There have been times in my life where
I've had to travel on business, quite a lot. One of the things I'm less than fond about in terms of business travel is mediocre coffee. The hotel room drip pots are fine for a day or two, but the coffee is pretty awful, and most of the time, part of the problem is the pot itself, since it brews at the wrong temperature, it makes two scant cups at a time of weak coffee, and then there's the problem in some cities of exceedingly chlorinated tap water.
My solution is to avoid both the hotel coffee and the $5.00 cup of marginally better coffee from a chain bistro by bringing my own French press and brewing my own coffee. That's a picture of one at the top; I travel with a two-cup/16-oz Bodum "Chambord" French press. The quality of the press is important by the way, because it affects the ease of use, and the quality of the coffee—and it's sturdy enough to travel with. I'm still heating the water in the coffee maker, but I use my own coffee and bottled water (which is readily available at local mini-marts or hotel beverage vending machines), and I make sure that the coffee isn't too hot.
I usually bring enough ground coffee for two or three pots, but then I find a local source of fresh ground coffee; it's pretty easy these days, and on the east and west coast there are lots of family-owned small batch roasters.
The basic mechanism of the French Press is simplicity itself, and needs no electricity—just boiling water, and ground coffee. It's essentially a cylindrical pot, with a plunger and filter mechanism built into the lid. You use the plunger to separate the steeped coffee from the grounds.
Note: The grind of coffee you use is important; it's at least as important as the quality of the roasted beans. You want large particles that are roughly the same size. You do NOT use a fine grind, or a "mixed" grind. You want coarse grounds. The grounds need to be even, and roughly the size of very coarse fresh ground pepper.
- Use two rounded tablespoons of coarsely ground coffee for each 8 oz of water. Adjust to suit taste.
- Place the ground coffee in the bottom of the press pot.
- Boil the water and then remove it from the heat.
- Slowly pour the hot water over the grounds, making sure to evenly saturate all of them.
- Gently stir the grounds with a coffee stirrer, or chop stick or a fork, if you can.
- Cover the pot with the filter/plunger mechanism and let the coffee steep; two to three minutes for 8 to 12 ounces, four for 12 ounces. You'll soon be able to adjust to your preferences.
- Press gently but firmly, and slowly and evenly on the plunger mechanism. Keep the plunger straight, to avoid coffe grounds escaping into the brewed coffee.
- Hold the lid, and being wary of the hot areas of the pot, gently, carefully pour your coffee into a cup.
As much as I like my two-cup Bodum French press, I confess that I've been drawn to the version that has a built-in insulated travel mug; it has a certain convenience level that is attractive, not the least of which is that it keeps 16 oz of fresh brewed coffee hot. If you're curious about using a French Press or "press pot, or "plunger pot," here are two step-by-step how-to guides. Coffee fanatics will tell you it makes the richest brew around, and it's pretty easy.