Probably by now, most of you my dear readers know I’m a discerning coffee addict. Even my tweets have an occasional random spurts talking about coffee. Anyway, I recently came across Le Creuset‘s newest product for coffee – the French press and it’s in a beautiful, vibrant Marseille blue.
Le Creuset is one of the best companies who produces cast iron cookware, their signature is the (very heavy but very reliable) French Oven, as well as a very expansive line of stainless steel pans, bakeware, and recently objects for the table.
To the ones who are trying to deviate away from the automatic coffee machine, the French press is one of the easier options of the manual coffee techniques to get your morning cup of coffee. The overall “mouthfeel” of this kind of brew is rich and potent. Some might say “murky” or “sludge” because of the metal mesh filter does not catch all of the coffee grounds but it is expected. (I’ll have issues if I’m drinking from a filter drip like a Hario V60 or Chemex.)
How to use the French press:
- Weigh your fresh coffee beans (as in less than 10 days of roasting) and have it in a coarse grind (it better be evenly ground before it’ll taste bad if you have coffee dust with coffee boulders). Since Le Creuset’s French press pot capacity is 24 ounces, I used 7 rounded tablespoons of coffee. (1 rounded tablespoons/approx. 8.5 grams per 4 ounces/1 “cup”)
- Have a pot of boiling water and slowly saturate your freshly ground coffee so that it “blooms” (a gaseous, bubbling action that is normal for fresh coffee) and stop adding about 1 to 1.5 inches away from the top since you need space for the filter.
- Optional: Stir the coffee grounds with wooden chopsticks for even flavor extraction – about 6 times.
- Assemble the filter on top and let it steep for about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Press down the plunge (the shiny silver knob on the Le Creuset) evenly and slowly so it will not be crooked. Crooked = coffee grinds escape = unpleasant cup of coffee.
- Pour that flavorful coffee in your cup. Just hold the top while you pour, in case it does slides down. This should yield about 4-6 cups, depending upon how large is your cup or mug.
It’s overall a simple technique. Le Creuset’s French press is different than other French presses because it’s made with enamel stoneware so it’s less prone to damage and it has less porosity, making it resistant to staining and leaks.
How you can win this French press
Update: Comments are closed. I have to end this early because of a meeting I have to attend. The winner is Nancy (Commenter #1)! Congratulations! Please check your email for further info.
Many thanks to all who entered and participated on this contest. Please stay tuned via Twitter or on this blog for any future contests and giveaways! Hope you all have a great Easter or Passover with your family!
Since Easter and Passover is coming soon I’m going to make someone’s holiday a little more brighter by giving away the Le Creuset French press pot! (The one you see is the photos is color you are getting.) In order to enter, you have 4 ways to enter. The more you do, the better chances you will win this beautiful (and useful) pot.
Here are the ways to enter:
1. Let me know (via commenting on this post) you like Le Creuset’s Facebook page (no need to comment on their page)
2. Tweet this statement: Enter to win a @LeCreuset French press pot hosted by @TWanderingEater for Easter & Passover: http://bit.ly/H0T9zq
3. E-mail me with your full name and an e-mail address that you will check.
4. Simply comment on this post (related to this content).
Note: If you are intending to comment on this post and would like to mention what you’ve done (e.g. tweeted, e-mailed, and “Like” Le Creuset’s Facebook page), please condense this to 1 comment. (It’s a personal preference to keep it nice and compact.). Thank you!
The giveaway will close at Thursday, April 5, 2012 at 11:59 AM (as in before lunchtime) and will be notified by e-mail. The winner will be chosen by Thursday, April 5, 2012 during the afternoon. Winner must reside within the U.S. and it will be shipped directly from Le Creuset.
Thanks for entering and good luck!
