18:22!? - The Ironies of Coffee's "Magic Window"

Every coffee lover ought to be familiar with the magic window for coffee: 18-22% of extracted solids are considered the optimum ratios to produce a good cup. Now, this range comes loaded with as many caveats as there are baristas.

While everyone has their own take on the flaws and benefits of the "magic window," I thought I'd scribble down a few of the more confusing ironies that come with having a widely acknowledged but rarely followed industry quality standard.

1. It's really a fuzzy continuum, not a range per se. The range is based on aggregated taste preferences, and the survey itself has not been updated in years (decades?). In other words, the window represents the average preference of the tested coffee drinkers when the survey was conducted. Frankly, it may or may not have any relationship to your preference, and as such it's claim to be normative quality standard (i.e. you "should" brew this way) will always be somewhat shaky.

Here's the really interesting part about that: coffee drinkers seem to prefer different extraction ratios for different coffees and brew methods. Coffee lovers who relish their French press of Sumatra every day may well prefer a technically over-extracted cup, because that's what a good press of Sumatra tastes like to them. Those same drinkers, though, may prefer espresso to be properly extracted. In other words, in the real world context influences our taste perceptions far more than we coffee nerds would like to admit. This alone, I think, should give those of us who work in coffee a degree of humility when assessing the quality of a particular coffee bar. Are they serving to the taste of their customers? Recommendations for increasing coffee deliciousness should proceed with that in mind.

2. The 18:22 window can't describe evenness of extraction, a point ably brought to my attention by James Hoffman. In other words, you may get 20%, but there's no guarantee you're not pulling 24% at the top of the brew and 16% at the bottom, which would likely not be tasty. I've noticed this point myself when experimenting with innovative French press techniques, as I try to avoid problems of uneven extraction problems using a traditional wait-and-press method. Evennness matters because uneven extraction yields a partial picture of the coffee. You're missing some of the taste symphony in your mouth.

3. Some beloved brew methods rarely hit the window. I'm thinking particularly of French press and cold brew here. For the press, the lengthy rectangular brewing chamber coupled with a traditionally coarse grind, lots of bloom and long immersion time yields a wide disparity of coffee concentration from top to bottom of the brew chamber. The resulting brew is loaded with fines and starts with a hint of bitterness that only grows with time. Yet, those coarse particles don't fully extract, as anyone who has compared a cupping table with a French press will attest. Traditionally prepared presses are just not good at bringing out a coffee's delicate notes.

Cold brew actually under-extracts, despite it's reputation for fierce caffeine content. Again, while the cold temps are known for not generating acidity during brewing, they also fail to fully extract the flavors associated with that acidity - that popping green tomato in some Kenyas will fall flat in a cold brew every time. Don't get me wrong, I love a cool tankard of iced in the summer, but I know I'm deliberately trading out nuance for the coffee equivalent of smooth power.

These two brew methods are not the only serial offenders when it comes to routine over or under-extraction. The difference is that many of us seem to enjoy these brew methods prepared this way, whilst there seems to be less patience for an over-extracted shot or a sour, under-extracted pour over.

4. Finally, the window is not equally delicious. As a (very) general rule, it would be ideal to extract a coffee as close to 22% as possible without going over. The problem is that the exact "red line" will vary slightly by coffee (by bean!) and this slight natural variation coupled with the human challenge of brewing consistently yields an exponential rise in risk as a brew approaches 22%. While widespread measurement of extraction percentage remains elusive (another discussion), I think one of the marks of a good barista is his or her ability to walk that line, crafting a great brew that holds as much of the coffee's flavor as possible - without tipping over into bitterness.

Thoughts?

Fragmented tasting preferences: who says your cup tastes good?

The Double Catcher: Brewing by Vacuum Dispersion?

Credit for this post goes to Kyle Watson, better known as Mr. Crampy to biking enthusiasts around Redmond.  Over a steaming cup of double-Catcher Koke this morning, Mr. Crampy drew on his physics background to explain how the double Coffee Catcher brewing works.

Pulling the first Coffee Catcher creates a vacuum beneath the rising Coffee Catcher. The vacuum isn't perfect of course, but Mr. Crampy thinks it's sufficient to generate an efficient dispersion effect, completely mixing the coffee and grounds to produce a very even extraction. He suggests this even extraction is the reason for the coffee's particularly clean taste.

