I switched about 9mos ago. I would agree it's much smoother, less bitter way to make coffee. My press makes two cups at a time which isn't enough now that DH has decided to have a cup each morning . Why would someone take up coffee in retirement?? Anyway $20 is an average price depending on the size I suppose. Mine is glass. My son said he gave up on glass as he broke two. He has an all metal one. It's messy given there is no filter. I strain my grounds and then throw them in the garden. Years ago when I was making drip coffee I could put the filter and all in a can to take to the compost once the can was full.

I've been using a French press for about 20 years. I think I'm on my third one. They make THE best coffee, bar none!! I wouldn't consider using any other method.

I have 3 french presses. 2 stainless steel,1 glass. I agree they make the smoothest strong coffee. I also think you get the most out of your beans with a press. I gave up coffee last December, so now I use my presses for my Chai.

Do y'all have lots of thrift shops in Canada? If so, look there to get one for a couple bucks. I got mine at a garage sale of a dollar :) I think the taste of the coffee IS better than a drip machine makes. There will be some sludge in the bottom after you "brew" the coffee. I think it's worth trying one.

That brings up another issue with French Press. Since COVID ya can't grind coffee beans at the grocery store. Finding a rougher grind (best for FP coffee) pre-packaged is tough. Grind for cold brew works but again not easy to find, thus many FPers grind their own beans. Another machine, obnoxiously loud, more to mess with.

I buy all my clothes etc from thrift stores. I've never seen a French press at any, but lots of coffee makers :-)

I have a good stock of coffee in my pantry, none are coarse grind. I'll wait till I run out before buying a press.

Arcy, we still have our coffee grinder in stores

We also have coffee grinders in local stores.

I had a FP for a brief time. It was glass and I broke it within a week or two while cleaning it. I liked the coffee but the cleaning aspect plus the fragility kept me from replacing it. Not that cleaning was difficult, it was just more effort than I'd feel like expending between cups of morning coffee.

My next stop is Chemex, but I’ve been saying that for years.

I also had a Chemex once upon a time.....maybe a wedding present? IMO, the FP makes far better coffee. Breakage issues are easily avoided with FP's if they come with a metal or plastic/rubber casing, which most do.

We have always used this method (cafétière to us). We grind our own beans before making a brew. It takes 15 seconds for 50 grams which is the quantity for our biggest cafétière. But the correct grind is readily available in stores if you want ready ground. We have 8, 6 and 2 cup jugs so we can make the right amount for whoever wants coffee. We've never owned a coffee machine because we dislike coffee that has been kept hot. It always tastes burnt to us. We once had an espresso machine as well but it soon furred up with our hard water and didn't make sufficient quantity fast enough for our consumption. The jug doesn't need cleaning after every use. It's just rinsed out. Once a week or so it goes in the dishwasher. It's no more breakable than any other jug or glass. And there's nothing to go wrong mechanically.

On the very rare occasions we've broken the glass we can get a new one delivered the same day. The grounds are simply swilled out and dumped on the garden or into the kitchen compost pot. That goes on our own compost heap or into the kitchen waste bin collected by the council.

I've had and enjoyed French Press-made coffee but I've been hesitant to get one because of not being clear on how the used coffee grounds are removed and disposed of. Does the cleaning result in any grounds going down the drain?

We buy coffee in bean form from a local roaster, 1 pound at a time. Grinding it is part of the admittedly slow, manual coffee making process in our house. Our grinder stores different adjustable settings, so there's one my wife has set for a smaller cup and a different one I use for a larger cup at a greater strength. We have small and large one cup Hario ceramic pour over drippers and a Hario electric gooseneck kettle.

I think our approach makes great coffee but it's slow. Guests always rave about our coffee - we have a glass pot and a large plastic pourover to put on top when making more than a cup or two. All the pour overs use paper filters and the disposal of grounds into the trash can is neat and easy.

I find most coffee made by electric coffee makers to be mediocre, the reasons for which are easily found in online articles. There's one or two that the testers find to produce good coffee. Besides the fact that most home counter coffeemakers don't produce hot enough water to do the job, the other problem frequently the culprit for so-so coffee is the use of inferior coffee and not enough of it. Some electric coffeemakers will overflow if too much coffee is put into the filter baskets.

Edit to add-

I see that floral's comment roughly concurrent with mine but previously unseen by me answered my first question - she said the grounds are "swilled out and dumped into the garden or kitchen compost pot". Having neither a garden I'd like to fill with coffee grounds nor any kind of household composting operation, what are other alternatives?

Disposing of the grounds is not an issue. A few might go down the sink but hardly any. As I said, we rinse the jug in the garden or knock the grounds out into the compost collector then rinse. No grounds go in the trash and next to none go down the sink. Of course, we do have an electric kettle so getting easily-poured hot water is fast and simple. 90°c is ideal for the best flavour.

Well, as I said, we don't compost anything nor have a garden we'd wish to use to dispose of coffee grounds Does that leave as the only alternative wiping them from the bottom of the pot with a damp paper towel and putting that into the trash? That doesn't strike me as convenient or easier than simply placing the used paper filters containing the grounds into the trash.

" Having neither a garden I'd like to fill with coffee grounds nor any kind of household composting operation, what are other alternatives? "

I'm in the same situation. But I do have a garbage disposal that handles coffee grounds and other food waste thoroughly and effectively.

gardengal, the next time you encounter a plumber, ask her or him about this comment. I think you'll find that your assumption that your disposal and waste systems can handle coffee grounds isn't shared by people who know better.

Elmer, I share your apprehension about allowing solids down the drain. Strainers likely get used as much for disposal purposes as culinary, in my house. That aspect isn’t as big a deal as the whole cleaning process itself.

