Awesome thing: French press coffee.

Last year, sometime in March, I got really sick with what turned out to be a bad UTI (I'm sorry) but that I originally thought was some sort of gastrointestinal issue—I would be sick to my stomach for two days and then recover, only to have the whole process start up again a week or so later. Needless to say, it was not fun.

Wow, if that opening paragraph doesn’t make you want to keep reading this blog post, I don’t know what will. Urinary tracts! Vomit! Yay! (Again, I’m sorry.)

Anyway, one of the days I was particularly sick was after I’d tossed back a huge cup of really, really strong coffee. Here’s a fun fact about me: I like caffeine. I probably like it a little too much. After a cup-and-a-half of coffee, I start to sound like I’m on speed. “How much caffeine have you had today?” is a question I get asked pretty frequently, and it’s usually because I’ve started talking a mile a minute, thanks to the caffeine.

(Side note: Did I ever tell you my nickname in high school was “Speedy”? I gave a presentation in my freshman English class and was so nervous that I plowed through what was supposed to be five minutes of stuff in less than three, earning myself that nickname, which stuck with me for four years. Good times. Also: Oh my God, I need to JUST FOCUS on writing this blog post. Back to the story at hand.)

After I got so sick (again, from what I assumed was the huge cup of coffee I drank right before all the sick), the doctor I went to—even after he determined that the problem was not a gastro thing—suggested I cut back on caffeine for awhile, just in case. So I did: I switched my morning cup of coffee to chai tea and I was really good about avoiding most caffeine at all cost, save for the occasional iced tea every now and then.

But, you know, things change. People change. And more than a year later, I found myself craving something stronger than tea every afternoon at 3 p.m. So I started drinking the occasional latte. Then I started making cold-brew (see: here). And then recently I decided that it would probably be better for my body if I imbibed the majority of my caffeine in the morning instead of in the middle of the afternoon, right on the precipice of that point where the caffeine might cause you to not be able to sleep at night. So I did. Specifically, I did so with a French press. And it was a game-changer.

For years, I cycled through $10 coffeemakers from Target—you know the kind: plastic, white, breakable—and when I started drinking cold-brew, all I really needed was a wooden spoon and a jar. But when I started making hot coffee in the morning again, I decided to get a French press (specifically this jaunty little green one, also available at your friendly neighborhood Target). And it’s so simple and the coffee is SO GOOD. Seriously, I now look forward to the taste of the coffee and not the cream and sugar. You have to pay a little more attention to brewing time with the French press, but seriously: all you do is pour water over coarse coffee grinds, stir and press. Easy-peasy. Coffee, I love you.

Are you guys coffee drinkers? And if so, do you French press?