March 30, 2012

How to clean a French coffee press

Well, there's just no way to avoid a little mess when cleaning your coffee press. Reason being: no coffee filter that neatly holds the grounds. No doubt you're going to get coffee grounds on your hands, but that's just the nature of the beast. I assure you, making coffee in a French press is sooooo worth the little bit of mess for clean up. It's just the best cup of coffee you can make at home!

So here's the deal . . . the wet coffee grounds are stuck way down at the bottom of this 9 inch glass carafe. You DO NOT want to rinse the coffee grounds down your sink. I have read that this can eventually clog your drain! Coffee grounds should be disposed of in trash or added to your garden, flowering bushes or compost bin. I usually try to whip, flick and shake the grounds out of the press into the trash, but I always end up getting coffee spatters on the wall behind the trash can. Of course, who wants to clean up that mess!  

Here's my new way of doing it!

small colander in sink


place coffee filter in colander


remove plunger from press and set aside


find wet messy coffee grinds at bottom of carafe


dump and shake wet grounds into filter

wa-lah!


ok, still some left . . . no problem


pour small amount of water into carafe to capture grounds


swish and swoosh water around 


pour out into coffee filter


disassemble plunger, scrape or tap off extra grounds into coffee filter and rinse well


wash all parts in warm soapy water or put in dishwasher



tilt colander to dump liquid otherwise it will take forever to drain


throw away filter full of grounds

All done! And your drain in your sink is safe!
Enjoy your coffee!
Well . . . drink your coffee first, then clean your press! 
LOL!