This is by far the most reasonable explanation I've heard for the phenomenon. While convinced this method tastes great, I'd been stumped as to how extraction worked properly with the coffee locked away for 3/4 of the brew time. Perhaps the agitation and negative pressure Mr. Crampy alludes to accelerates the brew during the final minute.

Here's a movie of the process. Other double Catcher videos over here.

Own a Cafe? Integrate the Coffee Catcher Without Changing Workflow..

I (Nate) had the opportunity to attend the Barista Round Table on cup brewing today, led by Sarah Dooley and Jared Mockli. The session included a free experimentation time, and I took the chance to brew a few French presses of delicious Kenya coffee from Water Ave.

I also got the opportunity to clean a press with a Coffee Catcher using Visions' faucet and rinse basket, which is very similar to cafe cleaning setups I've observed around Seattle. It turns out that the water jet from the open faucet did a great job pushing all the fines and grit that had been trapped under the Catcher back out of the press in the rinse water. The result was a sparkling clean carafe - even under the Coffee Catcher (see pictures below).

I think this discovery has significant implications from a production perspective. Now, it seems, the Coffee Catcher can perform a filtering function without being removed from the press from brew to brew. This makes the Coffee Catcher very easy to integrate into traditional cafe workflows. It seems to me like a cafe can brew with the Coffee Catcher exactly as normal, but serve a cleaner cup to customers.

Quality improvements can also be fine-tuned to a particular cafe's trade-off between labor efficiency and quality. At one end of the labor spectrum, a cafe could go the whole way and train baristas to remove the Coffee Catcher and clean it after every brew. At the other end, a cafe could simply leave the Coffee Catcher in all day and simply add Puro Caff at the end of the day. I suspect a lot of cafes will want to fall in the middle, giving a thorough rinse when the roast changes, but otherwise leaving the Coffee Catcher in from brew to brew.

For the record, here are pictures of a Coffee Catcher after brewing and rinsing and swishing just as normal with the press. This was three rinses.

Side View

Bottom View

Top View

Of course, most home users do not use filter baskets in their sinks, and so I expect most home coffee lovers will continue to find that hooking the Coffee Catcher is the easiest way for them to remove grounds from the press. That said, this discovery does allow those who do swish out their coffee to continue to do so while enjoying a cleaner tasting cup.

Returning to the cafe, there are plenty of other ways to integrate the Coffee Catcher into the production environment. I've been thinking a lot about different ways to add unique value to the customer in terms of menu items that go beyond a commodity ("cup of drip") to a value-added experience for the customer. A lot of new drinks territory to explore here, I think.

Multiple Brew Beds in a Single French Press?

This post is really a question, with some initial answers coming soon. After getting the idea from Josh of Seattle Coffee Works, I've been thinking about the possibilities of brewing multiple coffees simultaneously in a single press.

It's always been possible to mix beans or grinds from different coffees and throw them in the press. The Coffee Catcher may make it possible to layer and adjust that brewing process to bring out the best in both coffees. Blending is not tried often, and for good reason. There are many ways that this could go horribly wrong from a flavor perspective. That said, the possibilities of brew layering are fascinating, including tweaking temperature profiles down the press, incorporating a pour over effect involving multiple coffees, adjusting grind size for different brewing conditions, and even adjusting brew times separately.

I don't know if this would work. I'm still looking for a pair of interesting coffees that I want to combine in the press using two Coffee Catchers. Any suggestions?

Bonus Question: What would we taste if the separate components of an espresso blend were brewed this way?

creative uses for the French press?

This blog post from www.kitchn.com sure got our brainstorm wheels a'churnin




Q: This question is about French press coffee makers. I'm sure that I've seen these used on Iron Chef (or other places?) for purposes other than coffee, such as infusing broths with aromatic herbs.

I'm sure there are other ways to infuse a broth with a particular flavor, but this just appeals to me on a visceral "that seems pretty awesome" level. What's out there in terms of alternative uses for my French press — uses other than tea or coffee. Any ideas?

Everyone else, have you thought of this? Talk about outside the box...

