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By Jarrett Melendez and Noah Kaufman
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Even the best French press does not have the set-it-and-forget-it convenience of a drip coffee maker or precisely the same coffee aficionado cachet as a pour-over kit, but if you’re looking for a quick and uncomplicated brewing method for your morning cup of coffee, it is hard to beat. The process of making press coffee is simpler than espresso or pour-over, but the marketplace is bursting with all sorts of subtle variations on the form, each one claiming its own innovations and vying for coffee press supremacy. There are borosilicate glass carafes, affordable plastic frames, and insulated stainless-steel models with double filters.
We brewed, plunged, and sipped our way through a slew of well-regarded presses in an array of materials, shapes, and sizes. The goal: to find the best French press—one that produces great coffee and can withstand intensive everyday use. Keep reading to see our top pick; for the specifics of how we tested and other models we considered, scroll to the bottom of the page.
The best French press The best value French press An affordable stainless-steel option How we tested What we looked for Other French presses we tested The takeaway
The Espro P7, Espro’s high-end, double-walled stainless steel press just feels like a serious coffee maker. The pitcher is heavy with a handle that seems bomb proof. But it’s the “dual micro filter” system that really sets this coffee maker apart. Yes, the multiple filters, plus the double-lipped silicone ring, plus the strainer on the lid do have a “F*** Everything, We’re Going to Five Blades” thing going on, but they really work. The filter system on the Espro came the closest to producing a clean cup, free of coffee grounds and grit of anything we tested. If for some reason you want and even cleaner cup Espro also makes paper filters, which you can add to the French press filter system. But even though that list of pieces sounds like a pain to disassemble and clean it was quite easy to do. The plunger unscrews just like it does in almost every French press you’ve ever used and the two incredibly fine mesh filters unclick and slide apart with an easy twist. Espro says all parts are dishwasher safe on the top rack, and we didn’t have any issues running it through, but given how fine the filters are and that they are the secret sauce that makes the press work, we’d recommend handwashing for longevity purposes.
Another excellent feature of the Espro P7 is that, unlike almost every other press we tested, it is actually designed to stop the coffee extraction process. After you press the plunger it separates the grounds from the coffee that pours from the carafe. That’s why there is always some liquid that remains at the bottom of the carafe after it seems you’ve poured everything out. So, note: it’s a feature, not a bug that you can’t pour every last drop. In fact, it’s what stops over-extracted coffee from getting in your cup. What this design also means is that this is the only insulated French press that can make good use of that insulation. As long-time coffee pro Ever Meister explains in their extensive how-to on French press coffee, the extraction process continues to take place as long as the coffee and water are still in contact. The only way to stop that is to pour all the coffee out of the press after the four minute brewing period ends. That means there’s little use in owning an insulated French press; it will only encourage you to keep coffee brewing in it for long periods of time, which you shouldn’t do. But the Espro P7 has actually designed around that issue. Its insulation is only okay, though. After 90 minutes it had dropped almost to room temperature.
Like we said, the double-walled carafe does a so-so job of keeping coffee warm—it’s definitely not capable of, say, what you’d get in a good vacuum insulated travel mug. We aren’t judging too harshly though since it’s the only press of the bunch we’d even consider leaving coffee in. We also tested the larger P7—it comes in 18 ounces and 32 ounces—and unless you’re having people over for brunch or you’re in a household that has four coffee drinkers, it may be bigger than you need. The amount of coffee you’d brew in the 18-ounce version would be fine for one or two people.
Size: 6.7” x 4.6” x 10.1” Weight: 2.7 lbs. Material: Stainless steel Capacity: 32 ounces (18 ounces also available) Warranty: Limited lifetime warranty
The Espro P3, is a cheaper version of the Espro P7 with a plastic frame and a glass beaker instead of a single piece of stainless steel. It uses the same filtration system as the P7, which meant very very little sediment in the cup. Also, a big cut in price from the last time we tested made this truly a budget choice. Considering it uses a glass carafe rather than a double-walled steel one, it does a nice job of keeping the coffee warm (though not as nice a job as the P7), and again, because of its filtration system, you can leave the coffee in the press without worrying about unwanted extraction.
