LifeandPeace Senior Member Joined: 9 Nov 2007 Posts: 111 Location: formerly here and there
Espresso: coffee Grinder: is Vac Pot: culinary Drip: not Roaster: commodity
Posted Sat Jul 19, 2008, 1:31pm Subject: Cafe Solo vs. French Press
Among my many geeky coffee devices are a Cafe Solo and a couple Frech presses.
I have done side-by-side blind taste tests with six origins with both devices. All six times I blindly gave the French press the slightest nod above the Cafe Solo.
Granted, the Solo is chic and has a unique tactile experience--but they are both total infusion contraptions. The only difference I can think of (except Solo's dive suit insulation) is the way they separate the grounds: The French press presses them all down before the pour; the Solo separates the grounds at the moment the coffee leaves the glass.
I suppose it's all in the cup in the end, but can anyone tell me why one is substantially better than the other?
pjdiez Senior Member Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 39 Location: Washington, DC Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto Grinder: Super Jolly, Macap MC4, 2... Vac Pot: 5 FP's, Eva CafeSolo,... Drip: Chemex, Mellitta, Bodum Roaster: Behmor
Posted Mon Jul 21, 2008, 8:42am Subject: Re: Cafe Solo vs. French Press
I’m really surprised at the result of your taste tests. In theory, all things being equal, there should be no taste difference between FP and Café Solo.
Are you tasting the coffee immediately after brewing or letting it sit in the Café Solo for a few extra minutes?
I usually brew 6-8 cups in the AM w/ a Café Solo to drink over an hour or more. I ALWAYS decant the coffee from the Café Solo after 4 minutes. The Café Solo is more sensitive to over-extraction than the FP. I prefer the Café Solo because I find it a bit easier to decant and clean up than the FP. I tend to FP when all the coffee will be consumed immediately after it’s brewed.
I’ll have to do my own blind tasting when I have some time.
JVBorella Senior Member Joined: 29 Oct 2007 Posts: 473 Location: northeastern CT. Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: LaSpaziale S1 Vivaldi 2 Grinder: Macap M4,KA Pro,Zassenhaus... Vac Pot: Press Pots/Finum Filters Drip: Melitta BCM-4c Roaster: Before Long
Posted Mon Jul 21, 2008, 9:09am Subject: Re: Cafe Solo vs. French Press
I've noticed the same thing comparing my press brews to using a Finum filter in the cup. I definitely prefer the flavors I get with the Finum over the press.
Posted Mon Jul 21, 2008, 9:15am Subject: Re: Cafe Solo vs. French Press
I like your avatar, LifeandPeace. I believe there is more than one coffee product called a Cafe Solo, as I have a small single cup pourover coffee maker called a Cafe Solo and it's made by Bodum - I am guessing you're not talking about that, are you?
LifeandPeace Senior Member Joined: 9 Nov 2007 Posts: 111 Location: formerly here and there
Espresso: coffee Grinder: is Vac Pot: culinary Drip: not Roaster: commodity
Posted Mon Jul 21, 2008, 9:47am Subject: Re: Cafe Solo vs. French Press
Thanks for your thoughts.
malkore and Spresso_Bean, the Cafe Solo is made by a European design company called Eva Solo. I discovered it while working at Groundwork in Hollywood.
PJDiez, I decanted one cup from each at the same time and consumed both immediately with alternate tastes. You're right about the pour of the Solo. It pours in a most elegantly perfect way! Again, about the taste: My selection of the FP each time was excruciatingly made. They were so close I wonder if some of the choices of the FP were coincidences. Effectively the same.
JVBorella, looks like the Finum will give a distinctively cleaner cup than the FP. The Cafe Solo and FP each produce approximately the same clean-ness (assuming the same grind). I think the FP actually makes a slightly cleaner cup than the Solo because the pressed-down grounds in the FP collect to form a sort of filter of their own. Know what I mean? The Solo is poured and the liquid and solids all come down toward the filter (at the top) simultaneously. Until much of the grounds collect at the filter I think more solids are permitted.
BlueMoon Senior Member Joined: 3 Jan 2007 Posts: 42 Location: Texas Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: None Grinder: Peugeot Hand Mill Vac Pot: None Drip: Presto Scandinavian / Chemex Roaster: UFO/CO; Freshroast 8 Plus
Posted Tue Jul 22, 2008, 6:38am Subject: Re: Cafe Solo vs. French Press
I do a "poor man's solo" -- Drip grind infused in my french press pot -- 4 minute extraction, then pour into cups using Swissgold cone filter. My wife doesn't like fp much b/c of the sediment, although sometimes if I make just right and don't tell her she doesn't know ;-) - this is my solution when I do not want to burn a Chemex filter or drink just a small cup without having to stand and pour...
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