Great French Press Brew Guide

This is, so far, the best French press brew guide (sans Coffee Catcher) that we've seen:

Brew Colloids and Fine French Press Flavor: Part 2 of 2

Brew Colloids and Fine French Press Flavor: Part 2 of 2

by Nate Jones
(Read Part 1 of 2)

Last week's tech-a-thon was all about how brew colloids, tiny masses of fine coffee and oils, trap flavor solids. The post concluded with the suggestion that the Coffee Catcher may allow active colloid management for the first time. First off, this article should be taken as an invitation to explore further - not the definitive truth on the Coffee Catcher's role in French press brewing. After six months of daily brewing, I've developed enough ideas to lay out some questions I'd like to discuss further, and this seems like a good time to invite the coffee community to weigh in.

One of the most consistent test results we've had with the Coffee Catcher has been apparent direct filtration of a significant % of brew colloids, with colloids separated from the brewing area and the cup by the stainless Coffee Catcher disc in the carafe. Coffees have tasted cleaner and flavor profiles have held up longer. At first, my assumption was that the key variables in this filtration process were the size of the mesh and the strength of the pressure wave generated by depressing the plunger in the French press. However, Sam Lewontin (@coffeeandbikes) pointed out that Scott Rao has argued that cleaner flavor comes not from a finer filter that traps more colloids but from the physical arrangement of the brewing system itself that either naturally separates heavier colloids or does not. 

Thinking in terms of brewing systems rather than mesh size, I now suspect that most of the filtration occurs in the first few seconds of the brew, as water is being poured over the bed of coffee on top of the Coffee Catcher. The turbulence and downward pressure generated by hot, falling water generates an initial mixture of coffee and water, and I think that that heavier colloids may naturally separate so that colloids are pushed beneath the disc by water pressure and turbulence during these first few seconds. Colloids would then be kept from brewing with the coffee from the start of the brew. In that situation, the cake of grounds atop the disc would effectively plug the press and keep filtered colloids from entering the cup when the press is emptied.

So here's the question: I've been able to achieve "full" filtration using the Coffee Catcher disc with a regular pour of hot water. I've also achieved apparent zero filtration multiple times by deliberately pouring very gently and slowly directly over the Coffee Catcher. So if no filtration and "full" filtration are possible, would it be possible to vary the pour pressure to achieve different levels of filtration? Think Hario pour overs, but for French press.

Another potential brewing system tweak introduced by the Coffee Catcher is a more effective French pull, a technique referenced in a thread over at Home-Barista.com. During a marathon brew session a few weeks ago, Alex Negranza (@Barista_Alex) and I experimented with bottom filtration of the press - pulling the Coffee Catcher immediately after the brew cycle was complete.* To our palates, the results were distinctive and intriguing, including a softer mouth feel and a seemingly rounder flavor profile with more fruit. In system terms, pulling the Coffee Catcher seems to filter very fine coffee solids in the foam and the brew, but doesn't seem to remove brew colloids filtered beneath the disc.

So here's the question: does the Coffee Catcher indeed produce a French pull with a distinct flavor profile relatively easily? If so, how and why is this making a difference relative to traditional French press techniques?

Finally, Alex has written an interesting post over here about siphon filtration using a modded Coffee Catcher. The common theme with the French pull above is vacuum, or bottom filtration of some sort. I'm all questions on this one. What exactly makes bottom filtration distinctive? Is it only that filtering from the bottom keeps fines at the top of the brew from coming through, as Rao has suggested? Is a relatively mild vacuum beneficial in flavor extraction terms? Can bottom filtration be tweaked (either by modifying pressure or mesh size) to extract a more desirable flavor profile? 

So, that's where I'm at. The Coffee Catcher will soon be in the public domain, and I hope sharper minds than mine will tackle some of these Q's - brewing up delicious coffee along the way!

* Please Note: this involves getting fingers close to hot coffee, and you could be burned. Try at your own risk! In practice, it seems the surface of the coffee cools extremely rapidly, and I've yet to burn myself touching the surface of the coffee during a pull - even immediately after brewing. Nevertheless, you should use your own judgment and proceed with caution as you try this.

Pour speed and silt behavior with the French press

As you can tell by our previous post (“Finessing the brew method”), we’ve been giving French press technique quite a bit of thought lately.  Nate Jones recently made this interesting observation during his French press experimentation:

“I saw something very, very interesting when I used the Coffee Catcher today.  I think that the filter effect of the Coffee Catcher is governed by the rate-of-pour during the first few seconds of the pour as the water meets the grounds.  If, while pouring the coffee maker lets 'er rip, then the water penetrates the mesh of the Coffee Catcher and forms a single reservoir with the liquid above the mesh, leaving silt able to pass through the Coffee Catcher’s mesh base.  However, if the water is poured gently, the water and grounds act together to seal the mesh, causing an air bubble underneath - and no silt.

