Commuting - Any other "french press" commuters out there?

So, I just started commuting after a year or so off (yeah, I know). One of the things I miss the most is my morning coffee on my drive in. I have to admit that I am a bit of a coffee snob so the stuff they have at work (from concentrate) is hardly going to cut it.

I solved the problem by bringing in my french press and simply grind just before I leave for work and bring it in a sandwich bag.

Anyone else solving the "coffee problem"?

You've done precisely what I've done. You could also go so far as to bring a grinder in and keep a week's worth of beans at the office.

For a while, I was actually making some pretty damn good espresso with a handpresso (http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/Handpresso-Portable-Espresso-Machine-with-Domepod-p/scg10790.htm?gclid=CIXKqJ70y68CFWHDtgod1h6ScQ&utm_source=googleproducts&utm_medium=free_feed&utm_campaign=comparison_shopping_feeds) and ceramic-burr grinder (http://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/Hario-Skeleton-Skerton-Coffee-Mill-p/scg11550-50.htm). THAT got me some looks in the lunch room.

Yeah, I use a Bodum as well. I either grind the dark French Roast beans at home or buy it already ground and pour it into a sealed tin (I bought a couple - they originally held organic coffee so they have the little plastic breathing soffet in them) which I bring to work and store in the freezer. But I only do this because it's way cheaper than buying coffee at work or at the local coffee shop.

I used to brew freshly-ground coffee at home before the ride to work, but I found as I got older that on cold winter days I'd only be able to make it about 30 minutes before I needed a toilet stop, and the ride to work was closer to an hour. So now I just wait till I get to work to have coffee. It felt strange at first, getting on the bike without having had coffee, but I got used to it by the second day. So I know I'm not addicted to the stuff. But I do love a good cup of coffee, straight black.

Luis

So, I just started commuting after a year or so off (yeah, I know). One of the things I miss the most is my morning coffee on my drive in. I have to admit that I am a bit of a coffee snob so the stuff they have at work (from concentrate) is hardly going to cut it.

I solved the problem by bringing in my french press and simply grind just before I leave for work and bring it in a sandwich bag.

Anyone else solving the "coffee problem"?

Make a cappuccino right before I go, put it in a cup that fits perfectly in my water bottle cage, and enjoy sipping it while I walk the pedestrian mall at the end of my (short) commute.

I have an espresso just before leaving, and convinced a few workmates to chip in and we bought an espresso machine at work too.

Problem solved :)

z

I have a drip coffee maker at work. I supply coffee which is usually generic namebrand (Folger's, etc.), but I also buy coffee from a local roaster (BF member pallen) to change it up. It's my pot but anyone can drink from it. Sometimes someone else brings coffee, but if not, I'm okay with that. I like freshly brewed coffee but I'm not much of a coffee snob.

My workmates didn't like "that fancy crap", so I kept a Bodum french press at work. I'd grind the beans at home and bring some fresh milk to froth every shift.

I have a plastic device that holds a No. 2 cone filter. I keep a bag of ground coffee at work - usually a good brand. All I have to do is place the holder+cone on top of a mug, add coffee, and pour the right amount of hot water into it. Couldn't be simpler!

A large Bodum French press and a good grinder have been standard equipment in my kitchen, in my office desk at work, and also in my shop for about 30 years now, but I often use a 12oz Vietnamese phin instead if I am only making one cup at a time.

I also prefer Vietnamese double-roasted French beans because they are just about the richest beans that I have found, and I usually buy them directly from an online roaster because they are timestamped with the time and date they were roasted and don't sit on a shelf for a month before being sold.

I've never really considered myself to be a coffee snob, but will admit that I am pretty set in my ways when it comes to coffee and beer, and I generally prefer French roast coffee and dark ales or stouts, and my favorite after work evening starter is often a quad espresso and a Guinness because they just seem to be made for each other.

I Prefer just plain old McDonalds black coffee. Get a large cup every morning on my way to work.

Hario Grinder and Hario V60 Pour over alongside fresh home roasted beans make lunch time a time I look forward to.

I just took a grinder and press in last week. Works great except for cleanup. I'm trying to minimize the amount of grounds down the sink so it doesn't clog. Anyone have some good tips for easy cleaning without making a big mess?

French press, fresh beans, drink half, bring other half in thermos.

