redjoan Posted March 22, 2009 #1 Share Posted March 22, 2009 We read on this site to get a French Press coffee maker from Target, which we did, for good real coffee. Can anyone tell us what kind of coffee is best and if the coffee is hot enough with this press? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Looking forward to having some REAL coffee on our balcony on the Solstice next week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hylasgirl Posted March 22, 2009 #2 Share Posted March 22, 2009 We read on this site to get a French Press coffee maker from Target, which we did, for good real coffee. Can anyone tell us what kind of coffee is best and if the coffee is hot enough with this press? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Looking forward to having some REAL coffee on our balcony on the Solstice next week! I am thinking of doing the same with mine after all the reports. I had HORRIBLE coffee on the Century. Even the Cova Cafe was nasty! I would use GOOD French Roast in your press. And someone said to just order hot water for tea through room service. Or, go up to the buffet and you can get really hot water there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Duck Cruise Posted March 22, 2009 #3 Share Posted March 22, 2009 We read on this site to get a French Press coffee maker from Target, which we did, for good real coffee. Can anyone tell us what kind of coffee is best and if the coffee is hot enough with this press? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Looking forward to having some REAL coffee on our balcony on the Solstice next week! On Mercury for 15 days we had our room steward bring us a pot of hot water every morning at 7 am to make our coffee. We tipped him $2 every morning for doing that. It was hot enough every time. Use a premium coffee and enjoy. In Hawaii we picked up some 100% Kona extra fancy peaberry and had that on our return trip. That is one awesome coffee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey Interweb Posted March 22, 2009 #4 Share Posted March 22, 2009 The hot water available at Oceanview cafe is right around the proper temperature (just off a boil). The coffee should be a coarse grind - a fine grind will result in muddy coffee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redjoan Posted March 22, 2009 Author #5 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Can you get a course grind in the supermarket? Thanks for all the suggestions.....getting excited now! Now if they serve REAL cream or half and half, we will be in business. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey Interweb Posted March 22, 2009 #6 Share Posted March 22, 2009 If the supermarket sells coffee in bulk, they should have one of the big Bunn grinders or something similar, and you can just set it to coarse grind (some have "french press" grind already labeled on them). Otherwise, buy your coffee at a store where they sell whole bean and will grind it for you, even if it's at - yuck - Starbucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WineDown17 Posted March 22, 2009 #7 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Can you get a course grind in the supermarket? Thanks for all the suggestions.....getting excited now! Now if they serve REAL cream or half and half, we will be in business. :-) You would need to get the whole bean, and perhaps use the grinder in the coffee aisle (our has one.. perhaps yours does too?) - or grind it yourself at home if you have one (grinders are cheap- $10). Another alternative would be Starbucks- they can grind it just right for you as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanWeGoYet? Posted March 22, 2009 #8 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Sure, you can adjust the dial on the grind to what you want. I haven't bought canned coffee in years but I would guess it is at a coarse grind. Or pick up your coffee beans at a starbucks or other coffee vendor, and describe (or bring) the press you will use. They will be able to grind the coffee for you to a proper degree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanWeGoYet? Posted March 22, 2009 #9 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Well, it looks like we all think alike! I wouldn't have posted the same answer but the others came up a hair before mine. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunCruiser56 Posted March 22, 2009 #10 Share Posted March 22, 2009 We use the same coffee we use in our drip coffee maker, a kona blend we bought at Sams Club, also have used a ground blend we bought in the grocery store. Both worked great in the french press. Make sure you bring along something to dispose of the grounds in, baggies or paper filter would work too. Enjoy your coffee! Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Duck Cruise Posted March 22, 2009 #11 Share Posted March 22, 2009 We actually use an AeroPress instead of a French Press now. Our son bought us one because he said it was a better product than the travel french presses. We have even put away our French Press at home and use the AeroPress instead. Check it out if you are interested: http://www.aerobie.com/Products/aeropress_story.