If you ask me the best way to make coffee from all of the various coffee brewing methods is with a french press.
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A french press is unfiltered coffee. It is rich in body and contains more aromatics from coffee oils that are retained in the brewing process.
French press coffee can be made very easily at home using hot water from a stovetop, in a hotel from hot microwaved water, or from a campsite with water boiled over an open flame.
French press coffee offers more volume for a more satisfying and lasting experience.
There’s no doubt that espresso is a good thing but the vast majority of coffee consumers will prefer to make standard coffee in the home.
So, with that being said what are the best french press coffee makers for use in the home?
The Best French Press For Use at Home
There are some really great coffee presses out there but they are all different and best used under specific circumstances. I would always advise the use of different equiopment for differnt places. This home use press pot is best for your kitchen – but I wouldn’t ever take it camping – I’ll get that that further down this page.
The Best French Press – The Espro 32 Ounce Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Press
The Best French Press – The Espro 32 Ounce Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel PressThe biggest complaint people have about french press coffee is the sediment (mud or grit) in the bottom of their cup.
With the Espro press you will simply not have any coffee grind or sediment in your cup. It’s as simple as that.
This coffee press will brew your french press coffee perfectly and keep the temperature stable during the 4-minute steep and then when you press the plunger down all of the grit will be removed.
All of it! This is worth every penny.
The Espro press is only available in 12oz, 18oz, and 32oz models from a few different styles. If you are looking for something bigger then I recommend looking at the following page where we have hand curated our favorite larger sized french presses.
What’s the Best French Press Travel Mug
Our favorite coffee press is what we like best for use in the kitchen but it’s not portable and it’s not designed to drink from like a travel mug is.
There are actually a bunch of different travel presses on the market though so which one is best?
KOHIPRESS The Original Portable French Press Coffee Maker – Vacuum Insulated Travel Mug (12 oz)
KOHIPRESS The Original Portable French Press Coffee Maker – Vacuum Insulated Travel Mug (12 oz)The best portable french press is also a great insulated travel mug and the Kophipress is an awesome travel mug!
This coffee press tumbler will easily keep your coffee hot for hours on end and best of all your coffee will not over-extract! Your coffee will not be bitter!
Your coffee will not have sediment in the last bit of coffee either due to an excellent double filtration plunger.
What’s better? It’s price can’t be beat!
The Kophipress is a close competitor to the Espro Travel Press but there are also a fewother really good options to consider too.
Many people love Bodum products and the Bodum travel french press has been a well reviewed product for a long time.
You can see these products and others on our page dedicated to our reviews of popular french press travel mugs.
The Best Insulated French Press (Double Wall Thermal)
At GGC we firmly believe in brewing your french press coffee in an insulated french press pot. Vacuum insulated carafes result in your coffee brewing under stable water temperature which will give you better tasting coffee every time.
Large French Press Coffee Maker – Double Filter, Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel By Coffee Gator (34 fl oz)
Large French Press Coffee Maker – Double Filter, Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel By Coffee GatorThis is our favorite insulated coffee press because the steainless steel body is extra think resulting in better thermal retention and improved durability.
Basically this unit is thicker, heavier, stronger, and uses a dual filter to remove as many solids from your coffee as any other french press on the market!
You would think this would be one of the most expensive french press coffee makers for sale but it’s not – it’s actually quite affordable!
Obviously Coffee Gator isn’t the only high end thermal press on the block. There are a few other great insulated coffee presses that we love and recommend. Some are cheaper than this Coffee Gator 8-cup press and some are available in smaller sizes too.
See the following pages for more hand picked items we have reviewed and recommend.
Some of these insulated presses aren’t made in smaller sizes. If you are looking for a great single serve coffee press then see the following page on our site: 12 Ounce French Presses (2 Cup).
Our Favorite French Press For Camping Outdoors
If you take coffee to your camp site then you need something that is small, portable, durable, and easy to use and to clean. I would never take a glass carafe to a campground and I wouldn’t take an expensive model camping either. This is the one I would take every time!
GSI Outdoors – JavaPress – French Press for Camping Outside (30 0z)
GSI Outdoors – JavaPress – French Press for Camping Outside (30 0z)This press by GSI Outdoors really is awesome for camping, hiking, and day tripping because it’s SUPER durable!