I am a french press commuter as well. I have the GSI personal Java press, which I am supremely satisfied with. I've been using the thing for 2 or three 3years straight without any trouble. It's a 24oz lexan press, insulated, that stacks a la russian doll with a separate capped cup, which is ideal so that your coffee doesn't sit in your old beans while your sipping, AND so you can add your milk and sugar easier and cleaner. the press itself is a durable plastic disk with a rubber gasket, so grounds don't get through. When the whole thing is stacked, there's space for coffee in a plastic bag inside the press, which helps isolate the coffee from off flavors from my backpack, or from leaking its flavors to the atmosphere. I buy starbucks on the cheap when I can, grind with a bravia burr grinder the night before (or morning of). water comes from a filtered water source at work and heated with a cheap electrical hotpot. I'll store the undrunk coffee in a thermos if there is any. I also have a handpresso and an aeropress, but I prefer my french press.

Anyone use a Bialetti type cappucino maker?

I just took a grinder and press in last week. Works great except for cleanup. I'm trying to minimize the amount of grounds down the sink so it doesn't clog. Anyone have some good tips for easy cleaning without making a big mess?
Empty the grounds into the trash (or better yet the compost) before rinsing the press out

I've started carrying home-brewed coffee in an insulated stainless steel mug in the bottle cage on my bike. Someone on this forum recommended Bubba bottles as an insulated mug that will fit the bike cages well, so I picked one up on Amazon for a decent price. The bottle works as advertised, keeping my coffee hot for several hours and it fits my bottle cages just right.

Someone on this forum recommended Bubba bottles as an insulated mug that will fit the bike cages well, so I picked one up on Amazon for a decent price.

What a good idea! I've been lugging a metal thermos bottle in my backpack, and this sounds much better. Is this the one you got?

http://www.amazon.com/Bubba-Brands-HERO-Bottle-Black/dp/B005GQV3OK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335273258&sr=8-1

Thanks.

Empty the grounds into the trash (or better yet the compost) before rinsing the press out

And adding just a little water to the grounds with a couple of swirls to stir things up while dumping into the trash gets most of them out with no fuss. The few remaining grounds wash down the drain with no problem.

And that's a passive, backward way of saying that yes, I too have a press at work. :-) I wouldn't say I'm a snob as I can drink most coffee placed in front of me, but Caribou's Obsidian is #1 on my list at the moment.

I just took a grinder and press in last week. Works great except for cleanup. I'm trying to minimize the amount of grounds down the sink so it doesn't clog. Anyone have some good tips for easy cleaning without making a big mess?

I use a small rubber spatula to clean out most of the coffee, then rinse. Then I use the press to froth the milk.

I just brew up a couple Dunkin Donuts (http://www.dunkindonuts.com/) K-Cups (http://www.dunkindonuts.com/content/dunkindonuts/en/menu/coffee/K-Cup_Packs.html) in my Keurig (http://www.keurig.com/) in the morning, and store the coffee in my bike's bottle cage in my 20oz Klean Kanteen Wide Insulated (http://www.kleankanteen.com/products/insulated/klean-kanteen-insulated-20oz.php) stainless steel bottle, for the trip to work. Coffee stays hot all morning long.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/yy124/Almost_Green_Guy/Water%20Bottles/KleanInsulated.jpg

While I like a good cup of coffee, I'm also lazy and just drink the dirt coffee at work. Our water's so bad that any attempt to make a quality cup would be futile.

Anyone else solving the "coffee problem"?

I just switch to green tea at work.

My new (to me) road bike only has a downtube bottle cage, not a seat tube one, and my coffee cup that works well enough on the seat tube cage of my other bikes leaks too much when angled for the downtube, so on road bike days I don't bring the last of the pot from home with me, but on other days (which are the vast majority of days) I can have that one last blast.

What a good idea! I've been lugging a metal thermos bottle in my backpack, and this sounds much better. Is this the one you got?

http://www.amazon.com/Bubba-Brands-HERO-Bottle-Black/dp/B005GQV3OK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335273258&sr=8-1

Thanks.

That's the very one. Really keeps coffee hot a long time, and fits bottle cages perfectly. It is also leak-proof, unlike other mugs I have tried.

Press, beans, grinder, and favorite cup live on my desk at work. I am also a beer geek but I cannot do that at work.

i use the coffee machine at work.

but i converted my coworkers to small roasters (one local), or the stuff that i roast on Sundays (i buy green beans), and bring in enough for the week.