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey Interweb Posted March 22, 2009 #12 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I stopped bringing my french press since one of them wound up breaking in my luggage (and, naturally, I cut my hand), but I found an awesome equivalent in the AeroPress. It's acrylic, so it'd take a lot to damage it. These are great for cruises. EDIT: Haha, you beat me to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Duck Cruise Posted March 22, 2009 #13 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I stopped bringing my french press since one of them wound up breaking in my luggage (and, naturally, I cut my hand), but I found an awesome equivalent in the AeroPress. It's acrylic, so it'd take a lot to damage it. These are great for cruises. EDIT: Haha, you beat me to it. It does make a great cup of coffee, doesn't it. And so simple and quick to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey Interweb Posted March 22, 2009 #14 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Oh yes. I love mine and it has all but replaced my french press at home. The only annoyance is that it uses a custom-sized paper filter and I'm either too lazy or too cheap to buy a new supply. Now I just cut ones myself out of a stack of generic filters. I'm handy like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgsmts Posted March 24, 2009 #15 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I usually travel with a small stainless steel french press. I found it at TJ Maxx. The coffee they sell there already ground works great. They have KONA as well as other specialty coffees. I go before each trip and buy a pound. If it isn't ground you can grind it at home and put it back in the bag. My one big bit of advice is that I always double bag the ground coffee in two ziplocs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garardo Posted March 24, 2009 #16 Share Posted March 24, 2009 We have a glass carafe french press that we have had for years. So far no breakage. We have a Burr Grinder that we use for our every day coffee. We will set it to the coarsest setting for the french press coffee and grind a pre determined amount of coffee to last the cruise plus 10% (just in case we want a cup in the afternoon). When we get up in the morning I take the press and fill it with the correct amount of coffee and head up to the buffett area. There they have hot water just off the boil. I fill the press and wait 3 minutes plunge it and we have great coffee. We have not tried the Areopress. We will give it a try when the French press dies. When we are done with the coffee I ask one of the waiters to dump the grinds for us and give him a few $ for this service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunCruiser56 Posted March 24, 2009 #17 Share Posted March 24, 2009 The Aeropress looks interesting and great for travel. I went to Amazon to read some of the many reviews and now I am just confused. Does this brew a small pot of coffee or a small pot of a concentrate that I will have to dilute to get a cup of coffee? I have no interest in expresso or other coffee drinks just plain coffee. Help me out here... Bev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEcruzr Posted March 24, 2009 #18 Share Posted March 24, 2009 FYI...I'm happy to report that the Solstice has half & half in the little containers. We brought our own and didn't need it. The Century had "fake" cream in December... we didn't want to deal with that again. Also, I liked the coffee. I can't stand Starbucks (prefer something more like Folger's). It's strong coffee... but not a dark roast/Starbucks flavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo70 Posted March 24, 2009 #19 Share Posted March 24, 2009 I really wish one of the cruise lines would work out a deal with Starbucks to have an actual Starbucks on a cruise ship. That would be a match made in heaven! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ab0si Posted March 24, 2009 #20 Share Posted March 24, 2009 As mentioned, you want a coarse grind for pressed coffee. The bean and roasting is up to your tastes. A couple of additional points: 1) It is basically impossible to make great coffee on-board unless you use bottled water. The water on-board has way too much chloride and salts to make great coffee. 2) Coffee requires a high temperature for a "perfect cup." Some experts recommend 98C; others as low as 93C. It is highly doubtful that the water from room service is going to be this hot. the coffee you make will still be better than the brownish pseudo stuff provided by the ship, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redjoan Posted March 25, 2009 Author #21 Share Posted March 25, 2009 We have been practicing with our new French Press at home, getting ready for our cruise this weekend! I will say that the coffee is not as hot as we like it, but agree it will be better tasting than the coffee they deliver in room service. (and that coffee is not all that hot in temp either). Do you pack some dish detergent to wash the pot out? So glad to hear they have real half and half on the Solstice! thanks for all the suggestions. I wish I could take my Keurig coffee maker with me!! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ab0si Posted March 25, 2009 #22 Share Posted March 25, 2009 We have been practicing with our new French Press at home, getting ready for our cruise this weekend! I will say that the coffee is not as hot as we like it, but agree it will be better tasting than the coffee they deliver in room service. (and that coffee is not all that hot in temp either). Do you pack some dish detergent to wash the pot out? So glad to hear they have real half and half on the Solstice! thanks for all the suggestions. I wish I could take my Keurig coffee maker with me!! LOL The temperature I referred to was the brewing temp; not the drinking temp. :) My coffee rules: Excellent coffee: hot and black Decent coffee: add cream Average coffee: add Bailey's Cruise coffee: throw out the coffee and drink the Bailey's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey Interweb Posted March 25, 2009 #23 Share Posted March 25, 2009 The Aeropress looks interesting and great for travel. I went to Amazon to read some of the many reviews and now I am just confused. Does this brew a small pot of coffee or a small pot of a concentrate that I will have to dilute to get a cup of coffee? I have no interest in expresso or other coffee drinks just plain coffee. Help me out here... Bev The max fluid volume this puppy will hold is ~300ml (about 10oz). You can brew to any strength you like; my sweet spot is 2.5 tablespoons of grinds to 240ml water. You can brew at any strength you like. Believe me, this thing was money well spent and I don't say that often. I'm so thrilled by simple things that just plain work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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