Is it possible to buy ground coffee and it be as good as whole bean? Dont have a grinder!
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No.

Also, you want a coarse grind for the press. Find a good coffee from an online roaster, and you can buy it ground. Just won't be as good as grinding your own.
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You could also get some fresh coffee from your local coffee shop. They will most likely grind it to your specs for no charge.
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I agree with this 100%
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Bodum makes a great french press, and you can get a size to fit you too, if you're just wanting to make a single cup or enough for two people and multiple cups.

Make sure you get a burr grinder, don't get one of those blade grinders, they don't grind the coffee evenly and you end up with some coarse ground coffee and fine ground coffee. Doesn't work well with the french press (or drip for that matter). The burr grinder gets a great even grind. You can pick a decent one up from Target for around $25.

As far as coffee beans go here are the do's and dont's. Do buy whole bean. Do try different brands, you'll find one you like. Don't buy the grocery store bulk coffee in those bins...you don't know how long they've been sitting there. Biggest don't of all? Don't buy flavored coffee. Those are the coffee beans that were near the back of the truck that have all the wonderful exhaust flavoring imparted into the bean. The "flavoring" they put into those beans covers that up. If you want flavor in your coffee, buy some syrups and add those into your brewed cup.


Hope this helps you attain that wonderful and delicious cup of home brewed coffee. Yeah it seems like alot of work, but once you get the process down you won't spend any more time making it in the morning than you would waiting in line at the drive thru at whatever coffee place you'd go to. Plus, on the weekends a delicious fresh brewed cup of coffee goes great with a cigar :-)
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I have been a huge fan of the French press for years,,,,BUT you got to try the AeroPress
Here is a link to a thread about it..
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=30772
Grind it fine, it has a filter so no French press silt...And so smooth. Yum...
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:-)

Great advice above.

I just bought a burr grinder after my whirlybird took a dump. Wow what a difference. Burr grinder is the way to go. I always thought Moo was a burr grinder salesmen and was pulling my leg.

I used to drink Foldgers, Maxwell House, etc, black in an auto drip and thats all I would drink, and liked it. Once I started getting into buying whole beans and then the French Press I never went back to Drip or the other coffees mentioned above, they just don't taste right anymore. I have to add sugar and sometimes cream to make them tolerable to drink. Then I got into home roasting. Thats another story there.

Sometimes I wish I would have stuck with the cheap grocery store mass produced ground stuff and never got into the good stuff, but now I'm addicted to the good now and if I had to go back to the cheap crap I would probably just stop drinking coffee.
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I can't choke down McDonald's coffee, it's way too acid for me. Gives me heartburn.
I haven't had a cup in years, but when I was forced to "way back when" I would dump a packet of salt in it. That smooths out the bitter and acid.
We have convenience stores here called Sheetz. I like their coffee, but it's poop, really. It's about two rungs above Mickey D's, but I'm strangely drawn to it. I put a ton of milk in it so I can drink it.
For fresh ground coffee, I usually get Tanzanian Peaberry and Ethiopian Yirgacheff at Target, mix the two, and burr grind it. It's really good for a change of pace.
Other than that, I drink Maxwell House Light, or I mix their house blend with Walmart brand decaf. Keeps the caffiene down and I need it that way. I'm not even supposed to drink it, it screws me up.
I thought the comment about Starbucks being a 10 was funny. It tastes like dirt to me. I always b!tch when Lisa or the kids make me go to Starbucks because I just plain don't like it.
DD and Mister Donut coffee I always really liked. It's low acid and sweet like the Peaberry or JBM.
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Yeah...I'll drink starbucks, I don't hate it per se, but their coffee is over roasted IMO.

My all time favorite is 100% Kona coffee. My grandparents/mother/aunt lived in Hawaii when my grandpa was stationed there in the 70's and fell in love with the place. They live here in Texas now, but they visit almost every year. Whenever they go I have them bring me back some Kona fresh off the island, hehe.
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I was getting some 100% kona from the farmer's market in Hilo, but it's super scarce. One of the brothers here used to send it for me. It's very limited and in high demand. The price reflects it, but I've paid a lot more for half as good.
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My parents are moving to Hawaii, they're still up in the air which island they want to move to. Whichever one it is though I'm hoping I'll be able to get a regular shipment of Kona Coffee from them :-) lol.

Speaking of Kona Coffee, a little off topic but not entirely...

If you can find it, try the Kona Brewing Co. - Pipeline Porter. It's brewed with Kona coffee and is definitely one of my fav Porters :-)
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I have to stay away from the stuff. The caffeine really works up my condition. From time to time I can cheat, but if I buy a bag, I'll put myself in the hospital. I'm that stupid. :-)
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I drink McDonalds coffee, but the best coffee for me is old convenient store coffee.
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McD's... haven't drank it since I worked there. I found a little bit of their soft serve in the bottom of the cup made it drinkable. Lets us not talk about how long ago that was though.....

Target carries French presses in various shapes and sizes. IIRC, even a travel mug press for one cup on the go. As well as blade grinders for sub-$30. They aren't great, but they get the job done.

For beans check your grocery stores or local coffee shops. Pick up a 1/2 pound and have them grind it. In my area, most mega-marts have whole bean coffee and a grinder right there.

Google turned up this article for independent coffee shops in Miami:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/art...od_cup_of.html
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Oh boy, the way this thread is going.... if you are already considering buying roasted and getting a french press and grinder.... you will be roasting and hanging in the coffee forums with the rest of us!
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My wife is out buying the press and the grinder! No roasting yet!
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Took less than 17 hours.

I think that's a new record.
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Have had my press for two days now. Works perfect. Got some course DD coffee. Tastes great. Definately thicker and more flavorful!
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Try anything other than the standard grocery brands (Folgers, Maxwell House, etc) it should be better!
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McDonald's now has amazing coffee! If you haven't tried it in the last year or so, you should give it a try. It's absolutely wonderful.

It used to be awful, but in Canada, people line up around the clock for fast food coffee (tim horton's) and so McD's worked on a superior coffee and they've done it.

Also Wendy's in Canada has great coffee now too.
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