I love me a cup of french press coffee, so smooth and delicious, beats the hell out of that swill you get for $4 a pop. However, there is one little thing that I hate about using a french press: cleaning the bastard. So obnoxious. All the grounds are smashed into the bottom of the carafe and the only way to get them out is to scoop it out bit by bit with a long spoon. Dreadful.

I’ve even pondered with issue with my co-workers, suggesting that there must be a better way. My idea was the “Coffee Press Condom”, which may possibly need a different name, but it would fit into the carafe, the grounds would go into it and when you were done you’d pull out the condom and toss it in the trash. Ok, it’s not the greatest idea in the world, but it would work.

However, thanks to the guys over at Kaffeolgie my “Coffee Press Condom” will never see the light of day. That’s because they came out with the “Coffee Catcher” which is essentially a mesh disk that you put in the bottom of your coffee press before adding the grounds. It then sits on the bottom during brewing and when it’s time to clean up you pull it up and all the grounds come up with it. Stainless steel sweetness.

They were nice enough to send over a couple so that I could see how they work. In order to get the disk in and out, there is a little detachable handle that slides into some tabs to secure it. I thought that this would turn out to be the downfall of this device, how are you ever going to find those holes when it’s covered with coffee grounds? Well, if you line them up with the spout, it’s actually pretty easy to find and lock into place.

I gave it a shot this evening and it worked pretty darn well. I had a bit of trouble maneuvering the handle off the tabs once it was in the press and when I pulled the grounds out some got stuck on the rim of the press. I think like anything else though, once you do it a couple of times it will become second nature and you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it.

It’s pretty neat little product that fills a need, so I’m down with it. If you’d like to get one for yourself you can do so from their website or they are also available on Amazon. They have also given me a few to give away to readers to keep your eyes out for the contest later this week.