I generally now drink cold brewed coffee. Before that I drank French Press coffee for many years. I still drink it in preference to drip and pour over when I don’t have time for my usual coffee prep in the morning. Or if I get a hankering for coffee in the afternoon. So I was much interested when I first heard about the new so-called improved micro-filtered French Press pots.
I bought one of these. Aside from being a Vancouver business, Espro claims to have invented the double, micro-filtered French press. If so, they are no longer the only show in town although they have 4 of the top 5 reviewed here and 3 of the top 10 reviewed here, including top place.
I’m not hustling Espro. I’m just another satisfied customer. But if you like French Press coffee and are still using one of the old style press pots, you really ought to try one of the new double micro-filtered pots. The biggest complaint I’ve read about them is that because there are no grounds in the cup the fullest flavour and mouthfeel of the original pot design does not come through. I think that’s a damn good feature! And I’ve filtered enough coffee grounds through my teeth to know.
For anyone interested, I think I have solved this little issue by increasing brew time and what I call the ‘double press’ technique. I plunge first almost to the bottom, draw the plunger back up to the top, then plunge a second time all the way to the bottom.
Another big advantage is that once you press the double micro-filter to the bottom of the pot, the grounds are separated more or less completely from the coffee. Extraction ceases immediately. That means you can leave the coffee in the pot instead of pouring if off the gounds. Most of the larger capacity pots are attractive enough to set out on the dining table, for example, if you’re having a couple friends over for a cuppa. Not that I do much of that. None-the-less all that shiny stainless steel looks very nice.