It is a cheaper model than its luxe cousin and it shows in the plastic frame. It didn’t feel like it would break, but was quite lightweight. That frame also meant we weren’t thrilled with the idea of keeping it on the countertop permanently and would want to store it away.
Size: 6.1” x 4.3” x 9.5” Weight: 1.8 lbs. Material: Borosilicate glass and BPA-free polypropylene Capacity: 32 ounces Warranty: Limited lifetime warranty
The Espro's unique filtration system.
First, we unboxed and cleaned each press and made some general notes about its design, size, and other physical features. Then we brewed a full pot using a 14 to 1 ratio of grams of water to grams of coffee, medium/coarse ground coffee beans and 200°F water. Then we dismantled each press, cleaned it, and reassembled it. We put parts that said they were dishwasher safe in the dishwasher. We continued incorporating our favorite presses into our regular daily coffee routing for two weeks.
We didn’t test specifically for long term heat retention in the carafes because, as we explained above, the Espros were the only models we’d feel comfortable leaving coffee in once the brew was finished.
Upon unboxing each French press, we considered how it felt and looked. Is the body sturdy and solid in the hand? Do the materials seem high-quality? Does it look good on the table?
Related to feel, we also considered how comfortable brewing coffee with each French press was. Does the press feel balanced in the hand when pouring? How heavy is it when filled? Does the plunger work tightly and smoothly or does it jostle and squeak during use?
Is the filtration system effective at keeping the grounds and coffee separate? Or does the coffee have a muddy, gritty taste? Is it balanced? Or bitter and over-extracted?
If you’re going to use a press every day, you’ll want it to be easy to clean. With that in mind, we paid attention to how hard the filter was to rinse, whether the carafe was easy to scrub, and whether the parts were dishwasher-safe.
The Oxo press brewed a nice cup of coffee—we preferred it to other inexpensive models like the classic Bodum Chambord or the Secura, though not as much as the Espro P3—and filtered the grounds adequately. Oxo’s penchant for adding one extra little thing is why we really liked it though. In this case it was the grounds lifter, really just a silicone disc with a handle, that rests at the bottom of the press. French press coffee is notoriously one of the messiest to clean up. Coffee grounds often require scooping out, and even then they don’t all come out until you begin rinsing the carafe, at which point there is the inevitable explosion of grounds all over the sink. Oxo’s grounds lifter easily slides almost all of the spent grounds easily out of the carafe and into the trash can. In fact, this was the only French press that we’d consider truly easy to clean.
OXO BREW Venture Shatter-Resistant-Travel French Press
Chances are, if you’ve ever ordered French press coffee at a café, it came in some version of the Chambord. Designed in the 1950s, the steel frame and glass carafe are what most people envision when they picture a classic French press. And for an inexpensive press it still holds its own. In terms of brewing and filtering performance, it was on par with the Oxo, which edged it out thanks to the nifty grounds lifter. Bodum makes an even more inexpensive press called the Bodum Brazil that was only $15 at the time of publishing that is very similar to the Chambord with a cage that’s made of plastic instead of stainless steel.
An upgrade to the Chambord, the Bodum Tribute looks to be discontinued, although, at the time of publishing you can still get it as part of a set that includes a blade coffee grinder and a travel mug. But the press is still quite nice. We found the carafe to be on the smaller side, which compared to the large version of the Espro P7 was actually quite nice. It made enough coffee for two, maybe three people to have an average cup or, if you’re like us, enough for one giant mug to help power through those morning meetings. The hard plastic handles stayed cool to the touch even after the coffee brewed for a few minutes, and the plunger—a combination of mesh and silicone—created a tight but easy-to-move seal to keep those larger grounds from sneaking into our mug. The silicone plunger also helped prevent the inside of the press from getting scratched up, and was easier to clean than the standard coil and mesh you find in most French press brewers. Carafe cleanup was easy too, particularly easy with the plain stainless-steel model, which, unlike the painted models, is dishwasher-safe.
