How do you make coffee in a French Press? And recommendations for a coffee maker?

[lovemyfamily6]

I have a single serving Melitta coffee maker. It isn't working right, my coffee is only warm. I'm the only one that drinks coffee and it's only one cup (12 ounces total though) a day. I'm interested in a French Press because I think they look cool and aren't too expensive, but have no idea how to use/clean.

My coffee is ground for automatic coffeemakers, so I assume that would need to change, right? I own a coffee grinder, but use it for flaxseeds mostly. Would I just pulse it a few times to make it more coarse?

Is it something that is pretty time consuming? I usually set my coffee maker up the night before and hit start in the morning while I pack my son's lunch. I need to be out the door by 6:30am and am usually rushing. Is it unrealistic to think a French Press would work for me?

Do you have any other recommendations for a coffee maker that isn't too expensive or too big? I don't need fancy features. I just need it to make good coffee. Thank you!

ETA: Also, what do you do with the grounds? Are you able to dump them easily or do they have to be scooped out?

[beansricerevolt]

I love our french press!

We don't even own a coffee maker.

Its super easy.
You boil water
add in you coffee (ground the way you normally would have it)
after you water is done boiling, let it sit so it cools off just a tad. The idea is to not pour in boiling water.
Let it steep for a few min.
Then press it.

It gets cold kinda quick but we just put our coffee in a carafe.

Wash it by hand. Take apart the press and wash with soap and water as well.

We have a Bodum 12 cup. There are ones that come with a beaker and there are some that have it built in.

[lovemyfamily6]

Thanks. I saw on the Starbucks website that they have a stainless steel thermal press that is the press and then your cup. That might work well for me since I only drink one cup, plus I wouldn't break glass.

http://www.starbucksstore.com/produc...asp?SKU=602814

[MidgeMommy]

I have the ikea french press, and love it. I got it because when I was in college my roommate/neighbor had one, and it will make tea or coffee. We use regular coffee grounds, any grind (whichever you prefer) and I get wonderful coffee every time. Drip coffee doesn't compare. Easy to clean, you can even put the whole thing in the dishwasher.


PS - the not quite boiling water is important. Scalding the coffee (or tea) makes it gross. Thats why McD's coffee is so awful; it gets burned.

[lovemyfamily6]

So would I also want to have a tea kettle for the water? I usually just microwave water. Is that okay and I could stop it before it starts bubbling?

[PGNPORTLAND]

I would get a tea kettle. They are nice to have anyway. I have the bodum one too and I recomend the one with the rubber (ish) holder thing so that you won't break the decanter as easily. Although I just recently noticed that they have much less expensive ones at ikea so I'll get my next one there when I break this one.

Yeah, you want coarse grind coffee. I think it's great. It's easy to clean too. I just use the spray thing and spray the grounds right out.