Cuisine

The French press, also known as a press pot, is a 19th century French invention that brews an above-average cup of coffee, if you use the right  beans. It is more flavorful than the speedy and convenient drip American coffee maker and is just shy of the robust flavors of espresso. Its French name is cafetière à piston, but is more commonly known by its brand names, such as Bodum or melior, or simply a cafetière.   The personalization of a morning cup of coffee is part of the fun of using a French press and can be anywhere between 2-5 minutes of steeping, before the plunger is slowly pushed while not allowing any of the grains to pass.  A very coarse grind is recommended, which is a 1/10 on our grinder. We like Zabar's French-Italian roast for use in our French pressed coffee.  We find it has the right balance for this sort of use. Making coffee in a French press coffee press is not complicated, and is more flavorful and aromatic than those having gone through an American paper filter and drip machine.  You can also use it to make tea, in a pinch. A conical burr grinder is recommended over a blade grinder because it gives a more consistent grind.  I believe you cannot have it too course, so crank the grinder to the coarsest setting. Heat the water just short of boiling, either on the stove or (heaven forbid, in the microwave if you are that pressed for time).   Use the best filtered water available (to eliminate chlorine and hard water tastes), but bottled is unnecessary in most places. Place the coffee grounds into the coffee press. I like it strong, the French way, so we use 4 heaping tablespoons of coarsely ground coffee per 8

When traveling in Fiorenzi, Italy, I decide to embark on a journey to make café, espresso, and cappuccino at home, having seen the Italians do it with success both at home and in restaurants.  I wanted to give up my French press and stove-top espresso "machines" in favor of a real machine.  I stumbled into a  cooking store which features over 100 varieties of real espresso machines and the clerk spoke perfect English after hearing my crude Italian. He asked, "How may at your house that drink coffee?  I replied, "most of the time just me."  He said, "Do you have a few minutes in the morning to read the paper or are you rushed for work?"  I said, "I have a few minutes."  He added, "How many would be the most, say for a dinner party?"  To which I replied, "Eight."  He said, "Then, this machine" and pointed to a La Pavoni Professional.  I quickly added, "But wait, this is a huge store, there are hundreds of options here to look at, how can you so quickly dismiss them all in favor of this one?"  He said, "Look, I can sell you a Fiat, or a Ford truck, if you wish, but you look like you can afford this Ferrari and, if so, I can teach you how to drive it and you will never look back at the others after having fallen in love with this Ferrari.  La Pavoni is Ferrari." So, he picked a box with a La Pavoni modelo Professional 0,42 gallons espresso machine and made his way to the counter.  By the way, I don't recommend hand-carrying back one of these machines from Italy, especially after 9-11, as it was interesting enough before 9-11 at the airport x-ray machines, not so much