French press coffee maker with assembly to selectively reduce contact of grounds with liquid coffee

摘要

A steeping apparatus is for steeping a solid food material in a liquid to impart a flavor of the solid food material to the liquid to produce a flavored beverage. A container is provided to hold the solid food material and the liquid. A plunger is movable with respect to the container between a first plunger position and a second plunger position. The plunger includes a filter element that, as the plunger moves from the first plunger position to the second plunger position, permits the flow of liquid therethrough but that substantially inhibits the passage of solid food material therethrough. A buffer element is selectable between a closed position and an open position. When the plunger is at the second plunger position and the buffer element is selected to be at the buffering position, the solid food material is substantially decoupled from the flavored beverage. When the buffer element is at the non-buffering position, the solid food material is not substantially decoupled from the flavored beverage.