"French Press" news and stories

Ch-ch-ch-changes may be coming to a Starbucks near you. Known widely for their rapid expansion in the 1990's -- some would more pointedly describe it as "global domination" -- Starbucks is often viewed as the antithesis to local charm and character. Nevertheless, when Starbucks begins its nationwide store redesigns in late 2010, local relevance will be one of its top priorities, along with the celebration of coffee heritage and an overarching theme of environmental responsibility.

There are currently twelve prototype stores that reflect this "Starbucks Shared Planet" three-pronged mission, and they are all part of a U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Volume Certification pilot program (now that's a latte-guzzling mouthful). In short? While LEED was originally established to enable the green-certification of office buildings -- a time consuming and financially draining measure -- Starbucks has been working to create a system that would enable the certification of retail-store prototypes, so that once audited and approved by the USBGC, they would be able to replicate the certified process at all new or significantly renovated company-owned stores. The other pilot sites are in cities as varied as Seattle, Washington; Atlanta, Georgia; Toronto, Canada; Lisbon, Portugal; and Kyoto, Japan. This falls on the heels of the news that Starbucks recently opened a café concept store that is serving wine and beer and hosting musicians and film viewings. Will all these efforts allow them to shake that image of the evil corporate empire?

Erin Meister trains baristas for North Carolina-based Counter Culture Coffee and sporadically maintains the blog Meet the Press Pot from her home in New York City. This is the second in a series of tips for the caffeine-addicted.

Maybe things got rolling a little fast with my last post about making the perfect cup of French press coffee. So let's back up a sec.

Some readers had pretty visceral reactions to my suggestion that they ditch the ol' whirly grinder in order to make a tastier mug of French press joe, and I understand: Blade grinders are cheap, burr grinders can be expensive! But not all decent burr grinders will chop your wallet as well as they chop your beans, and your cup quality should skyrocket as a result.

Learn why and see a ridiculous video of me after the jump.

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.

Source

Erik over at Gadling recently posted about the Press-Bot, a French press-style filter designed to fit in a Nalgene bottle. As you can see, the filter folds up to fit in the bottle, and the pour spout on top has threaded edges so that the the cap of the Nalgene can still be sealed. Incidentally, Bodum has offered the similar Travel Press for years. At first I was a little skeptical about the idea of putting hot liquids in a Nalgene, the Nalgene website says they're OK for hot and cold drinks alike. Still, I'm not sure if this is the ideal thing to carry coffee in. It might be best to throw it in a thermos after brewing.