“If this is repeatable, it is a definite win since it would give the traditionalists an option to still clean up with the Coffee Catcher.  Also, it reveals the breadth of flavor one can achieve using the Coffee Catcher.  Finally, and most interesting, it may mean a new dimension to the French press experience - something experienced brewers can use to precisely guide silt filtering."

taste and over-extraction

Last Wednesday Coffee Catcher co-inventor Nate Jones joined Sarah Dooley of Visions Espresso for the most carefully prepped Coffee Catcher test we've set up so far.  Nate brought three Stumptown coffees from the three major roasting regions: a Kenya Gatomboya (bright and limey), an Indonesia Gajah Aceh (earthy and full-flavored) and a Peru Capacy (understated and balanced). All were roasted on the previous Sunday.  There was only time to try the Kenya Gatomboya before Visions closed, but it proved to be the right coffee for a one-off test. The Kenya's acidity and brightness responded well to the Coffee Catcher, and it was a good chance for Sarah to dial in a popular Stumptown roast with the Coffee Catcher.

Here is Nate's detailed look at the cupping:

I got the sense that we both would have enjoyed spending 5 or 6 hours really delving into the way the Coffee Catcher affects different roasts and flavor profiles, but Sarah's main goals were to do a carefully calibrated test so that she could experience the Coffee Catcher herself.  We tasted the top, middle and bottom of each press and we both had similar impressions throughout the tasting process. During the first minute of tasting (about 2-3 minutes after the coffee was poured), we both preferred the traditional french press. The floral notes really sparkled and the coffee tasted crystal clear, so that the coffee's complex flavors came through clearly.

I should note that [the flavor preference] happened only for the top portion of the french press. The bottom part of the press, in particular, started to over-extract almost immediately. During that first tasting, the Coffee Catcher coffee's flavors (especially on the top two cups) seemed shy and smooth, still blooming. Within 5 minutes of pouring, the extra dissolved solids in the traditional press coffee had started over-extracting the brew and the coffee began to taste flat. Meanwhile, the Coffee Catcher coffee continued to mature and blossom, showing a sweetness and smoothness that the other coffee never attained. The floral notes were all there, but they were more subtle, more balanced than in that first tasting of traditional press coffee.

The top two cups of Coffee Catcher coffee reached their full flavor in about 5-7 minutes, with the bottom cup maturing a couple of minutes later and showing slightly earthier qualities, with perhaps a hint of cedar. The mature flavor of the Coffee Catcher cups remained more subtle and balanced than the fireworks experience of the traditional press in its first minute or so, but all the complexity of the coffee was there. Without the extra dissolved solids, though, the Coffee Catcher coffee continued to taste true as it cooled, allowing the cooler, sweeter flavors to come through in ways that you would never get with regular french press coffee. Also, without the burst-collapse traditional press experience, I felt I had more time to explore the different flavors in the cup, which continued to evolve as the coffee aged. By contrast, the bottom of the traditional press was too over-extracted to be drinkable in less than 10 minutes, and the top, middle and bottom of the traditional press showed signs of over-extraction within 5 minutes.

I talked to Sarah about the development of the Coffee Catcher for 10 or 15 minutes while the coffee cooled. Then, at about the 25-30 minute mark, we did another round of tasting. All three cups of the traditional press were over-extracted and bitter by this time. The complexity of the flavor profile in the Coffee Catcher coffee had receded to an over-arching sweetness, and I could detect hints of over-extraction in the background (this was more pronounced in the bottom cup), but the overall effect was still very pleasant. By this time the coffee was near room temperature, but it remained sweet and drinkable without the bitter over-extraction that characterizes traditional french press coffee.

baristas sound off on the Coffee Catcher

With a healthy schedule of cuppings lately, we've been getting more and more feedback on the Coffee Catcher from Baristas.  Greg from Victrola Coffee says,

"This is the most surprising thing I've ever tasted in coffee."

While Jason, a taster at PT's Coffee, who was visiting from Chicago, reviewed the Coffee Catcher French Press brew saying,

"This is a much cleaner tasting cup!"

