I did not even like coffee all that much until about two years ago when I discovered that it really did help keep me awake at work. I worked in marketing for a bank downtown and was against spending $2.00 a day for a cup of coffee. My co-workers would go just about every morning to get their java fix. I would join them every once in a while for a cup of tea or hot chocolate. Then, one day I decided to try a cup of coffee. For someone who did not drink coffee, the caffeine really kicked in to the point where I was so alert that my hands were trembling. But, I loved the fact that I was awake, motivated, and could concentrate on my work! So, it all began…I was sold on the caffeine and I acquired the taste for coffee within a couple weeks.
So, now that I like coffee, I was still against paying for it everyday, so I decided that coffee would be my treat. I would only spurge on it a few days a week. Then, I quit my job downtown to work for myself from home. No more paying for coffee, but our coffee maker at home was a crappy hand-me-down from my parents that made coffee that tasted not much better than brown water.
One day, I was at the “office” with my new co-workers. One of whom had a french press and made a pot of coffee in it. I was pleasantly suprised with my first sip, it was like experiencing coffee again for the first time, but in a whole new way…a way that tasted great and did not require a couple weeks to acquire a taste. The flavor was so smooth and comforting. I had to get one of these french presses for myself. So, I did.
The first french press I purchased was a Bodum Chambord Coffee Press from Crate & Barrel. It was a great press and made delicious coffee. However, it had a flaw in design…glass. Yep, glass, which I broke twice. The first time, we ordered a new glass piece for about $20. Then, about a month later it broke again. That was it, I can’t be replacing the glass for $20 every month. So, I went on a search for a better press.
My search led me to www.wholelattelove.com. This site has crazy amounts of coffee making products. Very interesting to just browse through and see what kind of expresso maker $2,000 buys you these days. I found the perfect coffee press called the Bodum Columbia Thermal Coffee Press. I purchased the 8-cup version for $49.99 from wholelattelove.com, with free shipping and no sales tax! I even got 5% from a promotion they had running on the site at the time of purchase.
The Bodum Columbia Thermal Coffee Press is great for multiple reasons.
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First and foremost, it is not made of glass! No more broken glass.
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It is dishwasher safe.
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The plunger has a suction to the sides making is nearly impossible for any coffee granules to sneak through into your coffee.
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Since is double-walled stainless steel it keeps your coffee warm longer than a glass press.
Joe and I are so happy with our new coffee press. It makes great coffee, won’t break and looks great, too!
I don’t really like the French Press method. It leaves too much sediment in the coffee for my taste.
Bodum stuff is really nice. I have a Bodum teapot, my French Press is a Bodum, I have Bodum glass and ceramic mugs, and a Bodum tea infuser. I have some other Bodum stuff too, and will buy more I’m sure. 🙂
I use a Melitta filter cone to make my coffee. It sits on top of the mug and you make a single mug at a time. I get the big boxes of filters at Sam’s Club for the commercial Bunn coffeemakers. You can fold them and then they fit the Melitta holder just fine, and they’re much cheaper than the shaped filters from Melitta.
There are various permanent “gold” filters that can work well too. They let through more sediment than a paper filter, but less than the French Press.
I should note that many people prefer some sediment in there coffee because they feel it adds “body.”
Vacuum brewers are great. I used to have an old Cory that was just wonderful. You can get modern ones at: http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.brewers.vacuum.shtml
I’ve been roasting my own coffee for the last several years, and it makes a huge difference.
The only local place that seems to use good quality beans, roasts properly, and sells really fresh coffee is City Roast Coffee. They’re also really friendly. http://www.cityroastcoffee.com/
The other local roasters are acceptable if the only other choice is Charbucks or vending machine “coffee.” 🙂
Some of the Heinen’s stores roast coffee for you, but the beans are not the best, the prices are high, and they consistently roast things too dark. (The evil influence of Charbucks…)
There’s a good roaster in Mansfield, but that’s kind of out of the way for Cleveland coffee drinkers.
BTW, that Bodum Columbia Press does look nice.
As my grandmother used to say, “Use it in good health.” 🙂
i am gonna show this to my friend, bro
I never drank a lot of coffee, but enough where I thought I knew what the good stuff was. However, when I studied in Rome in college and started drinking Tazza D’Oro (it’s famous in Rome) I was hooked. I started looking for it everywhere when I got back and I found a company, Italian Products USA, that imports and distributes it. They have a few different kinds but I always get the Oro Blanco beans. I recommend it to everyone looking for a really good coffee. It’s really smooth and you can order it right over the phone or online. Their cumstomer service is really excellent too.
Enjoy!