The French Press -- An Unadulterated Cup of Coffe

Thanks to a friend and coworker who let me borrow his Bodum French Press Coffee Maker, I tasted my first cup of coffee as promoted by the book, God in a Cup.

What's the verdict? The French Press makes a cup of coffee that is unadulterated -- it just slaps you in the face! It's kind of like seeing a closeup shot of a TV personality, who has not gone through makeup, in HD. Get the picture? Your jaw drops, "Oh man, is that what you really look like?" The true character is revealed for better or for worse.

Over the last 6 weeks I have been drinking 8 O' Clock coffee. I bought whole beans from Giant Eagle. It was on sale "buy one get one free." So I bought two 2lb bags -- one light roast, the other dark roast. I've been brewing my coffee in a Cuisinart Grind and Brew Coffee Maker. Well the 8 O' Clock coffee has had a disgusting chemical after taste.

I decided to try the 8 O' Clock coffee in the French Press. The good news is that the French Press definitely pulled out the flavor of the coffee beans with an intensity that made me no longer taste the chemical after taste (Do you think 8 O' Clock coffee comes from China?). The bad news is that one of the flavors that attacked my taste buds was dirt. The coffee actually tasted like the beans had been dried on a dirt floor.

So here is my conclusion: If we were living in the 50's where all available coffee was bad, then just drink cowboy/percolator coffee that burns the coffee anyway until we've got a good cup of black mud filled with a strong dose of caffeine.

The 70's has allowed us enjoy drip coffee, thanks to Mr. Coffee. Even Maxwell House and Hills Brothers tastes better drip than percolated.

Having lived through the 90's, Starbucks has shown us that there are better beans than Maxwell House and Hills Brothers. But we've got to find a way to keep us that standard without paying $2 a cup.

So here we are in the 21st century. This is post-Starbucks. The French Press has opened my eyes to a new world of coffee. Imagine a world of unadulterated coffee. Unadulterated -- for better or for worse. I like the prospect of attacking and at the same time educating my taste buds with the subtleties of coffee. How delicate will my palate become? I don't know.

Time to begin the adventure.