French Press Coffee is a Little Known Treasure Outside of Europe

For most of my life I was raised drinking coffee that was made through a coffee maker that passed hot water through a filter. I had no idea how much taste I was sacrificing and how much better my coffee could taste. For all I knew, the filtered coffee was the best that I could get and I was happy with it anyway. Until recently, when I decided to branch out and try something new, was I able to truly experience my morning coffee and really taste my coffee for the first time.

The main difference is that with French press coffee, the coffee grounds are allowed to infuse in the hot water and then are "pressed" to the bottom. The coffee drink never passes through a paper or mesh filter at all. This makes a profound difference to the taste of what you are drinking. Now when I buy different types of roasts of coffee beans I can really taste the distinction between the tastes. If you have any doubts then I encourage anyone to try this for themselves.

I was excited when I went to buy my first coffee press. I decided on a simple 8 cup press that was created by Bodum. There are lots of companies out there that make French presses, but this particular press suited my needs just fine. In retrospective, I think the only different decision I would have made is to get a stainless steel insulated press so the coffee would stay warmer a little longer. After the coffee has brewed, it generally stays warm for about 40 to 45 minutes in a regular French coffee press. Stainless steel presses can keep coffee hot for up to 2 hours.

After getting my first coffee press home, and doing some minimal searching on the net for instructions on how to use it, I gave it a shot. I ground up my coffee beans in a coarse grind, added the hot water, let it brew for 4 minutes, and that's that. Other than the taste, the other noticeable difference is the sediment in the bottom of your cup of coffee. It is very minimal, and I think it actually increases the taste in a positive way.

One of the most interesting things to me is that the coffee press is not well known outside of Europe. When I try to describe my coffee press to my friends and family here in America, they look at me like I am crazy. They look at me like that, until they try the coffee that I prepared in my French press! It is so much fun to watch their opinions change rapidly. I don't know exactly why the French press hasn't caught on here in the U.S.A., but I do know that it might very soon, especially with the eco-friendly movement. The French press does not require any electricity to run. I heat my water on a gas powered stove and the coffee press doesn't plug in to anything. I hope everyone will at least try to have some coffee from a coffee press at least one time in their lives. I know that is all it would take and they would want to just go buy one for themselves!