I'm too much of a coffee snob to drink the swill at the office, so I brew a small pot at home, drink one cup there, and take one cup with me in a thermos. By far, the best thermos I have found is this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Thermos-16-Ounce-Stainless-Steel-Backpack-Espresso/dp/B000RHDG7K/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1335295296&sr=8-5
My commute is short, but in winter the temperature often dips to twenty below zero Fahrenheit. This little thermos will keep my coffee hot at those temperatures for over an hour. (I've left it at home on the counter, and the coffee was still hot 12 hours later--though it was stale by then.) With a thermos, you should be careful to make sure that your coffee isn't too hot when you fill up. If the water is still at 195F or so, it will continue to brew in the thermos--and cause bitterness. If you let it cool down to 180 or so before filling the thermos, you'll have better coffee.

Here is an idea to NOT try. I got one of these and it didn't work out well at all:
http://www.amazon.com/Bodum-16-Ounce-Travel-Coffee-Press/dp/B000F3NQG2/ref=sr_1_3?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1335295598&sr=1-3
Just use a regular press pot and a separate mug. Combining the two doesn't work.

Interesting that "coffee snobs" are also fussy about their beer. In my experience, there is a correlation between those who like a rich, flavorful coffee ("Starbucks drinkers") and those who enjoy microbrew beer (especially the ales,which are more varied and stronger in taste than lagers). I would also suspect that these same people would be more likely to enjoy a good premium single-malt Scotch (just using myself as an example). So are those who dislike overly-strong Starbucks also the same people who drink mild coffee (Tim Horton's in Canada) as well as Bud and MGD? And where do tea drinkers fit in? Lots of material for a thesis here!

As for cleaning the press, I just shake the grounds into the garbage, then rinse the unit. But it has to be done right away. The worst thing in the world is to come in on Monday morning and notice that you forgot to rinse out the bodum on Friday!

Luis

There is a Coffee Bistro next door, to the saturday Gig , so I get a take out.

I can't get out of my place without coffee most mornings, and am fine with the generic swill I make at work.

I like the manual drip style coffee makers for my joe. http://mserv.toolking.com/catalog/product/M/e/Melitta_64012_Ready_Set_Joe_One_Cup_Coffee_Maker.jpg

Just keep one plus some filters at work. I generally get coffee ground at the co-op and keep it for up to a week in the freezer.

I just took a grinder and press in last week. Works great except for cleanup. I'm trying to minimize the amount of grounds down the sink so it doesn't clog. Anyone have some good tips for easy cleaning without making a big mess?

I've been using a press pot for years and have tried a number of ways to clean up the grounds:

Here is what I found works best. Immediately after you pour the coffee from the press pot, while the pot is still tipped in the pouring position, dump the wet, hot grounds into the trash. Don't let the grounds fall back down. Also shake off the grounds that cling to the mesh screen, and then let the two parts air dry. (For some reason, grounds are less clingy to the sides of the pot when they are hot, regardless if the grounds are very coarse or fine.) When it's dry, most of the remaining grounds can be easily dumped out. And even if you have to wipe out some with a paper towel, it's much less messy.

What remains after this last step is a fine dust. At this point the pot can be washed in the sink without much worry of clogging the drain. This works well as long as you have time to allow the pot to dry between brews.

And to be ornery, I call it a Texas Press.

I like the manual drip style coffee makers for my joe. http://mserv.toolking.com/catalog/product/M/e/Melitta_64012_Ready_Set_Joe_One_Cup_Coffee_Maker.jpg

Just keep one plus some filters at work. I generally get coffee ground at the co-op and keep it for up to a week in the freezer.

+1

That Melitta Ready-set-Joe is basically a ceramic version of a Vietnamese Phin, except the Phin requires no filter and the traditional stainless steel version delivers a bit hotter and richer blend because of the material and design. The Williams Sonoma version of the Phin that I use at home is glass instead of ceramic, and mades a 14 oz. serving which is cool for mornings or after dinner, and I still recommend the Guinness chaser......

Williams Sonoma Vietnamese Phin (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Williams-Sonoma-Vietnamese-Coffee-Ca-Phe-Phin-Drip-Filter-Press-Maker-Set-/350558418192#vi-content)

http://www.trung-nguyen-online.com/images/stainless-steel-filter-set.jpg

I like the manual drip style coffee makers for my joe. http://mserv.toolking.com/catalog/product/M/e/Melitta_64012_Ready_Set_Joe_One_Cup_Coffee_Maker.jpg

Just keep one plus some filters at work. I generally get coffee ground at the co-op and keep it for up to a week in the freezer.

That's very similar to what I have. I haven't had good luck with French press coffee. The Melitta manual drip thing is perfect.

