Amy Cray

I simply adore making a single drip cup of coffee in the morning. It allows me such control (too much, really) over the acidity, temperature and strength of the brew that I can make it to my exact perfectionist standards.

So every morning while my wife brews a regular old pot of coffee for herself, I turn on the kettle and grind the beans for my single cup. This involves, currently, your basic plastic filter cone pictured here, which fits directly on top of my cup:

There is certainly nothing wrong with this practice.. it's economical and easy to clean since the paper filter one inserts is removed when the coffee is ready, and is just tossed into the compost. A quick rinse on your cone, let it drip dry (and I love mine so much it has a permanent hook on the side of the kitchen cupboard) and you're done!

Or so I thought. Bodum has gone and made a mockery of my little plastic filter cone.

The "Dripper" is made entirely of glass and consists of a jug, and a separate filter cone that seals when pressed onto the base. One would place a filter (this one comes with the pictured gold filter, no pedestrian paper used here) into the cone, add the grinds, pour in the hot water. Once the coffee is made, the filter cone is lifted off and a glass lid seals the heat in so one can enjoy the coffee without having to gulp it down while it's hot.

The lines are intentionally simple, and it seems almost 1940's with its lack of flourish. I really like utilitarian kitchen design items and always worry about how overkitsched things will age with my kitchen. I have fears of someday being surrounded by country bear platters and fleur de lis(es), and wondering how I wandered so far astray.

My friend Rich the Triathlete loves coffee as much as I do but is infinitely more concerned with heat factor. He can't stand to drink warm coffee and wants every sip to be as piping-searing hot as possible (the latte bowls I use for special friends obviously don't go over well with him as they cool the coffee before you can say "good morning"). The Dripper would surely have a fan in Rich and, likely, the rest of us.

It's dishwasher safe, won't absorb the good coffee oils, and is practical, blah blah blah.

I feel again as though I'm finally wearing my fresh pair of Esprit jeans, only to find out they went out of style yesterday.