Making Good Coffee Is a Lot Like Making Good Love

Making coffee is an art that should be approached with the same degree of anticipation and ardor as the art of making love: The real trick is to go about it with a slight degree of detachment, but bring to it as many senses as possible.

Enjoy the sight, the smell, the touch, the manipulation, the grind, the brewing, the sharing, the fulfillment.

Never go about it precisely the same way each time. Be inventive. Change the grind, do not overly crush your beans, warm the pot, avoid overheating or the whole thing may go rancid, never, never try to brew before the correct temperature is reached.

Your taste buds are more receptive to differing flavors at different times -- make your coffee or your love accordingly, remembering to laugh along the way. Every once in a while just plain stop what you are doing and dance.

However, there are certain rules that are never violated:

always use clean utensils; take your time; serve the ladies first.

And to ensure the very best results, use a French Press.

Here is a popular form of the French press:

To make good coffee with the French Press, start with really good coffee, properly roasted and freshly ground. My personal taste (literally) starts with Peet's = I would like to use their Kilimanjaro, but it isn't always available, but I find that the Kenya Auction Lot is the next best thing. The grind is coarser than you use for drip, but just tell the Peet's people you want to use it with a French Press and they know how to do it.

Like making love, making coffee this way takes time and some concentration, but the results can be fabulous. Use 2 heaping tablespoons of the coffee for each 6 ounces of the brew and drop it in the bottom of the press. Measure the water, using a Pyrex thingy, after it has whistled in your pot = that way you get the proper measure and also allow the water to cool down slightly from its boiling state. Now, whip the water and coffee with a wooden spoon (or a chopstick!!) until a lovely brown foam known as crema is formed on the surface. Put the top on and push down until the screen device is just under the mixture in the press. Set a timer for 3 minutes. Then, press all the way down and serve. If properly done, you will be rewarded with the crema floating on top. Looks and tastes great. Like making love, timing is important.

Crèma is the lovely, golden foam of coffee oils that covers the brew of coffee make with a French Press. Thick with aroma and flavor, it is the sign of proper coffee extraction.