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Pascal Press initial impressions

My kick starter reward for the Pascal Press campaign, a travel mug that can brew it's own coffee.  Here are my initial observations after the 3rd cup.

  • The materials and construction seem to be good it's made of Polypropylene, stainless steel, and  silicone rubber.  Everything mostly fits together nicely.
  • The screen printing of the logo an max grounds fill line is already half worn off, and rubs off with just a finger wipe.  I've had to lightly etched the fill line in with a knife.
  • The silicone grip appears to be cylindrical, whereas the press body is slightly conical, so the fit is a bit loose towards the bottom of the grip.  A tighter and/or conical grip would fix that.
  • The screw top lid needs 2 hands to open and has no storage place when off.  some sort of keeper like whats on a standard nalgene bottle would be nice.
  • Heat retention is not good. it seems like it will stay hot for about an hour, this might be related to the next point.
  • The inner cup is held entirely in place entirely by the stiffness of the seals. Some sort of light detente to hold it in would be nice.  I've noticed it popping back up by about 2-3 mm.
  • Used grounds get stuck in the spokes of the filter holder, and that can make for messy cleanup.
  • A larger capacity used grounds cavity would be nice, as it stands the full cup I'm brewing seems a little weak, and the only option I have to change the ratio would be to use less water.
  • Produced coffee seems to be on par with the upside-down areopress method. again, maybe a little weak... I'll need to get some better beans.
  • The volume for the grounds doesn't seem to be stated anywhere. 
All in all I'm a bit iffy on whether or not I can make this work as a daily driver.  I might just be spoiled by the 20 oz Stainless mug I've been toting around for the past 3 years.  That being said, it may be just the thing for a backwoods backpacker brewer.  I'll keep at it for a week or so, then post again with some more details and observations.

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