A New French Press From World Market

 Let me start by saying that I love World Market. I love all the moroccan-themed candles and japanese figurines and french-style art. But what I love most is the food and kitchen sections. Yesterday I went in to see if I could find French salted butter caramels; they don't have any, but they did have several things that ended up coming home with me.

Miso Ramen? Yes please. Miso Hoison sauce? Sounds like a wonderful marinade for fish. Dry udon noodles? What a great alternative to the ramen-like packages that are all I can find anywhere else. And who doesn't need a couple of containers that only hold a few tablespoons of miscellaneous items that I'm constantly transporting in Ziploc bags? I also purchased a mini 6" whisk (yes, you read that right) but I had just used it so I didn't want to photograph it with Greek yogurt dripping from the wire. My reasoning was that it could come in handy for making caramel sauce, which I've already done twice this week; I could pretend the second batch was for a higher purpose, like a tarte or something, but it wasn't.

And there's the beautiful green french press. I've been through a few electric coffee makers since college, the last of which was given to Goodwill when we moved year before last; in general I find that I don't use one enough to justify the space it takes up on my countertop. But for a while now I've been thinking (and reading) about french presses. While I love my instant iced vanilla latte in a premeasured package for the mornings, I'm too sensitive to caffeine to drink more than 1 cup per day, which downright sucks for someone who loves the taste of coffee. So I thought I could use a french press to make decaf in the evenings to sip on after dinner. I also have fond memories of my brother-in-law making us coffee in his brand new Frieling french press during one of the days that Dallas completely iced over and life as we know it screetched to a halt last winter.

Is my brothers-in laws' dog not the cutest thing ever, romping out there in the snow?

It seemed like a good value at $20, and it had gotten good reviews on Amazon. One major complaint was that it says it makes 8 cups of coffee--what it doesn't advertise is that the lovely folks at Bodum have decided that 4 oz is a cup of coffee. To someone like myself that takes my coffee in equal parts with milk, this isn't an issue, but I could see how it would be upsetting to someone expecting the french press to make 2 liters of actual coffee rather than 1. Nonetheless, it was possibly the easiest cup of coffee I've ever made.

Start with a clean carafe. (I love the pretty green color of mine.)

Add 1 scoop (provided by Bodum) of coursely ground coffee for every 4 oz you want brewed. Plus a tad extra if you're me.

Add the appropriate amount of hot water.

Stir with a plastic or wooden (NOT METAL) spoon.

 

Put on the lid.

 

Set a timer for 4 minutes. (Yes, I'm aware that says 3:58.)

Wait patiently. Or impatiently. Your call.

Rejoice that 4 minutes have passed and the coffee is nearly ready.

Slowly push the plunger all the way to the bottom of the carafe.

And that's all there is to it. You can use flavored coffee, add flavoring to the coffee grinds (spices like cinnamon, pure vanilla or a flavored extract--syrups should be added post-brewing), whatever makes your coffee yours.

You do have to completely disassemble the fench press and wash all 5 parts after use, but for freshly brewed coffee that's super fast and insanely easy, I'll do a few dishes.