How to use a French Press
While it’s one of the simplest methods of brewing coffee, a French press is not exactly obvious to use. I recall when I bought my first one, it came with no directions, so it took a bit of experimenting to figure out the right way of using it (this was in the days before the internet could tell you anything you wanted to know). If you’re new to this, consider checking out the excellent how-to instructions over at WikiHow. French presses are NOT difficult use, far from it in fact, and the coffee they produce is really some of the best you can make. They’re also great for camping, as they only require hot water yet still produce excellent coffee (unlike the traditional campfire percolators). Look for a plastic one if camping is your goal.
Add comment October 11th, 2007
Here’s a cool looking coffee cup, with a unique yet functional design. One interesting feature is that the cup’s saucer will double as a lid! You can buy it for $22 at 
While I love the 
This beautiful espresso tamper hides a secret behind its good looks. It has a mechanism inside that operates much like an automotive torque wrench. When a load of 30lbs has been applied, a clutch yields and an audible ‘click’ is heard, providing plenty of notice to the user that the proper force has been applied to the espresso in the portafilter. It’s a great way to learn exactly how much force is needed; eventually one would then be fine switching back to a solid tamper, though there’s really no reason not to continue using the Espro Tamper as it’s designed to last virtually forever (they claim over a million cycles). I’ve found it to work exactly as advertised, and has a nice, solid, high quality feel to it. It’s available in other colors; you can find out more and find where to buy it at the 
My two passions in life are coffee and fast cars. More specifically, Italian cars, Lamborghini foremost among them. Those two passions have now been combined, in the form of a $1700 Lamborghini-branded espresso machine. Only 1000 will be built. It’s gorgeous, but sadly this is likely to be more a case of a company’s marketing department run amok, than a really good bargain for a high quality espresso machine. I picture most of these lying dormant in museum-quality garages on tile countertops surrounded by a Murcielago or two. The company certainly has gone overboard, offering leather armchairs, tableware, golf carts, bicycles, shoes, jewelry, etc. (via 
With the weather getting better (in most parts of the country, at least), attention is turning to the outdoors, and many are planning gardening projects. I figure it’s a good time to remind people of how great coffee grounds can be for your garden. It’s a great way to put them to use one final time after extracting all the flavorful goodness from them. When I was a kid, my parents would dump them into the rose garden outside the kitchen, with fantastic results. Me, I’ve been using a ceramic compost container from 
