GreenYour.com

French-presses have come back into vogue and good thing because they are a far more efficient, not to mention a more environmentally conscious, way to brew coffee. They also look cooler on your counter than a machine - or by your bed or on the back deck or wherever you may choose to take it ...

Here's how it beats the drip:

1) Flavor: Basically with a french-press the hot water sits with the coffee and brews rather than rapidly passing through it as with the drip method, hence far more of the coffee taste, flavor, caffeine and all the other goodness, gets into your cup (and into you :)

2) Savings: With a press you use about a third less coffee. Drip will require about 3 tablespoons of coffee per mug, whereas with a french press about 2 tablespoons to get the same strength and flavor. Efficiency=savings.

Extrapolate that to a national level and that's about 2.5 MILLION pounds of coffee conserved every DAY! (assume 100 million "drinkers", 2 cups/day, 75 tablespoons in a pound of coffee etc ...)

3) Less paper waste: No filter to throw out.

4) Less energy used: Because a press is not plugged in less energy is used to make the brew. Yes, you have to boil the water first, but over all it is still wins on energy efficiency in part because there is no heating mechanism at all.

The only practical argument against this method, is that a large pot of coffee may cool down more rapidly with a press (which is part of what MAKES it energy efficient!). With the "single wall" glass-style presses this can be an issue. One option is to simply wrap a kitchen towel around it for a bit of insulation. There are also some presses on the market with a "double wall" of glass for insulation as well as "thermos" style presses that will keep the coffee warm all morning long.

Find it! French Presses

Lots of options not only on style but in size from coffee-for-one to the family 12-cupper.