Somewhere between pour-over and those large-format carafes from countertop drip coffee makers lies the French press coffee maker. Starting at a size that makes just enough for a single serving and going up to a model that could caffeinate a crowd, French presses aren’t as finicky and hands-on as some manual methods, allowing you to multitask while your coffee brews. Despite its relatively old-school tech, when paired with fresh whole beans and a fine-tunable coffee grinder, even beginners can make some great coffee with a little knowhow (just read our guide to coffee brewing methods).
Our top picks
Best French press overall: Espro P7
Best inexpensive French press: Espro P3
Best large-capacity French press: Yeti 64 oz. French press
French press brewing offers rich and bold coffee by simply steeping the coffee grounds in just-under boiling water (usually 195° to 200ºF) for several minutes, then plunging a filter down to contain the grounds before pouring a fresh cup of coffee. While they’re sometimes a pain to clean (more on that later), a French press just might be the most economical coffee-making option out there: You can generally brew as much or as little as you like, and it creates very little waste (no paper filters, plastic pods, or other bespoke gear necessary). It’s especially good for weekend drinkers of brewed coffee who may get their caffeine fix from an office or barista most days and don’t need or want a machine cluttering up their countertops. French presses come in a variety of sizes, from one or two servings all the way up to 64 ounces.
If you’re truly all about one-cup-at-a-time coffee, you have single-serve coffee makers and other manual methods like pour-over and the Aeropress to choose from instead. Plus, we’re talking full cups of coffee here, not shots of espresso for which you’ll want an espresso machine or Nespresso pods for something espresso-ish. But for the perfect nexus of volume and quality, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better method than French press.
The best French press coffee maker overall: Espro P7
Espro’s top-of-the-line French press is our favorite for many reasons, but none more so than its carefully thought out filtration and extraction system.
The dirty secret of many cheap French presses out there is that their mesh filters aren’t one-way, meaning if you let your hot water and coffee grounds sit together for too long, you’ll get a bitter, gritty, over-extracted coffee that you absolutely don’t want. So, generally speaking, you’re supposed to serve or decant your brewed coffee after the timer goes off. You may wonder, isn’t the point of an insulated French press so that you can keep your unpoured coffee hot inside it? If it’s Espro’s P7 (or the Yeti, below), the answer is yes. Espro’s filtration system offers two separate layers of mesh, plus a double silicone seal around the edge, effectively keeping the brewed coffee and spent grounds totally separate once the plunger has been pushed down. This means the double-wall, vacuum-sealed, stainless steel body of this French press can actually function as a serving vessel, keeping your coffee warm throughout the morning without ruining the coffee inside. The plunger apparatus (and lid, which features yet another slotted filter) come apart and go back together easily, and all parts are dishwasher safe. It’s available in 18- and 32-ounce options, and it comes in six colors to meet your aesthetic needs.
While insulated, it doesn’t retain heat all that long, hitting room temperature after less than two hours. For most morning coffee drinkers—or if you’re sharing your coffee with someone else—this likely won’t be a problem. We had slightly better heat retention results with the Yeti French press.
Size: 6.7″ x 4.6″ x 10.1″
Weight: 2.7 lb.
Material: Stainless steel
Capacity: 32 oz., 18 oz.
Warranty: Limited lifetime warranty
The best inexpensive French press: Espro P3
With the P3 you get the fantastic filtration system of the P7, but for less than a third of the price. You do give up that insulated carafe though.
According to Esprom, the thick glass used in this French press is the same borosilicate glass used in scientific beaker. And, for what it’s worth, it is nice to actually see your brewing coffee at a glance, something their insulated press doesn't allow . If you usually make coffee and immediately pour it into a mug or travel tumbler, then this more traditional-looking French press for under $40 is hard to beat.
The plastic frame, while lightweight, feels and looks cheaper than the Espro P7, as its lower price tag might suggest. Because of its blasé looks and the fact that it only comes in black, we’d be less thrilled about giving this a permanent home on our countertop. (For something more polished but still color-limited, consider the shinier, stainless steel Espro P5.)
Size: 6.1″ x 4.3″ x 9.5″
Weight: 1.8 lb.
Material: Borosilicate glass and BPA-free polypropylene
Capacity: 32 oz., 18 oz.
Warranty: Limited lifetime warranty
The best large-capacity French press: Yeti 64 Oz. French Press
As the brand has continued to branch out from its core of excellent (but expensive) coolers, Yeti has created a number of top performing, durable pieces of gear, including this huge French press.