 Learn more about how the Coffee Catcher changes the French Press...

heard it on the Tweetvine

Our new favorite French Press mentions in Twitterdom:

"all this coffee talk is making me rethink my position on ownership. *hmmmm* my hubz wants a frenchpress. All I think is clean up X"

Coffee Chroniclers say: Ha!  Cleanup's not a problem anymore, let him get his French Press (+ Coffee Catcher), you'll love the flavor!

"Give me ONE GOOD REASON I shouldn't turn this into a 2-French-press morning, huh?"

 Coffee Chroniclers say:  We don't see any good reason why it shouldn't be...

"Coffee addiction taking hold.  Bought a Frenchpress Sat. I am excited to go to bed tonight so I can wake up to it."

 Coffee Chroniclers say: Welcome to the wonderfully delicious & rewarding "dark side". Enjoy your press!

"In Ecuador regular coffee is called 'pasado.'  La Sierra only drinks cinnamon tea. We packed a French Press along with the first aid kit"

 Coffee Chroniclers say: A wise traveler is a well-caffeinated traveler.

a longer-lived cup

One of the challenges of being a French Press user is the problem of brew longevity.  Coffee tastes best when it's slightly cooled below brewing temperature, allowing the bean's flavor to blossom.  Unfortunately, due to the bitterness that comes from over-brewing in the carafe and from the brew tail making it into the cup, French Press brew can face a short cup-life.

Usually with the French Press there is a brief window, only minutes, between the the point where the coffee cools to drinkable temperature and where the carafe becomes over-brewed, or the coffee becomes bitter because the oils have begun to deteriorate.  At a recent tasting, Eric from Seattle's Cafe Ladro spoke of routinely pitching half his cup of coffee and how frustrated he was at the waste.  Eric went on to describe the improved Coffee Catcher brew "the drink just doesn't fall apart and there's some kind of bitter oil that's missing but all the good oils you love are still there."

With the addition of the coffee catcher, the oils from the bean are still allowed into the brew to enhance flavor, however, the over-brewed oils in the brew tail are sealed below the plunger and retained separate from the drinkable section of the carafe.  Without these detrimental oils, the flavor of the cup stays intact, even as the coffee cools down toward 120 degrees Fahrenheit.  This means that the cup can be full enjoyed, even in its cooler stages, which actually allow for a stronger flavor experience to compliment the bean.

Really, it's a win-win on taste.  And no more burning your mouth trying to drink your French Press brew before the flavor degrades.

barista comments on flavor

Who better to review the Coffee Catcher than professional Baristas in Seattle, the coffee mecca of the United States?  So, with the goal of seeing what the coffee-slingers had to say, we hit the streets armed with a French Press and a Coffee Catcher.  Here's some feedback from the coffee virtuosos, themselves:

From Trabant Coffee in Seattle's Pioneer Square, Tom commented, "It saves time", candidly summing up the Coffee Catcher's effect on the French Press routine.

Eric at Seattle's Cafe Ladro on Union St. really enjoyed tasting the difference the Coffee Catcer made to his French Press brew.  "It's a whole new experience, I've never tasted anything like this" he commented as he savored the possibilities in a longer lived cup.  And we take it seriously when this 40 year coffee veteran exclaims, "why didn't anybody think of this before?"

French Press tell all

In light of our recent article about keeping your French Press economical (see article, "that's good economics"), we thought that some insight may be needed into ideas for how to optimally use the French Press.  Here are some excellent parameters (and the "why" behind them) from Coffee Chronicler, Nate Jones:

