Elegant, simple, and solid.
I don’t write many reviews so I’ll try not to get too overly-reviewy and precious here…but…this is the best-looking French Press I’ve ever held in my hands. It’s also the heaviest. I’m old-school (literally) so when I pick up something this modern and elegant, it’s a pleasant surprise that it has some heft as well as looks. Clean lines. A beautiful rose gold patina. And a combination long-handled coffee scoop/bag clip that’s has a kind of cool steampunk-y vibe.
In short, it’s a beautifully-simple design that is simply beautiful.
I haven’t been making coffee at home for a couple of years because my acid reflux just won’t let me. Once I unboxed this, I drove over to my favorite coffee shop here in Asheville and picked up a bag of Counter Culture’s “Gradient” blend, freshly-ground for French Press. My barista recommended it for smoothness and low acid.
Back home, I heated the water in my banged-up 40-year-old English Simplex copper tea kettle (okay, I’m getting a little precious now, but it was cool going from old copper kettle to new copper press), put a couple of scoops of Gradient and a teaspoon of cane sugar into the stainless-steel lined press, poured in just enough to cover the grounds to let the coffee expand, then poured in the rest and set the timer for five minutes.
Ding went the timer, down went the plunger (slowly), and into the cup went the coffee with some warm frothed milk on top.
It was smooth and delicious. The press is well-insulated, so my second cup was almost as hot as my first.
I’m sold. End of review. /// Now here’s the emotional part. After so many months of stress, shelter-in-place, don’t go out without your mask, don’t go IN without your mask, distancing, hand-sanitizing, worrying about my children and grandchildren, and hearing of friends I won’t see again, the pleasure of using this simple, sturdy copper pot every morning reminds me that the timeless, comforting ritual of making coffee can sometimes be more nourishing than the coffee itself.
