home on weekends, (I drink the free work stuff during the week), and since the wife doesn’t touch it, I only make it for me. I use an electric percolater these days, which works well, but I would think the taste would be much better with one of those French Press thingies.
izzy, could you make your coffee with half decaff and half regular grounds? You wouldn’t get as much caffeine then. We do that here because of my husband and I don’t really notice a flavor difference. Or drink it half milk, half coffee sort of like a latte? Oh, except I think you are sensitive to milk. I love good coffee too.
I switched to a French Press a few months ago and love it. However I just have two large mugs in the morning with breakfast, I could see how it wouldn’t satisfy the three pot a day person.
When I first started enjoying fresh ground coffee, I made it in a french press. I loved it and prepared it that way for some time. Then I bought a drip machine on sale at Starbucks(over 50% off!!) and haven’t used the french press much.
If you want more coffee from the press for drinking over a couple hours, I’d recommend making two or three pots and immediatly pouring them into a warmed thermal carafe.
The other option would be to buy a gold mesh filter basket for a drip coffee maker, which allows more of the coffee’s oils to filter through. There is fine sediment as well with the gold filter, but not as much as a press. The coffee maker’s hot plate also keeps it hotter than the press.
I now use the gold cone filter all the time. We ran out of paper filters(about a month ago) and I made due with the gold cone until I could go to the store. The coffee tasted really good, and we’ve been using the gold cone since.
A good grinder makes a big difference in the flavor . . . regardless of method.
Problem with French press is, that with the glass ones, the coffee goes cold too fast. With the metal ones, you just do it by touch which is okay. We have a big metal one for camping. yeah, we “rough it.”
Love my french press. Everyday. The sludge in the bottom of my cup is great. Reminds me of the month I spent in Jerusalem. The only problem I have is that my 8 cup french press only makes two cups. They are big honking cups though. Maybe I should be using smaller cups, but where’s the fun in that.
Plus I end up going through about a pound of beans each week. Haven’t slept in months.
I’ve been using the same French Press since 1976 when my sister brought one home from Italy. I didn’t drink coffee at the time and introduced myself to it on the occasion of getting a FP. I take it with me wherever I go along with a hand grinder for the beans. I even packed it with me when I went to Ireland along with 2 lbs of my favorite blend: 1/3 Guatemalan, 1/3 Ethiopian and 1/3 dark French. I was there for a little over a month and used 1 & 1/2 pounds of the coffee (for 3 people.) I also take it with me to the music camp I go to every summer.
Can’t be without my lovely French Press.
(Discreet usage of emoticon for light-hearted punctuation.)
It might have been me who posted up a strange question about the second cup being stronger than the first.
Funny thing though, like Matt Paris, I had no idea what a French Press was until I tried to spell Cafetiera (hope that’s close enough) and then I found the term in a google!
Go easy on the Coffee during the pregnancy - as if I would know anything about that subject
Even if it doesn’t come close, if you’re consuming two quasi-48-ounce pots a day . . . the wee one will pop out at birth and launch straight off to Mars . . .
That’s something close to a gallon and a half . . . . . . if you think that is small . . .
I’ve been grinding half decaf/half high-test beans for year, just so I can drink more without too much quivering. Tastes good, especially with good beans.
Just for the record…the MOST I ever drink of the “leaded” stuff is 2 cups a day. But I had myself down to only 1 (sometimes 1/2 cup) because I don’t like to have too much during pregnancy. So don’t you all worry about that! But when we first got the darn thing, I was having 2 a day, and it did seem to make this wee one dance a jig each time. So I’m back to 1 again, which is fine for me. The novelty has worn off, it seems.
I agree about having good beans…I actually found a some really good organic ones (Fair Trade to boot!) at my local grocery store for only $6 a pound. The beans really do seem to make the difference.
Slude, I adamantly deny any wrong doing in the Lance Armstrong case. And I plead the 5th. So if you have any more accusations, take it up with my lawyer
Dub, I do think that it was you that started the conversation to begin with. So I suppose I have you to blame in the end, right?
Lamby, I can honestly tell you that the pot isn’t anything close to 48 oz. I think what happened was that when they saw that it holds “6 cups” they assumed that it meant 6, 6 oz cups rather than the 6, 4 oz cups that it actually does hold. The box doesn’t specify how many ounces each cup hold, but I did some testing and found out that it’s only 4. I don’t think I could drink a half a gallon of coffee in a day. I’d be blasting off to Mars if I were to.
I didn’t realize how much better the coffee could taste!
as if I would know anything about that subject 
. . . if you think that is small . . . 
But when we first got the darn thing, I was having 2 a day, and it did seem to make this wee one dance a jig each time. So I’m back to 1 again, which is fine for me. The novelty has worn off, it seems.