• Use quality, fresh-roasted beans.  The French Press will produce a great tasting cup from any quality bean, but connoisseurs especially love earthy coffees with dark undertones in the French Press.  If in doubt, look for a good Sumatra or other Indonesian coffee at your local shop. Roasted beans will degas for the first 2 days after roasting.  The flavor of a day-old bean is outstanding, but be careful to leave room for lots of bubbly bloom at the top of your press.  The sweet spot, bean-wise is about 3-7 days old.
• Use clean water at a proper temperature.  Water is more than 97% of your cup, so use filtered water if you can afford to.  Pour warm (not boiling) water - if you have a kettle, let it sit for 45 - 60 seconds after boiling to cool before pouring.  If you use a thermometer, you should aim for a brew temperature between 195 - 205 degrees Fahrenheit.  A cooler brew is a little less sensitive time-wise, so if you're one of those people who pours and runs off to do something else while your coffee brews, you'll do better with a cooler brew.  Fair warning, though, you'll enjoy the brightest, crispest flavors with very hot water, a slow pour and very precise brew timing.
• Grind consistently.  It's hard to get a consistent cup from a blade-style grinder since the blades chop the bean at 20,000 - 30,000 rpm, heating off flavorful oils and producing coffee dust and chunks along with your desired grind size.  If you want to experience the best flavor from your beans, splash out a bit of $ for either a high quality burr hand grinder or a low rpm electric grinder.  Your blogger (Nate) personally prefers the total control and cool grind of the hand grinder - I know none of the oils in my beans are being evaporated off!
• Dose and time properly.  Use two heaping Tablespoons of grounds per 8 oz cup.  In a medium or large press, brew your cofee for about 4 minutes.  In a very small press you may find that a 2-3 minute brew extracts flavors fully.  Keep in mind that there's an inverse relationship between water temperature and brewing time.  If you forget your kettle on the stove for a couple of minute, you may want to allow a tad more time for extraction before you press.
• Pour and enjoy right away!  French Press coffee without a Coffee Catcher has a life of 20 minutes at most.  Your coffee stays in contact with the grounds even after you press the plunder and will quickly over-brew unless you pour it right away.  Heat often hides flavors, so this blogger recommends avoiding insulated mugs (or presses). Insulated presses tend to over-brew easily, and insulated mugs slow the cooling process of the coffee.  The extra heat seems to decrease the coffee's flavor lifetime without give you a chance to enjoy the full range of flavors that bloom at a lower temperature.
• (Of course) Add a Coffee Catcher!  Three Reasons:

1. Less water (and grounds) down your drain - meaning fewer plumbing problems.
2. Clearer, cleaner flavor.
3. A longer-lived cup (you drinkers with cool palates will really appreciate the extra 15 minutes to savor your creation).  For more on the flavor question, see "does the Coffee Catcher improve flavor?"
   

that's good economics!

A recent Consumer Reports tasting found that coffee blends have been taking a flavor hit as roasters try more economical beans in their blend:

"NEW YORK (Reuters) – After tasting 37 different blended coffees, Consumer Reports couldn't find one that measured up to its "excellent" of "very good" ratings, the publication said Tuesday.The less-than-glowing report follows a year that saw tight supplies of high-quality arabica coffee beans in Colombia, followed by steep premiums that caused some roasters to look for cheaper and more available options for their blends."      view the complete consumer report...

It has become de rigeur to post blog updates filled with tips for belt-tightening in today's economy. I often give conventional wisdom a wink and keep moving, but I have been thinking about how and why the french press continues to be much-loved and much-used despite new fad brewing methods and even as incredible espresso machines make the quest for the perfect shot less about a holy grail and more about your local cafe. Why do many espresso aficionados use a french press at home?

The acknowledged truth among connoisseurs is that it's hard to beat the french press in terms of flavor-for-bucks. If watered and dosed properly, the french press produces a consistent cup that reflects the full flavor profile of any good coffee. The press is at its best with full-bodied coffee with plenty of dark notes and undertones. Though connoisseurs will admit that the press (at least without a Coffee Catcher!) tends to muffle the lighter, brighter notes of some coffees behind muddy undertones, the press's simple brewing process delivers an intimate, full-flavored mouth feel that can't be had any other way.

When enjoyed socially, the press is participative theater and ritual, too. By contrast, an espresso is a spectacle to be observed and inevitably evokes the expert-novice coffee relationships of the cafe. Even when brewed at home, the presence of the shining espresso machine with its (hopefully) expert operator reminds us that the beverage we are about to enjoy is a one-way experience, pulled with pride by a barista for an individual consumer. The french press, on the other hand, is participative theater. It's placed on the table between friends, any of whom has the expertise to press and pour. When drinking from a french press, everyone receives their drink from a common carafe. Brewing or emptied, the press presides over the middle of the table, reminding everyone of a shared drink and (implicitly) a shared moment.

When we drink alone, the french press impresses for its simplicity. Add grounds, add water, press and pour. We can do that with a headache or with a couple hours of sleep. The one major drawback of the personal press experience, of course, used to be the cleanup process. For too many of us, the otherwise elegant morning routine has started with shoveling and scraping the leftovers from yesterday's "elegant routine." Sitting and savoring a cup is priceless, but the hassle of starting the day amongst the grounds got to your bloggers after awhile. The Coffee Catcher completes the circle of the french press ritual, and conserves that sense of calm and elegance we experience through brewing, pressing and pouring.