My office just switched over the "concentrate" type of coffee as well. It's no different from instant powdered coffee, as far as I can taste. I've switched to Twinings Irish Breakfast tea for a mid-morning drink and have all my coffee at home.

phins are simple and convenient.

if you've never had real Vietnamese coffee, try:

http://thecoffeeadventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/P10006161.jpg

enzyme treated to be as close as possible to civet coffee without involving actual cat-butt.

smooth oily mouthfeel with lots of chocolate character.....

Thankfully we have a by the cup vending machine on 'free mode' at my work. I have often woken up and said 'wait 10 minutes for coffee and another 10 to drink it?' or just get to work in the same time and get it for free?

I don't always drink coffee for free, but when I do it is on the company dime. Stay caffeinated my friends.

A Bodum coffee press fit's nicely in my bottle cage when I am touring or in a cup holder on the city ride.
246540

Marc

I have one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Oggi-Lustre-5059-3-Double-Stainless/dp/B002Y5OMIK

Keeps things pretty hot - I don't drink on my way to work though. Short commute!

Thankfully we have a by the cup vending machine on 'free mode' at my work. I have often woken up and said 'wait 10 minutes for coffee and another 10 to drink it?' or just get to work in the same time and get it for free?

I don't always drink coffee for free, but when I do it is on the company dime. Stay caffeinated my friends.

Life is too short to drink sub-par coffee. This is a coffee intervention. Step away from the powdered coffee bot. Immediately.

;)

I brew coffee or tea in the morning and put it in a Nissan Thermos that keeps it hot. It's still drinkably warm when I get home from work depending how many times I've opened it and drank from it during the day. It seals shut so I put it in my bag and don't worry about it.

Also bought a cheap $15 coffee maker for my desk if I want more.

I've got an insulated, stainless steel press on my credenza. We usually have decent Dunkin Doughnuts coffee around, and that's good enough for me. However, occasionally the machine breaks or we run out and get stuck with Folgers - that's when the press gets some play.

Because it's insulated, it makes a decent carafe, so I can also just fill it with the DD coffee and not have to get up for awhile.

There's free coffee at work that is acceptable, and at least 5 coffee shops within two blocks that serve up alternatives (some better, some not) if I want to pay for it. I've never felt the need to bring my own supply.

I just go with water; I don't have an office to make coffee in. :( Makes for very slow mornings when I'm on opening shift. (I walk right now, but it's impossible for me to walk with any kind of coffee and keep it hot.)

Just fill up your Camelbak and slip it under your cloths! Double duty, have your coffee on the go and keeps you warm during those cold winter morning commutes! :)

I just switch to green tea at work.

I also drink some loose green tea and also loose black. Have a tea thermos which has a strainer on top. That way I can re-steep tea. I get 3-4 cups of tea out of a tablespoon of green tea... 2 cups from black.

Just started commuting again and have been trying to solve the same problem. Sounds like I need to get a french press because I am starting to miss my morning cup of Joe.

I am a bit of a "coffee snob" (I can't go full snob because who hasn't broken down and slurped down some of the watery mud from the communal dripper...), love starbucks coffee, and I am something of a beer snob too. I am all about enjoying the journey on the bike, in my thermos, or in my beer stein.

I have this: http://www.rei.com/product/792857/rei-double-shot-press-mug I travel on ships and usually hate the ship coffee so I make my own. I don't like carrying the usual french presses because most are glass. This is a travel mug/french press in stainless steel. REI also has an insulated infuser I used to use for coffee.

Interesting that "coffee snobs" are also fussy about their beer. In my experience, there is a correlation between those who like a rich, flavorful coffee ("Starbucks drinkers") and those who enjoy microbrew beer (especially the ales,which are more varied and stronger in taste than lagers). I would also suspect that these same people would be more likely to enjoy a good premium single-malt Scotch (just using myself as an example). So are those who dislike overly-strong Starbucks also the same people who drink mild coffee (Tim Horton's in Canada) as well as Bud and MGD? And where do tea drinkers fit in? Lots of material for a thesis here!

As for cleaning the press, I just shake the grounds into the garbage, then rinse the unit. But it has to be done right away. The worst thing in the world is to come in on Monday morning and notice that you forgot to rinse out the bodum on Friday!

Luis

I'm with you on the connection between all the flavorful drinks: espresso, ales, and single malt elixirs. However, I have to challenge Starbucks's place in the pantheon. Their beans are over roasted in general, which provides uniformity of taste. But, coffee can be so much better.

Find a real local roaster, or better yet, learn to roast your own beans. It will change your life. check out www.sweetmarias.com : )

Life is too short to drink sub-par coffee. This is a coffee intervention. Step away from the powdered coffee bot. Immediately.

;)

+googolplex