The French Press
The French Press
There is nothing on a weekend morning better than a hot, steaming cup of coffee! Actually, for me, its every morning but on the weekend, I make it extra special by employing the French Press. Well, what is a French Press? Is it like French Roast? Or is it some sort of torture device used in the French Revolution? The newspaper, Le Monde? None of the above. It is a very ingenious device to make coffee invented in France in the late 19th century. Its known by various names all over the world. In Italy the press is known as a "Feurn de Leur", which is a French name. Go figure, everybody knocks everybody off. And with good reason in this case. In my opinion, and I suppose the opinions of the finest hotels and restaurants in the finest cities of the world, the French Press is the best way to brew a perfect cup of coffee.
First, a tiny bit of history. Uhhh! Its ok, bear with me, I'll make it painless. The first presses probably slapped together in France was simple metal mesh or cheesecloth fitted onto a rod and plunged into a container of boiling water with coffee beans inside. The coffee press was patented by Milanese designer Attilio Calimani in 1929. It underwent several modifications by a Faliero Bondanini, who patented his own version in 1958 and began manufacturing it in a French clarinet factory called Martin S.A. What clarinets have to do with coffee, I don't know, but the internet was invented by the military, so one doesn't question creative evolution. Back to the press. The Danish, who love all things French, grabbed the idea and Bodum, a Danish company, became the main producer of the French Press. The simplicity and elegant beauty of the device has made it very popular.
Now unlike an expresso maker or the old standby, Mr Coffee, the press uses a bit more coarse grind because a finer grind will seep through the mesh and mess up your morning. However, I do use a finer grind then is recomended and I've had no problems. Interestingly, the press probably has more in common with 'cowboy coffee' than anything else because the coffee is in direct contact with the water as opposed to having water wash over it in a paper filter etc. Because of this, the coffee is allowed to release more of its essential oils and you can also control the strenth by how much you use.
Now to the water temp. The best way to do this is to bring a pot of water to the boil. When it reaches a full boil, turn off the heat and allow it to stop bubbling. Then pour it in. At which time you give it a stir with a wooden spoon, put the plunger on and wait about 4 minutes. I like to use 2 heaping scoops of coffee, gives a nice dark cup. After the excruciating wait, you plunge the plunger down and there it is. Morning Joe. Or as Napoleon might say, morning Josephine. At any rate, try it, if you love coffee, you'll love the French Press. And it looks cool. You can find it at stores like Bed, Bath, and Beyond, or directly from Bodum, http://www.bodumusa.com/shop/home.asp
If you want to see a video of me actually making a cup of coffee with the French Press and some great music from my album, Urban Night, you can click on my blog, Urban Life!
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