The French press seems to have been around forever – and that’s because it has. Or at least, it has been around longer than most other brewing methods.
In the 19th century, early versions of the French press were seen in France and Italy, and although it’s called a “French” press, the truth is that we can’t be certain that it is, in fact, French.
What we do know is that it was patented in Italy at some point after its invention, then it was improved upon to what we know now.
Since then, the French press has remained untouched. It brews fantastic coffee, so why change it? And it’s very versatile: you can even make cold brew in it!
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Let’s look at what things an aspiring French press owner should pay attention to when shopping for a French press.
How to choose a French press coffee maker
We’ll look at three things: size, material, and design.
Coffee maker’s size – how much coffee do you need at once?
French press coffee is, more often than not, prepared in the mornings.
It’s the type of strong black coffee that goes best for waking up in the morning – so people usually drink it at that time of the day.
In the case that you live alone and don’t drink more than two cups, then a small size will suffice for you.
Smaller is better because it’s less space, cheaper, and significantly easier to take care of, particularly when cleaning them.
If you live in a household of 3 or more people, then you’d have to look into bigger sizes. There are French press sizes that can make 6+ cups of coffee in one sitting, which would be ideal.
This is also the best option for you if you live alone but don’t like to have to make coffee several times a day – just brew once and drink it throughout the day.
In most cases, however, a 3-4 cup French press is a great option.
They are versatile and can be used for both instances.
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Material that the French press is made of
More often than not, a French press will be made of glass and plastic.
If you don’t have any reservations about the traditional design, then a regular glass/plastic French press is definitely a good option and will be the cheaper one, too.
But there are other materials out there to be aware of. The most notable one is stainless steel: stainless steel French presses are a great option because 1: they are nearly indestructible.
A stainless steel French press will last you a lifetime – and it’s made mostly of recycled steel, so it’s green.
And 2: stainless steel French presses conserve heat much better.
That means your coffee will stay hot for much, much longer – and since it’s inconvenient to brew just one cup with it, most of us brew, pour, and let it sit there until we need more.
By that time, the coffee’s already gone cold. With stainless steel this is almost never a problem.
Design – how does it look?
Last but not least, we have to think about aesthetics.
Because the French press is rather set in stone about how it works, there aren’t a lot of alternative designs as to how it works – yet there are tons of different-looking ones.
This boils down to what feels more pleasing to you, visually.
The traditional French press is just glass and black plastic parts, but you can have glass and metal with gold-hue parts, glass and wood with the handle and plunger being made of wood.
There are surprisingly many options to choose from: it’s all a matter of choosing the size and material that you need, then just eyeing your options until you find one that looks good to you.
In that respect, this is the easiest part of all because it involves no thinking!
Choosing the best French press is easy, but… not too easy
The French press: arguably the most traditional coffee brewer out there, and it’s still going strong to this day, being one of the favored ways to make coffee at home all around the world.
And although we don’t know for certain whether it’s French or not, we’d rather call it that than “Cafetiere” or “Coffee press”.
With this article, you’ll be ready to look at your options and know which one is best for you, although don’t expect it to be too easy.
You’ll definitely have more than one favorite. Good luck!
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