The Coffee Press Wars.

[elfs]

I tried roasting my own beans again this weekend and I have to say that I was very successful in doing so. I was quite happy with the quality, although it wasn't as dark as some previous roasts I've tried, and it was very smooth and not at all bitter. Most excellent.

I like my coffee, and I like it in a French Press. For the past couple of years, I've been using a Bodum Bistro Nouveau, 24oz, which made two-plus cups of decent coffee plus some grounds, and I was very happy with it. It broke. I'm told, by people in the know, that this is not unusual; the most people break about one a year.

When I went to replace it, the gourmet shop where I'd bought it had closed down, but the new one down the road had a similar model from Bonjour. It looked more or less the same, so I bought it.

Oh, big mistake. For one thing, it doesn't hold as much water as the Bodum, nor does its fancy two-filter system actually work as advertised. It's supposed to keep the grinds out of your coffee by having a secondary filter; I don't know what they're trying to do, but that doesn't work. Instead of a flat roof, the Bonjour has a curved dome that catches your coffee as it comes out, making it hard to actually extract all the coffee you've brewed. The Bodum came with the simplest insulation in the world: a cork platform. The Bonjour (and to be fair, Bodum makes one of these too) has a metal cage that keeps the carafe off the ground and prevents heat loss during brewing.

Anyway, if the Bonjour breaks, I'm getting myself another Bodum Bistro Nouveau if I have to mail-order the damn thing from Sweden!

Comments

[shadowfey.livejournal.com]

http://www.wholelattelove.com/Bodum/bistro.cfm#

[elfs.livejournal.com]

That's it. Thanks!

[shadowfey.livejournal.com]

No problem. Wasn't sure if it'd be of much help, since they don't have the 24 oz size, but figured it'd at least get you what you're looking for. :)

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Coffee is like gold: it's not measured the way other things are. A "coffee cup" is 6oz; a press that says it makes "four cups of coffee" supposedly expresses 24oz of coffee.

[shadowfey.livejournal.com]

Interesting. I did not know that. But useful to know, as someone just bequeathed to me a perfectly functional espresso machine with which I intend to get my husband severely wired (and intend to make cappuccino-chocolate chip ice cream for myself/anyone who wants some). Thanks!

[slutdiary.livejournal.com]

Where are you getting your green beans?

I haven't found a source other than the local Ethiopian market, which sells a sandwich baggie of them for $5.

I love mixing my own roast into a good dark commercial roast, for a mixed flavor I've grown fond of.

[elfs.livejournal.com]

Vivace's up on Capitol Hill will sell you a 1lb vaccum-sealed bag of the stuff for about six bucks. They'll also sell you digitally controlled home roasters for $495, but I'm not tempted yet.

[slutdiary.livejournal.com]

Nah, I've got an old wok-like frypan that work perfectly well, and dedicating that to roasting coffee saves it from the refuse pile.

Thanks!