# French Press for Coffee. Opinions?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-press-for-coffee-opinions/140852>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [December 6, 2002, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-press-for-coffee-opinions/140852 "2002-12-06T04:16:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-press-for-coffee-opinions/140852/21 "2002-12-07T14:07:32Z")

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Supposedly, a french press will release more of the tasty [essential oils](http://coffeefaq.com/coffaq2.htm#Press) compared to a drip

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**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-press-for-coffee-opinions/140852/22 "2002-12-07T15:27:25Z")

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To summarize:

You need your beans ground properly.  
You need good-quality coffee.

If those conditions are met, then (IMHO) french press coffee is wonderful. I usually drink bargain supermarket coffee made in a $20 Mr. Coffee machine. It’s actually pretty good. But when I get some good beans, I use the french press.

I made some coffee in the french press for some friends after a dinner party. I used too much coffee, though, and it came out a wee bit strong. As my friend said in amazement “I put in milk, but it didn’t change color!”

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**Author:** ![Coffeeguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@Coffeeguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coffeeguy)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-press-for-coffee-opinions/140852/23 "2002-12-07T18:17:10Z")

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Sorce of much coffee wisdom:

[http://www.pipcom.com/~mharris/brewing.html](http://www.pipcom.com/~mharris/brewing.html)

Just click on the little “French Press” gizmo

-Coffeeguy

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**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\
**Post date:** [December 7, 2002, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-press-for-coffee-opinions/140852/24 "2002-12-07T19:10:05Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Binarydrone \*  
> \*\*Honestly, I think that this is one of those things that people do to seem more sophisticated but that is actually inferior. I have tried many ( **many** ) ways to get my morning java, and the French press is pretty much a delivery system for coffee grounds to your mouth. I much prefer something filtered. \*\*

(I’m not picking on you, I’m just explaining)  
If you’re getting grounds in your coffee (in your cup), then you’re most likely grinding your coffee too finely. For a FP, the coffee should be coarsely ground, in bigger chunks. For a drip machine, it should be more finely ground. They aren’t interchangeable.  
You can’t buy pre-ground coffee and use it in a FP. You have to buy whole beans and grind it yourself, or have it ground for you, and make sure they know you’re using a FP.

You can have my French Press when you pry it from my cold, dead hands. 😉

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