AMANDY
Greenwood, South Carolina
About me:Love coffee! Recently switched to manual brewing for coffee and espresso (got tired of returning the electric machines after they broke).
My Equipment:
French press
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GOOD COFFEE, SLIGHTLY AWKWARD DESIGN.
amandy | Sun, 03/11/2012 - 14:59It makes good coffee. It looks good. It stays hot. It's kind of awkward to fill with water. If I didn't make 100% sure to close everything properly, the coffee would brew onto the counter instead of into the carafe. It happened a lot - I'm usually a bit groggy when I'm making coffee, you know? Since most of the problem for me was user error (and maybe a little bit design error), I'm giving it four out of five. But the truth is, I did take it back.
MADE A VERY TASTY CUP OF COFFEE!
amandy | Sun, 03/11/2012 - 14:52After knocking my french press into the sink a few weeks ago, my sister loaned me her Clever Dripper while I decided what to do next. I love it! You get the beautiful flavor of a french press coffee, but a clearer cup. Personally, I'm not big on the sediment that comes from the french press filter. Because you use a filter in the clever coffee dripper, you can avoid that. The good: Tastes great, extremely simple to use, and you have control over everything. The good-or-bad: It's plastic - so it doesn't look good for long, but if you're clumsy like me, it will last longer than glass. The bad: It really only makes one (big) cup at a time, and there's no good way to pour half and save half for a bit later. Overall, the good outweighs the bad by a lot, for me.
DELICIOUS!
amandy | Wed, 11/09/2011 - 09:47I've used this in the French Press and in the stovetop Moka pot, and while it's delicious both ways, I prefer it in the Press. I normally love piping hot coffee, but I actually find this to be better if I use water that's not too hot. Regardless of brew type, I can recommend it - I'm so glad I sized up when I ordered this one.
I'M A FAN
amandy | Wed, 11/09/2011 - 09:44I'd been eyeing these for a while as a stovetop alternative to an espresso machine. I've gone through a couple of low-end steam pressure espresso machines, which produce good-enough espresso for me at home, but never paid for themselves as I don't drink espresso every day and they never lasted more than a year. This is something that I can tell will definitely last longer than an electric - but it takes some figuring out to get a perfect cup, and I'm not there yet. I can say that every cup I've made has been very good - but only a couple of times has it come out with the crema and the strength that I was looking for. Obviously, it's not going to get the pressure of a good bar pump espresso machine, but I'd say it's definitely comparable to the steam machines that I have used. I feel like it won't be too long before I figure out the best way to brew in this thing - and already I can tell that for the price and for the expected lifetime, it was a good investment.