I agree about electric drips overflowing. I’ve got a Bonavita which is certified by the Intl Assoc of Coffee Snobs for proper pour times and temps, but although a full pot is just 40 oz it’ll overflow when using the recommended 2 Tbsp of preground beans per cup.

We all have our preferences, and can’t discover our own without trying. Jasdip, I say go for it bur then it’s not my money!

We have a municipal food waste collection. So there's no need for anything to go down the sink or in the trash even if one has no garden or compost heap at home.

I bought a Bonavita, perhaps steered to it by the same test review article some years ago that ranked it and another as reliably producing hot enough water. After a two week trial period, I gave up. The results were less satisfactory to me than the relatively less convenient but reliable pour over method I've used for decades.

We gave it to a thrift store run by a family services agency and I hope that the ultimate owner and the thrift store were equally satisfied with the outcome.

" We have a municipal food waste collection. "

It's the same here, required by a state law passed several years ago.

Most people I know and see (judging from what I see out in front of houses on collection days) ignore the requirement to separate into yet a 4th rubbish stream - yard waste, recyclables, normal trash, then food waste. Because the processes for doing so are not convenient. And the stated objectives are nebulous to many.

It's not enforced as of yet so compliance is low. Our household, apparently as with most others, ignores it, because how one is required to do it is very inconvenient and the reasons for doing so are not compelling.

“Since COVID ya can't grind coffee beans at the grocery store.“

Really? Everywhere I shop allows you to grind beans still from the supermarket to Trader Joe’s.

I’m not a coffee drinker but my friends all are. When I asked what they would like me to get for them toale coffee in when they visit they said one of those cones with a filter that sits on the cup and you pour water directly onto the grounds. They much preferred this to a French press.

We normally use a Technivorm moccamaster but we also have a couple of FP for friends who prefer that coffee. The TM makes coffee with 200f degree water. My DH also has this little plastic tube thing that is a very small FP. Who knows why except it is annoying and can fall over and spill hot coffee all over the table. Grounds are just one of those things in life to deal with. I actually Have a stainless FP but I use it to store vegetable oil.

patriciae

If you're so worried, Elmer, rinse the French press in plenty of water then dump it into a fine strainer. IKEA has them for cheap. Dump the contents of the strainer into the trash.

For the record, I have a French press and a lot of the grounds go down the kitchen drain. Have had no issues in 25 years.

For those concerned about glass, camping stores sell metal French presses.

DH prefers his Aeropress (link: Areropress USA) which compresses the grounds into a little puck which is easily put into the trash. For those who can only get espresso grind they are ideal.

I'm not worried at all nor am I looking for something new to use. Nor am I attracted by equipment that requires additional pieces to wash.

We're very happy with what we have, especially that the entire process is free from contact of nearly boiling water to plastics of any kind.

I was asking out of curiosity and for no other reason.

If I used the FP, I would either rinse the grounds out onto my acid loving evergreen bushes or pour it through a fine strainer then dump them in the trash.

My husband uses a FP and I use an Aeropress. I hate cleaning out the FP pot. The tidy way is to strain out any remaining liquid and then use a silicone spatula to scrape the grounds into the trash. The messy way is to use your paw to scrape the grounds. The Aeropress is a quick delight to clean, just pop the grounds into the trash.

We each approximate the appropriate grind (I count to 20 while I shake the grinder.) Trying to decide if I should upgrade to a burr grinder.

I haven't read all the responses, but I've been using a FP for more than a decade. I use Trader Joe's coffee (usually the ground light roast) but sometimes will grind beans there at the store. I don't grind at home because I'm averse to the noise. Especially in the morning.

It is by far the smoothest, easiest coffee for me to drink. I do not care for any other type of coffee, and even when friends want to meet for coffee, I drink mine at home, and order something else at the cafe. I'm simply put off by all other types of coffee. The exception is when I stay at my sister's--she uses a pour-over and it's pretty good.

My concern now, though, is my cholesterol has slowly been creeping up the past few years. My diet is otherwise stellar, but I've read that drinking unfiltered coffee can increase cholesterol. You may want to research this, if this is a concern for you.

I’ve been using a French press for over 25 years and my cholesterol is low, despite my diet being not ideal and my being overweight. I’d suggest something else is going on re your cholesterol issue.

" I've read that drinking unfiltered coffee can increase cholesterol. You may want to research this, if this is a concern for you. "

You may want to research this a bit more yourself. All the respected medical sources say that consuming coffee in moderation can improve heart health by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels and may be associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and some types of cancer.

Drinking coffee is actually good for you. Unless you overdo.

We've been through a lot of different methods for making coffee, including French presses and electric drip machines. At this point of our 47 year marriage, we buy our coffee from a local coffee roaster and each have a favorite bean and grind. DH uses an Aeropress and I use a one cup Melitta pour over that uses a #2 filter. Our BIL liked the Aeropress so much, he bought one to use for himself. My SIL only likes instant - go figure.

Colleen and Gardengal, I have researched it, which is why I mentioned it.

I tried FP many years ago and found I preferred pour over and the instant gratification of having your coffee ready in a shorter time, not having to wait around for it to "brew." Especially in the morning. Coffee NOW!

I was curious about Feather's claim about it being less healthy and it looks like there is some evidence, tho this Harvard article says you have to drink several cups a day to have the negative effect on cholesterol. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/pressed-coffee-going-mainstream-drink-201604299530 

Our national scientific reasearch organisation, the CSIRO, did a study decades ago that suggested the optimum brewing time in a FP is about 2 1/2 minutes. Longer than that the bitter flavours start coming out. I can wait 2 1/2 minutes.