5 Favorite French Presses

To me, coffee is just as important as showering and getting dressed in the morning. I cherish the morning ritual of preparing this prized wake up call. In my household, we don't reach for a bulky machine — we reach for a French press and we wanted to share our favorites with you.

Chamboard Double Wall Glass French Press, $139.95 at Bodum

• Chambord Double Wall Glass French Press, $139.95 at Bodum: The 8 cup capacity French press features double wall glass to keep the liquid hot and the outside just warm to the touch. The handles are made from bakelite and features a silicone gasket that connects the lid glass to ensure the press stays insulated.
• Thermos Nissan Gourmet Coffee Press, $27.00 at Amazon: Holds over one quart of water and made from stainless steel with a vacuum insulated thermos. Easy to use and easy to hand wash!
• Frieling Ultimo Stainless-Steel French Press, $76.50 at Amazon: Made from double-wall 18/10 stainless-steel body and a stainless steel mesh plunger. The carafe doubles as a serving pitcher due to the mirrored stainless steel — it'll certainly look good on a table.
• BNF French Press Coffee Maker, $10.00 at Amazon: For those not looking for all the bells and whistles, this French press is dishwasher safe with a 20oz capacity.
• Danesco Travel Mug with French Press, $21.00 at Amazon: This is another option that isn't for everyone, but we couldn't help but think it was actually pretty interesting. If you're a commuter this a good (less attractive option) double walled travel French press.

What's your favorite French press, and why?

(Images: Bodum, Amazon)

Comments (16)

Such a timely post for me. My husband just broke our glass one this morning. I ordered the Frieling stainless steel one today from Amazon realizing that in the long run it will probably save money since we've broken at least 5 glass ones in the past few years. Hope it's a good one!

I broke my Bodum one. I replaced it with something cheap at TJ Maxx. The seal ended up not being too great -- Way too many grounds ending up in my mug but I used it quite a while anyway. I finally have a large stainless steel one. So happy. I hope to have it forever...

...and these are presses.

Gosh I remember when the first model only cost around 30 bucks.

I have the most basic version of the first Bodum one - glass and recycled plastic, no Bakelite (sigh). It works great, and I am willing to bet that most of the other lower-end Bodum ones work just as well. Unless you're into spending that much on a coffee press, of course.

I used the low end Bodum ones and a cheap one from IKEA.

Both had a sufficiently fine screen for coarse ground coffee. There's really no reason to buy anything more expensive.

I've also used the vacuum press kind with the disposable circular filter, and that was great, too.

agreed with RocketScientist. Aside from size and insulation (but if you're leaving your coffee to sit around after brewing why are you using a french press to begin with?) The cheapo ones form Walmart or IKEA are no better or worse than a 200 dollar one in function. I have an 8 dollar one I got years ago at walmart and it seals fine, works perfect.

I have a stainless steel press, one I got from Starbucks. I used to have a glass press from Bodum but one morning it slipped while I was pressing it and flew off the counter and basically exploded when it hit the floor. All over my legs. I had quite a few burns and even a cut as well as a massive mess. No more glass for me.

The press I have is double walled stainless and is dishwasher safe. It was more expensive than the Nissan but less expensive than the Frieling. I've been very happy with it.

A stainless steel one from Bodum. I like to make my Saturday morning batch of coffee and drink it leisurely during the morning (and afternoon, as the case may be).

Love my red bodum. Plus the mesh screws off so I can just use it a container for fresh squeezed juice ^_^

Ours is a Stelton, in their classic Thermos-design. Reasonably priced and keeps the coffee warm for quite a while.

Since I love my Stelton-thermos that was an easy decision when Stelton announced those to hit the shelves last fall..

I'm another low end SS Bodum devotee. We usually use espresso ground coffee and it handles it really well. You get a bit of sludge in the bottom, but that's good for keeping you regular!

I also have the Stelton Thermos one that Sacher has. The stainless steel one was more pricy, but Oh so worth it! Best one I've ever had, and good looking as well

I've had a frieling for three years now, its been wonderful. Makes a great cup of coffee, and will keep it warm for an hour or so. Looks sharp on the table, which I appreciate since we host brunch parties often. The SS is inert and does not change the flavor and of course I love how indestructible it is! It does marvelously in the dishwasher!

Bought 3-cups ones and a 12-cups one from La Cafétière in London around 10 years ago. They are very good quality, look gorgeous and I love them!

But I HATE to clean them! Have to pull them all apart with only a few parts going into the dish washer. The rest I have to wash by hand.

I'd like to get one that could go into the dishwasher completely.

I have this Bonjour press and have had it for 7 years. http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/bonjour-maximus-8-cup-french-press/?pkey=e|french%2Bpress|5|best|0|1|24||4&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-

It's handwash only but I don't mind, most days we just rinse it and then handwash it once every few days --but it is not a big deal to wash.