French press advice requested

[Ottawaman]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/French_press.jpg/300px-French_press.jpg


I picked up a French Press and a coffee grinder for the wife for Christmas. Any tips?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_press
Thanks,
OM

[BillD]

I don't have one, although I did look into them, and I believe the key is to have a coarse grind. Seemed like too much trouble to me, compared to a filter type. JMO

[Mouse]

Watch The Ipcress File.

That's what Harry Palmer uses.

;)

(Lesley will be weighing in on this thread.)

[ve3sab]

I used to use one for several years when camping. A regular grind coffee works best. Anything finer tends to find it's way through the screening.

[Ottawaman]

thanks everyone

[reiver]

I use a pinch of salt in mine.

[rob]

I find that the quality of coffee is really important in mine. The fresher the better - you'll really taste the difference.

Here's a coffee I really like:
http://www.coffeefool.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=1110

I smuggled some home from Panama and it has been a treat, but usually, I pick it up in San Francisco when I'm there to keep me caffeinated properly.

[Lesley]

Watch The Ipcress File.

That's what Harry Palmer uses.

;)

(Lesley will be weighing in on this thread.)

Yep you're right.

A thumbnail sketch of why you should avoid a french press. Coffee contains cafestrol. Cafestrol changes the way your liver processes cholesterol which in turn raises your cholesterol. Crazy you say? Nope. It happened to me. I've never had elevated cholesterol levels in my life - not until I started drinking French press coffee. In four months I went from healthy to a high risk. I stopped the FP coffee and the levels went back down. I was also taking a low dose of lipitor but in the six months since I quit taking that my levels have stayed in the healthy range. I made no other dietary changes. I posted a rather long winded thread on this a while back (http://www.thecomputermechanics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27685&highlight=cafestrol)

Do your heart a favour, buy an aeropress. The coffee tastes just as good and it won't kill you. Ashton Green is a Canadian company so you don't have to order it from Timbucktu.

http://www.ashtongreen.com/product.dhtml?pres=T177_1

Oh, I drank ONE cup a day. That's it. Four months, one cup of french press a day, with milk, not cream and I went from a lifetime of normal levels to dangerously high.

The other advantages? You can use any kind of coffee, any grind you like. Even cheap coffee tastes better. It's easy to clean and you never have that lovely layer of sludge at the bottom of your cup. I used to buy PC beans @ Superstore, the coarsest grind the instore grinder would make and I'd still have mud at the bottom of my cup. It's also faster. Basically you have a cup of coffee 30 seconds after the kettle has boiled.

[Carz n Compz]

I hope you bought a burr grinder if your using a FP. You will always get a small amount of fine sludge in the bottom of the cup. If you use a blade grinder you will get even more since it makes small particles. Always use the course grind setting for FP. I steep for about 5-7 minutes for a full flavor brew.

[Ottawaman]

Thanks for the advice.