The solid following for the french press amongst coffee connoisseurs is grounded in the wonderful value the press offers. For a couple of twenties, even an impoverished coffee lover can enjoy a beautiful coffee maker that delivers world-class flavor, that is a conversation piece and community builder, and that is elegantly simple to use. A cup from a Chemex or a vaccum pot is a novelty, and drinking espresso is sophistication itself, but none of these lovely ways to enjoy coffee encompasses
simplicity, ritual and flavor the way the french press does.

Whispers of a French Press

How does one choose a French Press?   Here's an excellent article, written by Jason Coffee for CoffeeCupNews.com that details some key elements to consider when courting a new carafe:

"When looking at French Presses cost is dynamically connected to quality. I have found coffee presses on the internet for as low as $10. Once I received it in the mail however I was a bit surprised to find that it was flimsy, light weight and small. It did the job and the cup of coffee I drank tasted just fine but it only made enough for one cup and was not something that I would be proud to break out at a dinner party. So, If go cheap, you get cheap..."  read more...

We think that Jason Coffee raises some excellent points regarding French Press design.  Which brings us to our latest announcement: the brain team behind The Coffee Catcher currently have a new French Press design in the works!  As Nate, one of the inventors, describes it:

We're designing an all new French Press right now with the same attention to functionality that guided usas we developed the Coffee Catcher.  Jason Coffee [of CoffeeCupNews.com] is right, you get what you pay for with a French Press.  We're looking to develop a press that consistently brews the best French Press coffe in the world through rigorous attention to the small details of the French Press experience.  People have been fiddling with espresso machines for years.  We think it's high time someone brought that same passion and attention to the French Press.

The new Press is scheduled to debut in the next few months, and our coffee beans can hardly wait!

 

surely there's an easier way...

These posts picked up via Twitter.com:

"just burnt myself. my french press broke and sprayed molten coffee on my abdomen. 1 1/2 degree burn. my abdomen has turned a rubicund red."

"When your day begins with the words, "I think I broke the French press," it's not going to be a banner day."

Oh man, these folks need an easier way to reduce breakage!  The Coffee Catcher can help by eliminating "hit the carafe against the trash can" syndrome, helping ensure your Press can live a long (and injury-free) life.
  Post Options

The Press Pot (a.k.a. The French Press)

Here's a nice article on www.coffeegeek.com that includes a little bit of history, a little bit of "why Press Pots are the best", and a little bit of "how-to" on making your perfect Press Pot brew:

"The ubiquitous press pot. It's everywhere. It's seemingly easy to use, right? Well, yes, but a little understanding of the device, how it works, and maybe a bit about the history of the product will get you using yours better. If you want some of the richest coffee you can get, a press pot can deliver. What may surprise most is that you can also get a relatively clean brew from it as well, if you have the right tools and prep everything correctly...." read more...

Coffee Catcher Pre-Orders

As if the arrival of a smoother French Press experience wasn't exciting enough, now you can pre-order your Coffee Catcher now on the product website.

With such a rich history of coffee excellence, it's a shame that the French Press also has a long history of broken carafes and really ugly coffee-cleanup experiences.  But, that's all changing now, as the stainless steel Coffee Catcher cleans up the experience without altering the exquisite flavor we love.

Pre-order your smoother French Press experience today!

in honor of our new Twitter feed

In honor of our new Coffee Catcher Twitter Feed, we're posting some of the French Press Tweets seen today: 

• Wonderful news (at least for me) my coffee pot broke this morning.  That means I get French Press.  Mmm.  Simple tastes best.
  

• Haha! I broke my full size Frenchpress recently...this single serving press is torture!
  
  
• arghghg i broke the damn frenchpress...which means i got to go to target today
  
  
• GRRR! I broke the carafe to my coffee maker. Thank god, I still have my French press to make coffee in.  Crisis averted.  Good morning!
  
  
• argh i just broke the glass part of my frenchpress. it was my bestest friend
  

• My xbox truly seems dead, same week as I brokemy French press.  Bad week for my addictions.
  

Hmmmm, The Chroniclers wonder how many of these carafes were broken while removing the coffee grounds...