Not only is it thermal insulated with dual vacuum sealed walls but it is covered on the outside with tight padding to shield it against all the bumps and dings a regular stainless steel carafe would show.
The interior isn’t glass so it won’t break and it’s not metal so it won’t scratch… and yes, you know it’s BPA free too.
Some other great camping presses and coffee makers can be found on the following two pages:
Our Favorite (Cheap) French Presses – Your Best Value for the Money
If you are looking for the best option for the least amount of money then you can’t go wrong with Bodum! Historically the best Bodum french press coffee makers were also the lowest priced. These days there are better options on the market but pricing for the entry level Bodum presses still can’t be beat… at least without sacrificing quality.
This is not the lowest price french press on the market but it’s really close!
Bodum BRAZIL Coffee Maker, French Press Coffee Maker, Black, 34 Ounce (Cheap)
Bodum BRAZIL Coffee Maker, French Press Coffee Maker, Black, 34 Ounce (Cheap)For years and years thousands and thousands of people have purchased the Bodum Brazil french press as their entry level model.
Many end up sticking with Bodum because even though their products are not the best they really are the best for your money.
The Brazil is super cheap and so long as you don’t drop the glass carafe and break it it should last you for years upon years – mine is going on 15 years now!
You can find a lot more low priced presses here: Our Favorite Small [4 Cup] French Presses.
The Best 12-Cup French Press
Need (or want) to make coffee for a group of people? regular sized coffee presses aren’t big enough to serve more than 2-3 people at a time. This bigger version should mean you have to make few batches of coffee when preparing coffee for a party.
Secura 1500ML French Press Coffee Maker, 50-Ounce (12-cup), Stainless Steel 18/10
Secura 1500ML French Press Coffee Maker, 50-Ounce (12-cup), Stainless Steel 18/10Some of my favorite french presses are not made is sizes bigger than 34 ounces, luckily models like this 51 oz model by Secura are here to fill in the gap.
You should know that this is double insulated and comes with dual filters to give you a super clean cup of coffee.
You should also know that this is one of the best rated french press coffee makers for sale today! That’s a lot of social proof!
If you’re like me though you probably like having options. Take a look at the following page which features a good selection of some of the best and biggest french presses sold today.
The Best French Press For Making Cold Brew Coffee
One of the easiest and most popular methods of making cold brew coffee in the home is to do it in a french press. That;s because so many people own these already and because they don’t cost very much. Even still there are some press pots better at taking on the job of cold brew than others. Here’s our favorite model at GGC.
French Press Cold Brew Coffee Maker – 34 Ounce, 8 Cups, Clip Spoon and 2 Bonus Filter Included By Divlor
French Press Cold Brew Coffee Maker – 34 Ounce, 8 Cups, Clip Spoon and 2 Bonus Filter Included By DivlorYou will always make better cold brew coffee in a glass (see through) carafe and this coffee press by Divlor is the best for the job.
Cold brew should sit undisturbed in the french press with the plunger pressed just barely up against the grind. after your long steep on the counter or in the fridge you need to slowly pour the coffee out of the press without disturbing the grind floating at the top to keep solids to a minimum.
This Divor press will perform as good or better than any other at keeping the solids out of your coffee and you won’t have to spend a whole lot on it either.
French Press Coffee Maker With No Plastic Parts
We have a lot of customers that know a thing or two about coffee and also care a lot about their bodies and the environment.
We know plastic sucks sometimes and for those people who don’t want to compromise their values we wanted to help you find the best coffee press that doesn’t have any plastic parts on it at all – luckily it’s a really well made piece of equipment so it’s easy for us to recommend.
Frieling USA Double Wall Stainless Steel Plastic Free French Press
Frieling USA Double Wall Stainless Steel Plastic Free French PressThis is an awesome French press coffee maker that uses absolutely no plastic of any kind in it’s construction!
Not only is it a completely plastic free coffee maker but it also makes extremely good coffee. It’s built very well, has excellent thermal retention, and uses a dual screen to keep your coffee as clean as possible.
You pay a bit more for all the perks but it’s a really good press so we think it’s a great buy.
