2 Recent Excellent Beverages

[HDPM]

forget the brand name. I think it was called montana something with some drawing of a mountain on it. Made in China.

Coffee stays hot for a while. It also has a screen thing on the sipping area so you don't get loads of grounds down your throat. Some question whether the coffee at the bottom would get nasty stitting near the grounds for a while. I don't think it does. I suppose it is worse than the first part from the top while it is the hottest, but I have not found it to be a problem.

[HDPM]

I don't know what came over me.

[Rhone]

I could never get good coffee out of a french press. It always tasted too weak for me, but maybe I was doing something wrong. Do you have to use a very fine grind?

[InchoateHand]

For french press you would grind coarser than drip, but shy of percolator. If the water isn't the right temperature, that can also make it bitter/watery.

Good french press coffee is a wonderful thing--I fully agree with the OP. I have a little one cup FP too, which along with work is great to bring when hiking/camping.

[HDPM]

Exactly. The guy at the store I bought it from indicated a medium grind and ground up a 1/2 pound of what he liked in a medium grind. Normally I go with a french roast, but this was a little lighter. I forget the brand he carries in the store.

I normally just buy ground starbucks french roast and make in in a bunn coffee maker at home. I am thinking of getting a good grinder with different settings and grinding at home. The little cheap grinders never worked right for me. I may also get a french press for home. I probably wouldn't use it all the time, because the coffee maker has some advantages, mostly keeping it hot and not having to heat the water. But I may want a grinder that can do both and be able to have french press or drip fresh ground. I need to upgrade my coffee. I let ease (laziness) and convenience hold too much sway over my coffee choices.

[jakethebake]

Anyone tried to new single-serve, self-heating coffees. They're like $2 apiece and supposedly heat the coffee to 145 degrees in like 6 minutes. I think it's Wolfgang Puck or somebody like that putting them out.

[daryn]

[Richie Rich]

[ QUOTE ]
For french press you would grind coarser than drip, but shy of percolator.

[/ QUOTE ]
Unless you drink a McCoffee each morning, this is common knowledge.


[ QUOTE ]
If the water isn't the right temperature, that can also make it bitter/watery.


[/ QUOTE ]
Duh. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]


[ QUOTE ]
Good french press coffee is a wonderful thing--I fully agree with the OP. I have a little one cup FP too, which along with work is great to bring when hiking/camping.

[/ QUOTE ]
French press coffee is good. But a well-made espresso-based drink is better several times fold, if you know how to tamp and brew well. The catch is, you need an espresso machine with separate boilers for both the water and steam wand. And the grinder is just as, if not more, important than the machine. The Expobar/Mazzer Mini is a notable combo.