Frieling Double-Walled Brushed Stainless Steel Insulated French Press Coffee Maker - 36 oz Coffee Presser - French Press Stainless Steel

I've been using this French press every morning for 9.5 months now and it looks like new. It has exceeded my expectations. It is very well built, sturdy, very nice looking, and keeps my coffee warm until I am done. (Admittedly, it doesn't take me long to get through this amount of coffee.) I had been thinking of getting a traditional glass French press, but was worried about my clumsy self breaking it. Every month or so, I might need to tighten the screw connection, but that has been all! It cleans up easily.Although I wouldn't be classified as a coffee connoisseur, I know what I like. I like a rather strong, full bodied coffee with nuanced flavors shining through. I love the coffee I make with this press. I don't think I ever made a bitter cup with this press.I have the 23oz, polished stainless steel version. The water boiler I have boils 500mL, which is a perfect amount for the 23oz press. When full of grounds and the 500mL of water, there is still enough room between the liquid level and the bottom of the pouring spout. I can press the plunger to the top of the liquid so that when I move it around while brewing, liquid doesn't slosh out of the press. With this amount of liquid, I've never had a problem with coffee splashing out the spout while pressing the plunger down.I was skeptical about French presses. I'm not a big fan of scooping out wet coffee grounds, but I have gotten used to it. This is now my only coffee making gadget. I gave away my Keurig and I'm forever done with my old machines needing filters. The bar was high for me to be happy with this press, given it's high price. It was worth every penny.

We have been using 12 cup Cuisinart programmable coffee makers for over a decade. They work great. Pour the water into the top, put in a paper filter, put in coffee grounds and turn it on. In less than 5 minutes there is a half pot of coffee. Easy.So why buy a non mechanical French press, actually invented in Italy, and use it instead?One big reason. Coffee makers aren't recyclable. When they stop working they go a landfill. Cuisinart doesn't offer any advice on recycling them. If you take them to Best Buy or somewhere, they will charge you to recycle it. Same as with flat screen TV sets. Garbage.The press doesn't heat the coffee, so a few tips. I pour the water I plan to make into coffee into a coffee mug first, and then pour the water into a glass Pyrex cup and put it in a microwave oven to heat the water to a boil. I scope the coffee grounds and put them into the bottom of the press. When the water is hot I pour it on top of the grounds and use a long handled ice tea spoon to stir up the mixture for a few minutes. Then I put the top of the press on with the plunger pulled all the way up. i wait a few minutes and press the plunger down slowly until it is at the bottom. Then I pour out a nice hot freshly brewed cup of coffee. No longer than what it take to brew in a coffee maker.The clean up of the grounds in the bottom of the press is easier if I pour water into the press and then pour the grounds into a strainer. I have a strainer basket in the sink drain on one side where we have a disposal to keep anything unwanted from falling into it. After a few more rinses of the press, it is clean of grounds. I rinse off the bottom of the plunger and the press is ready again to use. I simply take the strainer and dump the grounds into the garbage.TIP: Be careful not to unscrew the strainer from the plunger stem. I check mine every few times to make sure it is still on tight.I like the fact that the press has no electronic components and is stainless steel. Sturdy and well made. CR rated this brand high due to the strainer basket at the bottom and the carafe's double wall which keeps coffee, or tea, hot. I prefer to make coffee in the press now. No need to buy coffee filters, or carbon filters for the water, or worry about breaking a glass carafe and disposing of a coffee maker.Though we still have the Cuisinart coffee maker, I never use it now.

First of all, I got the 17oz brushed option. In my experience, glass presses tend to break easily. This stainless steel model is durable, and the double-wall insulation keeps it hot while brewing. I think this was the only 17oz press I found that came in a brushed finish. Not a fan of mirror finishes.I got this because the decaf at my work tastes awful and needed a good way to make coffee for myself to fill my 16oz Joeveo mug. I wanted the smaller size for that reason, and it was important to keep it hot for the Joeveo insulation magic to work. Long story short, I am very satisfied. I did not notice any of the quality issues that other reviewers noted. The welds look clean and nice. It has a premium look and feel. It's easy to clean. There's a bit of friction when actually pressing it, but I assume this is because it's stainless steel, as I've only used glass presses before. I use hot water from the coffee maker at work, and the press keeps it plenty hot while brewing. I can't vouch for now long it keeps it hot after that, as I'm not interested in letting it sit in there with the grounds. I have not noticed any grounds in the coffee yet, and I'm not even using coarse grounds like you're supposed to with presses. I'm still experimenting with different grounds, but it's already way better than the drip decaf provided at work. One thing worth noting is that I drink black coffee so as not to add calories to it. The quality of coffee and brewing is more important when drinking it black, otherwise it is harsh and bitter.One thing to note is not to fill it past the bottom of the pouring spout. If you do, scalding liquid will squirt out when you put the cap on. It also can cause some grounds to make it around the filter. I noticed that it doesn't make quite enough coffee to fill my 16oz Joeveo mug completely even though it says 17oz. I'm thinking either it's 17oz counting some unusable volume, or the Joeveo mug is a bit larger than 16oz. In any case, it almost fills it, and I like the small size, so I am satisfied. I don't think I would want the 23oz or 36oz options for this particular application.