An unusual french press

by Nicole Weston, Posted Sep 27th 2006 @ 7:02AM

While I personally prefer to use a drip coffee maker or my espresso machine, I know a number of people who swear by their french presses. A french press works by mixing coarsely ground coffee beans with water, letting them soak, then pressing the beans to the bottom of the carafe, leaving behind filtered, strong coffee.

To some, the press method makes the coffee taste too bitter, as the water that remains in the pot soaks far too long in the grounds compressed at the bottom. This bitterness also means that the coffee is too acidic, which can cause some unpleasantness for anyone sensitive it. Hammacher Schlemmer has a new french press that has been redesigned to eliminate excess bitterness and acidity. The Acid Reduction French Press holds the grounds at the top of the press, rather than at the bottom, preventing your coffee from over-brewing.

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Filed Under: Food Gadgets, Drink Recipes, New Products
Tags: acid, acidity, brew, coffee, coffees, drink, drinks, french press, gadget, Gadgets, low acid

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

9-27-2006 @8:25AM Brian said... I've been looking for a french press to use at home and work, but I'm not sure I'm feeling the gadget-fu strongly enough from this one. I'd love it if they put more pictures on their site explaining exactly how it works, instead of relying on the "we recommend it. you buy it. no more questions." attitude.

And it comes with a CD! Perhaps music to soothe your coffee drinking experience to enhance the acid-reduction qualities of the press?
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9-27-2006 @8:42AM Travis said... If you pour the coffee into a carafe once its done brewing there is no problem with over extraction.
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9-27-2006 @3:07PM pkhuong said... You just don't drink your coffee fast enough ;) Seriously, post #2 is right: pour into something else if you make more than 1~1.5 cup.
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9-27-2006 @9:12AM ben said... that press is actually made by trudeau (http://www.trudeaucorp.com). I've had one for over a year. I use it for tea, not coffee.
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9-27-2006 @10:30AM bbum said... As an avid french press coffee drinker, this appears to be bogus. I like coffee a lot. And french press is my favorite (though, lately, I have taken to having a triple-espresso after lunch). I like it enough that I wrote way too many words on the subject in a coffee induced fit:

http://www.friday.com/bbum/2006/03/18/coffee-stupidity/#more-614

When pressed, the grounds are compressed into the bottom of the press. There is virtually no chance of circulation of liquid into the compressed grounds as there is simply no space to support any significant circulation.

Most french presses don't hold heat for any time anyway. By the time the flavor might change due to additional "brewing", the coffee has gone cold. Yuck!

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