Roast from Kilimanjaro Tanzania, free trade coffee made available by Cafe Direct ... and my new French Press

I was scratching my head searching for a new supplier for traditional coffee roasters, those that usually supply to the local coffee shops. My usual coffee supplier, previously located in Amoy Street, have shifted to Paya Lebar. I was out on an errand to get food and had to rush home and so I had to forgo the idea of visiting my supplier at their new address and decided to try the packed ground coffee that's available in Cold Storage supermarket. A brand called Cafe Direct caught my eye. I've chosen a pack of Kilimanjaro but there actually more varietals to choose from. I don't usually think much about packed coffee from supermarkets but this Cafe Direct coffee with French Press did leave an impression.

Flipping the pack to the back, one can understand and connect with the brand name. Cafe Direct, coffee directly from the growers. This pack of coffee is Fair trade coffee where the growers get paid higher than when their coffee is supplied to a middle man. Fair trade coffee promotes greater incentive to the growers which can then improve their working conditions. Wanna find out more about fair trade coffee? Click here. I think it's real cool to have the face of the pulper on the package of the coffee that you'll be drinking.

The little symbols on the package tells you the strength of the coffee and what form of brewing is suitable. That's why I'm getting myself a French Press. 

Here's my little Hario French press at about S$27 and that's good for 6 cups. Why French press when filter drip brewing is available to me at home? Well, the same ground coffee will taste different with the different brewing methods. As the coffee beans are being roasted, coffee oils that's purged out and coat the beans gave the coffee extra flavor. I got a friend who said French pressed coffee taste different and here's why. By using filters, this oil is usually filtered, leaving it less flavorful. With a French press, you'll get all the flavor because all the filtering is done by the steel mesh plunger that just helps to segregate the coffee ground and minimize the lost of flavor. You can sit the coffee for 1 minute to 5 minute depending on the body you want to get out of the same amount of coffee powder. The French Press, although a simple contraption, made the coffee so much more flavorful. In addition, there are so many indie cafes in Singapore that roast their own beans and sell them in small batches. Just to name a few, there's Toby's Estate, Smitten, Loysel's Toy, Papa Palheta, 93 degrees C and Jimmy Monkey. So this French Press couldn't come at a better time than now.

Here's a link to Cafe Direct Website.