Clever Coffee Dripper

[proxymoron]

About two months ago, I finally gave up my French Press out of (as yet imaginary) concerns about my cholesterol. After about a month of making do with a pourover filter, I bought the Clever Coffee Dripper, based in part on a thread I read here.

The CCD does not disappoint. While it certainly can't compare to a bona fide press pot, it comes a lot closer than the old Melitta. The body is noticeably fuller, the flavor richer. The concept is so simple, how could it not?

Anyway, thanks for the reviews. I did stalk coffeegeek as well, but the geekery here is more my speed.

 

[redwing]

wait - i missed something - coffee from a french press is high in cholesterol?

 

[proxymoron]

No, but there've been studies (this and others) linking cafestol (a coffee oil) to increased production of LDL.

The good news is that a paper filter will trap the cafestol. The bad news is that cafestol makes for a better-tasting cup of coffee.

 

[redwing]

so i can put a filter on the underside of my press and be safe;

i'd like to see that study with the ldl association - i'm in medicine;

dont know how great the association is - i drink at least 10-15 POTS a week - some as drip; some as cold press; some as cap; some as espresso; my chol numbers are all good/normal; all i take is 4g fish oil a day;

 

[rabelais99]

I've got to chime in here about this coffee and cholesterol business. Let's put it in perspective:

The study you've cited claims an average of 4 mg of cholesterol in a cup of unfiltered coffee.

A hard boiled egg contains 225 mg of cholesterol.

So you would have to drink 56 cups of unfiltered coffee to match the cholesterol in 1 hard boiled egg.

Keep the coffee, lose the egg!

I'm tired of 'healthy living' fascists and self-proclaimed experts, who want to take away every pleasure in life.

Yes, unfiltered coffee has a small amount of cholesterol. Big whoop. So let's enjoy it in moderation.

 

[proxymoron]

I've got to chime in here about this coffee and cholesterol business. Let's put it in perspective: The study you've cited claims an average of 4 mg of cholesterol in a cup of unfiltered coffee.

I'm tired of 'healthy living' fascists and self-proclaimed experts, who want to take away every pleasure in life.

It's not about the cholesterol in the coffee, it's about what the cafestol in the coffee does to the cholesterol levels in your bloodstream. Cafestol can stimulate significantly more production of LDL (I think 10% was the figure) at even two cups of coffee a day.

And no one's advocating anything except the Clever Coffee Dripper on this thread.

 

[proxymoron]

so i can put a filter on the underside of my press and be safe; dont know how great the association is - i drink at least 10-15 POTS a week - some as drip; some as cold press; some as cap; some as espresso; my chol numbers are all good/normal; all i take is 4g fish oil a day;

I actually thought of that as well (pressing the coffee and pouring through a filter) but this is a lot easier. A quick search for cafestol will turn up the Dutch study I linked, as well as a couple of American ones that replicated their results.

I've got enough friends on Lipitor/Crestor that I figured it was time to start paying attention... especially with the craziness in my genes.

 

[Erik]

With no cholesterol in you body you would die a horrible death.

About 80% of the cholesterol in your body is made by your own liver.

Coffee is a stimulant. It stimulates all you organs. It will even make your hair grow faster.

A stimulated liver will produce more cholesterol.

That's about it.

 

[SiBurning]

I've had the clever coffee dripper for a couple months but only tried it today for the first time. Mistake. This is really good. As you can imagine, the coffee's richer than a drip, but not as nice as a press. Best thing is it's simple to clean up, which is what holds me back from using a press more often. Finally, it immerses more than a manual drip, so it's much easier to get the timing right. Although, the grind size still has an effect on how long it takes to empty/drip out into the cup.

The only down side is the size. It only makes 15-16 oz of coffee. Also, it doesn't fit on my mug, so I've had to downsize to a 22 oz beer mug.

 

[mouscacha]

The only down side is the size. It only makes 15-16 oz of coffee. Also, it doesn't fit on my mug, so I've had to downsize to a 22 oz beer mug.

Beer mug? Genius!!!

 

[Edcculus]

Hey, I like it!. I have a similar contraption for making loose leaf tea. Instead of a coffee filter, it has a fine mesh built into the bottom. The bottom is also more flat, and not conical like the coffee version. It makes for a very easy pot of tea and gives the leaves plenty of room to bloom. I tried making coffee in it once, but the mesh at the bottom just doesn't jive with coffee grounds.

 

[The Nid Hog]

Ah, I wish that I had bought one of these. I meant to put my ceramic dripper in my suitcase before I left for a pretty long trip this summer, but I ended up forgetting it. Now I've been forced to rely on one that I bought at a local Starbucks. It has a stainless filter and is shaped rather like a Vietnamese coffee dripper. It makes coffee that is drinkable, but nothing to write home about.

 

[KaiserKrebs]

...now my coffee needs to watch it's cholesterol too?

 

[SiBurning]

Beer mug? Genius!!!

More like super genius, Wile E. Coyote style.

My normal routine is to rinse the filter and heat the dripper by placing the dripper over the mug and pouring hot water over the filter, letting it drip into the mug, heating the mug as well. Then I make the coffee, dump the water from the cup, and sit the dripper over the mug, finally adding milk & sugar at the end. For some perverse reasons unbeknownst to me I reversed the process today and added milk & sugar to the mug just after pouring off the hot water, which is what I normally do with other methods, if only because I have time while waiting for the brew to brew. Today, as I returned the milk to the refrigerator, I heard two clinks, as if a spoon had dinged a glass cup. Sure enough, the mug had two long cracks in it.

Oh, well! I have another. Guess this means a shopping trip in the near future. I wonder if they make 24 oz beer mugs in pyrex.

 

[Jasonian]

...now my coffee needs to watch it's cholesterol too?

Cholesterol and heart disease is one of the most misunderstood facets of the poor health facing this country (United States). It's not genes (although they certainly do play a role). It's diet.

Vegetable fats can do no harm on their own. The presence of animal fats is what does the harm. Without the animal fats, vegetable fats simply wouldn't stick. All of them are liquid at body temperature. Vegetable fats do not contain cholesterol. They may contain vegetable low density lipids, but those are not harmful in the absence of animal fats.