****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
If you've never had a cup of French Press coffee, let me tell you what you're missing. It's an uncomplicated, delicious way to enjoy your cup of Joe. This French Press is an excellent value for a great little coffee maker.Don't be intimidated by the word "French" in the title. It was a French invention that is actually rather simply to use. First, this little coffee maker comes with a coffee scoop. This allows you to choose the strength of your coffee. You simply place the grounds into the carafe, pour hot water over the top to your desired amount of cups (this size will yield two average American coffee mugs' worth of coffee), then give them a good stir before placing the lid on. Do not plunge your press all the way down just yet, though. You want to allow the hot water and coffee the chance to dance a bit, between 4 to 7 minutes is pretty ideal, then plunge down the plunger to cover the grounds and pour into your cup.The first thing you'll immediately notice with a good French press is how easy it is to enjoy great tasting coffee. The time it steeps gives it a chance to release the oils of the coffee bean thereby also releasing a better tasting cup than brewed in an electric coffee maker and richer than a pour-over set up which always includes a paper filter which traps some of the flavor the oils produce. This product does a great job of achieving all of the above.As tempting as it may be to re-use coffee grounds, remember they are really only going to be good for one use. Throw them into your compost heap if you don't wish to waste them.One tip about grinding your own coffee, use a coarse grind to really take advantage of your French press. A finer grind sometimes allows little bits of coffee grounds to escape through the mesh of some coffee makers which disrupts the experience. I will say, however, that even with a regular bag of Starbucks coffee picked up from a grocery store already ground, I did not see this problem. The mess on this pot is pretty good about keeping out the undesirable bits and only giving you what you want--great tasting brew.Cleaning most French presses is not super-hard, but also not always simple. To make my life easier, I just toss mine into the the top rack of the dishwasher (yes, this FP is dishwasher-safe) thus avoiding having to bend and maneuver the mesh screen. This can cause warping if handled too aggressively which allows grounds to seep out during the brewing process. The less you try to manipulate the screen, the longer this product is likely to last.I've enjoyed this press for a few weeks now and had zero complications in achieving coffee nirvana. It really does it's job. If you are looking for something to hold the hot coffee in in between cups, I suggest an insulated mug or carafe. That is the downfall of most French presses, but it doesn't mean the challenge cannot be smartly met. I really recommend this product for it's price, durability, and easy operation.