Le Creuset’s singular aesthetic is on display with their stoneware French press. The stainless steel filter is almost identical to the coil and spring filtration system on Bodum French presses. It poured a slightly heavier, darker cup of coffee than the Espros or the Bodum models, but still tasty and not too gritty. The heavy pitcher could keep liquid warm for an extended period if needed and it could also serve as a beautiful serving pitcher for any non-coffee drinks you might want to serve. It’s less expensive than the Espro P7 and if you like the country house vibe Le Creuset puts out and the choice of a dozen different colors, this is a press to consider.
Le Creuset Stoneware French Press
The Frieling French press is another favorite among critics and has hundreds of glowing Amazon reviews praising its luxe, insulated stainless body and the nuanced, light coffee it produced. We were impressed by the tightness of the seal around the filter, but that same tightness also made it a little awkward to use as we wrestled to get the plunger smoothly into the carafe. We also wondered if the Freiling’s filter might be a little too effective. It produced a cup so clean that it tasted like pour-over coffee. Which raises the question: If you’re choosing a French press don’t you want to brew coffee with a little bit of body?
Frieling Double-Walled Stainless-Steel French Press
The SterlingPro looks like a clone of some more expensive metal presses, like the high-end Frieling, and is only available on Amazon. The insulated 18/10 stainless-steel carafe felt good in the hand and cleaned up easily after brewing. (We hand-washed it, but it is dishwasher-safe.) However, the flavor of the coffee was noticeably thinner than a number of its competitors and it did let a few large solids through. It’s quite affordable for a stainless steel press but couldn’t measure up to the quality of the Epsro P7 or the value of the P3.
SterlingPro French Press Coffee Maker
We tested the matte black Secura French press, but it also comes in a stainless steel that is nearly identical to the SterlingPro. It performed similarly to the Sterling and, like the Sterling, came with extra screens for additional filtering capabilities. It’s quite inexpensive, but the we found the coffee so much better in the Espro P3 and the Oxo that we couldn’t make this our value choice.
Secura French Press Coffee Maker
Like everything Fellow the matte black Klara French press is beautiful. Other than the Le Creuset it’s the only one we’d feel excited about having out on the counter at all times. Unlike almost everything else Fellow though, there is a big issue with this one: It leaks. The lid design has strainers in several places around the circumference—most lids only have one—and we consistently had spillover beyond the spout. But the filter worked well at keeping grit out.
The modern-looking Varia Multi Brewer is sleek and compact. It is also meant to offer three different brewing options: French press, pour-over coffee, and Moka pot–style. In theory it’s a great little brewer. In practice, however, this was quite a letdown, especially given its price. The first thing we noticed was that the actual carafe was very small. That’s fine when you’re just brewing for one person, but you’ll be apologizing to your guests as you make each of them a single cup of coffee to order. You’ll also be apologizing to them for the mass of coffee grounds floating around in their mugs. In the first test we were surprised to find so many grounds pouring out of the spout. Surely it must have been a user error, right? Unfortunately, it was not. We tried again and again only to find that this brewer just was not working the way it should. It isn’t unusual to find some grounds at the bottom of a mug of French press coffee, but this was ridiculous—the plunger simply wasn’t creating a proper seal. And because the carafe is opaque, there was no way to tell what was happening inside.
A vacuum insulated carafe with a size that could best be described as “Big Gulp,” the Stanley French press is best suited for a group camping trip. It’s just too big and rugged looking to use around the house on a regular basis. It brewed a rich, dark cup of coffee that’s probably also best if you’re drinking at dawn while cooking bacon over a campfire.
Espro’s filter design is simply the most effective of all of the French presses we used. And its high-end P7 stainless steel model is the only French press we think can actually make good use out of its insulation. The very affordable P3 will produce just as nice a cup of coffee in a more budget-friendly package.
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