Sounds great, but I wonder if the oils from the coffee would ruin the taste of whatever else you made... No matter how much you wash it, seems to have residual coffee taste.

I have different coffee and tea travel mugs and thermoses for that reason.
You would almost need a press never used for coffee...

I had the same thought (as I too have different tea and coffee thermoses) but I think you'll be okay with a glass French press -- the flavors shouldn't translate so easily. Only one way to find out, though! Will definitely give this a thought. I can't believe I never thought of tea in a FP...

I agree, ml2c. I am a tea drinker, and I can detect a coffee-tainted travel mug in one sip.

With as much use as my French press gets making coffee alone, I'm OK with it being a single use tool. I would never use it to 'infuse oils' for fear of tainting my precious morning cup!

The "5 Favorite French Presses" link is throwing a 404 error.

Figuring out I could rinse quinoa in my french press was awesome. I also use it to make loose tea. My french press is all glass and metal, and if I wash it well, lingering flavors have not been a problem. And I can be pretty picky.

I don't see the problem with single use tools if you use them regularly and they make your life easier and more pleasant. I agree that I wouldn't use oils in the French press, it could really ruin your coffee if the oil seasons it.

I never use anything coffee related to make something else. I don't care how clean something is, the coffee is tainted by the taste of the other items. I'm not a purist on much of anything, but here is where I draw the line. The WORST sin is plain coffee kept in a thermos at a coffee place that previously had some horrible fakey flavored coffee in it. I won't go back!

I love the quinoa tip!!! It's always such a pain using my colander.

Sorry, but oh hell no. I would not pollute my french press with flavored oils, starch from quinoa, or anything else. I can't imagine being able to completely clean their residues and flavor from the fine mesh.

Thanks! We've fixed it.

I no longer have one but I did froth milk and make tea with it. I even bought a mini one once to froth my milk--cheap hand milk frother! It was geeky and fun. Now rinsing things, I never thought of that... why not?! I want to get another one!!

@Parnassus My thoughts exactly.

Sorry but no. I sell coffee and everything related to coffee. A french press should ONLY be used for coffee. Who wants to have flovored oils in their coffee and vice versa?

Take bourbon soaked coffee beans, split a vanilla bean, and top it off with your favorite Russian Imperial Stout in your coffee press. Boom, you have your own Randall. (Dry-hopping with fresh whole cone hops or anything else you could imagine also works.

http://thefuj.com

I use mine for tea, frothing milk, and for coffee...it's glass & metal so it cleans well and doesn't retain residual flavors.

any time i have an issue with lingering food tastes, residues, or odors in any sort of container, i just soak it in white vinegar.

I agree with the above posts. The suggestions in the article are good if you have a french press that is not used for coffee grains.

That sounds amazing. Added to my to-do list...

I've never rinsed quinoa. I'm going to pretend that I didn't read that maybe you're supposed to.

i'm thinking a dedicated french press could be used to strain green juice or nut milks made in vitamix

no thanks.

i do NOT want to make coffee after rinsing my shrimp.

go to the dollar store and buy a cheap sieve.

I was at a coffee roastery a few years ago where the proprietress was making iced coffees from cold-brewed coffee. I'd never heard of cold-brewed coffee before so I asked her about it; she then started trying to sell me some $50 complicated-looking, bulky gizmo so I could make it myself at home. Figured my french press would work beautifully, and it did, and it makes a liter of cold-brew at a time, enough for a week of iced coffees.

I am in favor of multi-uses, but not this set - sorry. Coffee is not to be messed with! Cold brew makes sense - I did that for years in a specially designed set up - I'll try it with my french press.

I think most French presses are too delicate for an aggressive pumping action. I'd be devastated if mine broke! Next time you're in IKEA, get a $2 milk frothing wand. You won't regret it!

agree with everyone else, like grinders the smell/taste of the coffee bleeds through and you'd need a dedicated non coffee one. Anything used to make coffee and I can taste/smell it when having tea from the same equipment.

@dawnie Haha I instantly made the same decision.

A world of no. Tea goes in the tea pot, coffee goes in the coffee pot. (my partner was a dedicated coffee addict, I was a tea addict... after 7 years, we've reached a comfortable detente) We use a French press for coffee because like a tea pot, it's a wonderful single use tool that works precisely as it ought.

Bodum does make tea pots with presses that work very nicely for strong flavored black teas like Assam or English Breakfast blends. If you're the sort of tea drinker who favors such teas, it might be just what you want. I found it was much less successful with other sorts of tea, and I'm kind of a Darjeeling addict, so when the pot went the way of all glassware, I did not replace it.

I have two french presses-- one for tea, one for coffee. Even though the only plastic part is the very top of the press where the liquid exits, coffee flavor invariably ruins tea. I like the idea of multi-use items but there are necessary exceptions-- having to do a multi-day baking soda paste soak to get the coffee flavor (or mussels flavor-- *shudder*) out to make tea is not worth it. The press still takes up less room than a full blown coffe pot.

Ok - if you people have lingering coffee residue in your french press (or mugs or whatever) you're not cleaning it well enough. I am a coffee geek, but I'm practical and have used my french press for tea. BUT I clean it well so there's no worry about lingering coffee. You should be cleaning out your coffee press as soon as you are done with it, don't let the grounds sit in there. If you're making coffee later, you don't want the flavor of stale cups gone by tainting your current coffee...

Yeah, I don't think so.

I wouldn't use one French press for all of the above uses. I'd have a few presses.

It works really well to strain homemade broth since you can plunge the hot vegetables and get all the juice and then neatly pour it out.

We don't drink coffee from our French press anymore, so it's just sitting all forlorn in the cupboard. I'll be able to use a few of these ideas to keep it useful. I was just getting ready to toss it! (I.e. give it away)