Note – The Frieling has also made our list of best coffee makers that don’t use plastic. Check that out if plastic is your mortal enemy! 🙂
Why Use a French Press Anyway?
This section may be me preaching to the choir but I feel like I should at least touch on the subject of why you should be brewing coffee in a french press in the first place.
Above you see every major coffee press. They are all really good devices and most sell like crazy but I purposfully omitted the lower end units that simply don’t perform as well.
There are some really popular models that just don’t make that great of coffee even though tons of people buy them.
We advise our customers to make french press coffee to experience the best of unfiltered coffee – long coffee. That is coffee that is meant to be served in a full size coffee mug and consumed slowly and in greater volumes.
Popular alternatives to french press coffee include three different sorts:
- Filtered “Long” Coffee such as Pour-Over, Chemex, and Drip
- Unfiltered “Long” Coffee such as Percolator or Keurig pods, and
- Unfiltered “Short” Coffee such as espresso, moka, and espresso alternatives (i.e. Aeropress)
French press is an unfiltered long so it’s most closely related to the percolator – you can see our in-depth comparison of french press and percolator coffee here.
The main reason to use a coffee press is to get the unfiltered body and aromatics of the coffee leaving the oils and minimal solids in your cup.
When prepared under ideal circumstances and with freshly ground beans you get everything coffee has to offer short of crema!
Popular Alternatives to the French Press
I’m not a hard-lined kind of guy – I like lots of different styles of coffee and sometimes I crave one style over another.
Although I love me a good cup from my coffee press I also love sipping on a truely clean cup from time to time. For that I turn to the Chemex, which is my prefered source of filtered pour-over coffee.
Because the Chemex uses a thick paper filter none of the sediment or “solids” enter the cup and neither do the oils. It is really smooth stuff. If you haven’t tried one out then I recommend you do at least in a coffee shop first before splurging on yet another coffee “gadget”!
See the following for more info: Chemex vs French Press.
When I am in the mood for something short and sweet though I usually reach for my moka pot or full blown espresso machine. The unfiltered short espresso based drinks from these gives me that coffee backend with the strength and potency of rich espresso.
I’ll frequently go for moka if I want body in the drink or machined espresso if I want it to feel more clean or smooth.
Here’s a detailed comparison of stovetop espresso and machine espresso for your reading pleasure.
Lastly, a Note About Making Tea
To close I’d like to spend a bit of time explaining the techniques behind making tea in a french press.
In all honesty I can’t really peg one french press over another as best at making tea and that’s because there are so many different types of teas and they all are steeped differently.
My wife prefers tea, black tea, over coffee any day of the week and I know from experience watching her that she prefers being able to see her tea steep.
She never sets a timer she judges her tea being ready based on color most of the time so if I were forced to choose the best french press for brewing tea I would choose a glass carafe press that used no plastic at all.
Frieling makes my favorite plastic-free french press but it’s stainless steel so my alternative model would be this VERO Chambord French Press by Sovrano.
There are dedicated tea presses but having one good press to make both coffee and tea can be quite handy and save on storage space in your kitchen.
And now for those of you really looking to brew the best french press coffee possible!
On this site we have a lot of material published geared towards the coffee enthusist looking to learn more about making french press coffee.
If you would like to learn a bit more about why pressed coffee is so great or how to brew it better take a look at any of the following featured articles on the site:
► The Difference Between A Keurig And A French Press
► Are Bodum Chambord French Presses Dishwasher Safe?
You can also see curated listed of our favorite french press coffee makers from the following filtered feature sets:
► Our Favorite 20-Oz French Press Coffee Makers
► Our Favorite 16-Oz French Press Coffee Makers (4 Cups)
► Some of the Best 24-Oz French Press Coffee Makers
► My 13 Favorite Small French Press Coffee Makers
► The Best Single Serve (12-Oz) French Press Coffee Makers
► The Best 32-Oz French Press Coffee Makers (8 Cup)
► The Top 51-Oz French Press Coffee Makers (12 Cup)
► My Favorite French Press Travel Mugs (With Reviews)
► The Best Insulated French Press Coffee Makers {Updated}
Lastly, please see our alternative coffee maker section of the store for more premium brew alternatives to the French Press.
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