I'd like to introduce the newest member of my kitchen. He is tall and sleek with double-wall construction to keep my coffee warm. He doesn't care if I have morning breath or if I push him around. He's easy on the eyes and makes a pretty darn good cup of french press coffee. He is the 48 oz. tabletop french press from Planetary Design and he makes my mornings wonderfully caffeinated.
Although I'd been considering a french press upgrade, it was a semi-serious french press incident last week that urged me to make this purchase. We have a small glass Bodum which we've had for probably 10 years. It's small and doesn't work well for when we have guests over. It's made of thin glass and the coffee gets cold within minutes.
Last week, I was getting ready for a work conference call and decided to make coffee just before my call was to start. I quickly ground the coffee beans and put the grounds in the press, then added the boiling water. After letting the coffee steep for a few minutes, I started to press down on the top but I met resistance. Being in a hurry (and stubborn), I pressed harder. My left hand was on the side handle and my right had was on top of the press pushing down. My face was close to the press ... much too close.
The mesh disk inside the press suddenly flipped up sending a surge of boiling water and coffee grounds onto the right side of my face, as well as my right wrist. I threw off my glasses and ran to the bathroom to rinse off in the shower and within a minute or two the painful burning sensation set in. I immediately applied burn ointment and went back to the kitchen in agony to clean up a horrific mess. Needless to say, the conference call was canceled.
Fortunately, the burns did not blister but remained painfully sore and red. It's been a week and I still have a 2" red spot on my forehead and a 4" section of my wrist is red as well. A good lesson in how "not" to make french press coffee. Regardless, I had hoped to replace the Bodum french press in the future and this seemed like the perfect time to make my purchase.
When I found this french press coffee maker online, I immediately fell in love with it. It was exactly what I had hoped to find. It's large enough for a small dinner party. It looks amazing (and comes in many other styles and colors). And, it has a double-wall construction to keep the coffee hot. It's pure perfection!
It arrived yesterday and now that I've used it, I also like that it has a large pouring spout. The Bodum had a tiny one which often meant I spilled coffee while pouring. The french press by Planetary Design has solved this issue.
The construction of the pot feels extremely sturdy and the bottom has a rubber non-slip pad. The black handle and top are a hard plastic material, nothing special but sturdy nonetheless. The handle contains grips for your fingers which also make it easy to hold while pouring.
For this size and color (48 oz. chrome), the price on Amazon is only $49.99. Given that I will use it every day, I felt it was a good investment. If you're interested in reading more about it or would like to purchase your own, you can find it at this link: Planetary Design Table Top Stainless Steel French Presses.
Now, I look forward to making coffee each morning. I can't imagine life without this french press.
