Bodum 8 cup (32 ounces) Chambord French Press

     Why use it? Well a French press or press pot is one of the easiest coffee brewing methods you could use. Also, it is the best day to day method to really taste different coffees, however the absolute best way to taste coffee for differences is cupping. If you would like to learn more about cupping you can go to coffeegeek. A press pot is also an inexpensive way to get into coffee, a press pot and a good burr grinder will only set you back $100ish. A French press can also be used for tea, though I would not use the same French press, as even after washing it, the coffee residue may contaminate the tea.

On to the review

The Pros
1.Easy to clean.
2.Easy to use.
3.Great way to taste the coffee.
4.It can be used anywhere, you don’t need to plug it in.
5.Variety of sizes, from 1 to 6+ persons .
6.Not that expensive.

Now the Cons
1.Easily broken, at least the glass ones.
2.You do need a way to heat the water separate of the press pot.
3.Not the quickest way to make coffee.
4.There is a lot of sediment in the cup.
5.Don’t be fooled by the metal mesh filter, it will need to be replaced eventually.


    Now what about the coffee? Again no brewing device will improve the coffee, it only presents and highlights the flavor profile differently. As for what the press pot highlights, well it is the most rounded in profile. To me, at least, it is the starting point, it presents the coffee for what it is and doesn’t impose itself on the coffee it lets the coffee shine. Like a good roast, you don’t think about the roast if it’s done right, that is, unless you do think about it and that’s because it’s burnt (and it now tastes like char bucks). The same is true for a French press you don’t think about the French press, unlike say a Vacpot where, at times it is more about the “Vacpot Method” than the coffee itself. Why is it a starting point? Well it doesn’t apply anything to the coffee and the infuse time is long (compared to Vacpot or espresso) and little force is applied to the coffee preventing any over extraction.

How-to use
    I use 8 grams of coffee for every 6oz’s of water and a water temp of 190F to 200F, just don’t use boiling water, with a infusion time of no more than 4 minutes, if you want a “stronger” cup increase the amount of coffee not the infusion time or the water temp.
    First heat your measured water and bring it to a boil, when the water is ready grind your coffee you’ll want to grind it coarse, coarser than what you would use for drip (I use an 8 on my macap m4) it needs to be “hear comes that word” coarse, enough not to clog the filter or squeeze through it. Now that you’ve ground your coffee at the proper coarseness and your water is at the right temp add the coffee to the press pot first, then add the water. Now you need to stir the coffee to saturate all the grounds(use only wood or bamboo to stir), now put the plunger assembly on top be sure not to push down on the plunger yet, set the timer. When the timer goes off, slowly and evenly push down on the plunger bar, if you go to fast hot coffee will spew out and you’ll burn yourself….. dummy, now you can enjoy your French press coffee, that is if you didn’t burn your self.



You can order a Bodum Chambord French Press at Amazon

51-ounce Bodum Chambord French Coffee Press
32-ounce Bodum Chambord French Coffee Press
17-ounce Bodum Chambord French Coffee Press
12-ounce Bodum Chambord 3-Cup Coffee Press

Or at espresso parts

34-ounce espressoparts
48-ounce espressoparts
12-ounce espressoparts 

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Bodum 8 cup (32 ounces) Chambord French Press by Noah Brewer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.