I used to have a French Press type coffee 'device', got used to
grinding for taste and it worked great way back when. (In fact I ended
up using it till it failed from 'broken screen syndrome'.)

What I'm wondering about is, would one be useful for making tea? I'd
think the tea would be steeped, pressed and decanted to another
container. Any experiences with this?


berk

On 2009-06-24, TBerk > wrote:

> I used to have a French Press type coffee 'device', got used to
> grinding for taste and it worked great way back when. (In fact I ended
> up using it till it failed from 'broken screen syndrome'.)
>
> What I'm wondering about is, would one be useful for making tea? I'd
> think the tea would be steeped, pressed and decanted to another
> container. Any experiences with this?

Generally speaking, you don't want to press on the tea. Personally, I'd
suggest using something else unless you're really tied into using the
french press because you already have one (or because you like the
style).

In that case, my suggestion is (if possible, and if there's another
strainer) take the press part out entirely. If not possible, just leave
the press part almost all the way up the whole time.

--
William Yardley
Systems Administrator, Academic Unix Solutions
California Institute of Technology
626.395.3517 phone | 323.440.5407 mobile

On 2009-06-24, TBerk > wrote:

> I used to have a French Press type coffee 'device', got used to
> grinding for taste and it worked great way back when. (In fact I ended
> up using it till it failed from 'broken screen syndrome'.)
>
> What I'm wondering about is, would one be useful for making tea? I'd
> think the tea would be steeped, pressed and decanted to another
> container. Any experiences with this?

Generally speaking, you don't want to press on the tea. Personally, I'd
suggest using something else unless you're really tied into using the
french press because you already have one (or because you like the
style).

In that case, my suggestion is (if possible, and if there's another
strainer) take the press part out entirely. If not possible, just leave
the press part almost all the way up the whole time.

w

http://tinyurl.com/nef5nm

To make a long story short, just raise the plunger to the desired
depth in the pot near the top, saw, then instead of fiddling around
to find the right plunger cap just use a rubber band to keep from
falling back into pot.

Jim

On Jun 23, 10:11 pm, TBerk > wrote:
> I used to have a French Press type coffee 'device', got used to
> grinding for taste and it worked great way back when. (In fact I ended
> up using it till it failed from 'broken screen syndrome'.)
>
> What I'm wondering about is, would one be useful for making tea? I'd
> think the tea would be steeped, pressed and decanted to another
> container. Any experiences with this?
>
> berk

On Jun 24, 12:11*am, TBerk > wrote:
> I used to have a French Press type coffee 'device', got used to
> grinding for taste and it worked great way back when. (In fact I ended
> up using it till it failed from 'broken screen syndrome'.)
>
> What I'm wondering about is, would one be useful for making tea? *I'd
> think the tea would be steeped, pressed and decanted to another
> container. *Any experiences with this?
>
> berk

I use a Bodum 16oz. travel french press almost daily for my morning
commute for tea. They generally don't fully stop the brewing perfectly
so to combat it I use less leaf than normal, but other than that, no
issues. I have never used them for coffee though and they are
polycarbonate but if glass a good vinegar soak or two should be
enought to make them serviceable.

- Dominic

TBerk > wrote:
>I used to have a French Press type coffee 'device', got used to
>grinding for taste and it worked great way back when. (In fact I ended
>up using it till it failed from 'broken screen syndrome'.)
>
>What I'm wondering about is, would one be useful for making tea? I'd
>think the tea would be steeped, pressed and decanted to another
>container. Any experiences with this?

A local restaurant makes and serves tea in a French press. It seems like
kind of a silly idea; the tea is good, but the press does not sequester
the leaves well enough that you can leave the water in the press after
steeping is finished.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

In China, whenever I went to the coffee shop, the always served Earl
Grey tea in a french press. Kind of nice. The tea was very good too.

I've been using a french press for a couple of days now simply because I was curious as to whether it would do the job and give me a good cup of tea.

In some ways it can deliver a decent - not good, not great - cup of tea, but you might need to fiddle around with the amounts of tea you're using if the tea is going to be kept there after pressing. In other words you'll need to use less tea leaves. On the other hand, if you're going to decant it to another container after pressing, the normal amount of tea leaves you use should be fine. Of course, this means that you have two things to wash instead of the more convenient one container, but even that's worth it for a good cup of tea - right? :-)

I dont clean my cropped french press which gets used everyday to make
tea for my wife. The gill gets coated with tannins but doesnt add to
the taste UNLESS you try to clean it. Which is typical of any pot. I
always swish with hot water after tossing the leaves. If leaves
remain in pot for another infusion makes sure they are drained.

Jim

On Aug 3, 1:32 am, mmm_yummy >
wrote:
> I've been using a french press for a couple of days now simply because I
> was curious as to whether it would do the job and give me a good cup of
> tea.
>
> In some ways it can deliver a decent - not good, not great - cup of
> tea, but you might need to fiddle around with the amounts of tea you're
> using if the tea is going to be kept there after pressing. In other
> words you'll need to use less tea leaves. On the other hand, if you're
> going to decant it to another container after pressing, the normal
> amount of tea leaves you use should be fine. Of course, this means that
> you have two things to wash instead of the more convenient one
> container, but even that's worth it for a good cup of tea - right? :-)
>
> --
> mmm_yummy