We like Yeti’s take on the French press for many of the same reasons we like the Espro P7. Similar to Yeti’s water bottles and travel coffee mugs, it features vacuum-insulated, double-walled stainless steel construction which keeps coffee hot long enough that you don't need to suck down all 64 ounces in one sitting (similar to the Espro P7, we found it gave us about two hours of sufficiently warm coffee). It also has a white ceramic coating on the interior, which offers both easy cleaning and enhanced visibility of the contents when looking through the clear, plastic lid of this opaque carafe. Speaking of the lid, it twists on with a satisfying locking click once locked, and stays put while pouring. Like the Espro P7, the plunger assembly is designed to fully separate the grounds away from the brewed coffee once pushed down. In the Yeti, this is accomplished with a single-layer mesh filter with a silicone gasket plus an additional silicone disc that keeps siltier grounds at bay. The whole contraption unscrews into a few pieces that are all dishwasher safe. Both sizes come in an array of stainless steel-accented colors so matching it with your kitchen decor shouldn’t be a problem.
No 64-ounce French press is going to be easy to wrangle, and the utilitarian, nearly rectangular handle on this press doesn’t make that any easier—in fact, you might find yourself using two hands to steady it. As a Yeti product, it’s probably no surprise it’s bulky and heavy even before you add in 64 ounces of water. It would be nice if the lid’s pouring spout wasn’t just an opening and had some kind of slider lock (like Yeti’s bottles and tumblers) which might also enhance its heat retention.
Size: 7.1″ x 10.1″
Weight: 3.7 lb.
Material: Stainless steel with ceramic lining,
Capacity: 64 oz., 34 oz.
Warranty: 5 years
How we tested French presses
After cleaning and inspecting each model for design features or pitfalls, we tested each with a 14-to-1 ratio (by weight) of 200°F water to semi-coarse coffee grounds to account for different capacities. Then we disassembled and washed each press and its parts according to manufacturer instructions and noted any pain points. Finally, we incorporated these French presses into our coffee routines for two weeks for further one-the-job testing.
What we looked for in French presses
Many French presses on the market are of varying thicknesses of borosilicate or heat-proof glass, which means they’re pleasingly clear but also prone to breaking. While you can definitely use a glass French press for years, we still opted for stainless steel French presses as two of our top picks for longevity.
It should offer ease of use and feel comfortable in your hand, not only from an ergonomic perspective, but for balance and control while pouring. The design of the actual product, its size and storability, and whether any of its elements actually got in the way of doing the thing it was supposed to do or truly made things easier. Also, does it look good?
Ideally, parts can be easily disassembled and reassembled for thorough cleaning. Bonus points for dishwasher-safe status.
Does it make good coffee?
Is the coffee that actually comes out of the French press free of grounds and sediment, and does leaving coffee in the carafe exposed to the grounds risk over-extraction?
Other French presses we tested
Oxo Brew 8-Cup French Press with Grounds Lifter
Oxo’s penchant for making quality, user-friendly products is on display in this inexpensive French press that we’d rank right up there with the Espro P3. Its filtration is sufficient for keeping most sediment out. We also appreciated the GroundsLifter feature, a silicone-lined disc at the bottom of the carafe with a handle (think a flat ladle) that can slide your spent grounds out and into the compost bin with one motion. We think this might be the French press that’s the easiest to clean.
Bodum Chambord French Press
Assuming your grandparents drank French press coffee, this is basically their French press. It has been around for decades for good reason: It does the job. But we simply favor the innovation of Oxo’s GroundsLifter and the more effective filtration of the Espro over this steel-and-glass classic.
Le Creuset French Press
Like so many Le Creuset products, this French press is more about delivering on that French countryside aesthetic than any singular coffee brewing innovation. We’d liken its internal components' performance to that of the Bodum Chambord, but its stoneware construction offers better heat retention. For daily use, it might just be too fancy for its own good. However, it does come in some pretty Le Creuset colors, and would probably serve a dual purpose as a serving pitcher for any kind of liquid.
Frieling Insulated Double-Wall Stainless-Steel French Press
This sleek, stainless steel French press is well loved by other online reviewers, and while we generally liked it, we did find the filter was perhaps too good at keeping coffee and water separate to the point that it produced a lighter cup akin to pour-over methods and not what we’d want from a French press. That effective filter was also a little too snug to push down the plunger easily. However, it does come in a variety of sizes, and as for looks, it’s definitely a stunner.
SterlingPro French Press
If you’re looking for something insulated and stainless steel that still looks fancy without the high price tag of the Frieling or Espro P7, this French press delivers on those points. However, it also delivered a few too many grounds in our coffee, which was weaker than we’d like.
Secura French Press
Another budget-friendly option that still manages to look sleek, Secura’s French press performed similarly to the SterlingPro, but offers a matte black option in addition to a stainless steel finish. It comes with extra screens, which is nice, but we think the superior filtration of the Espro P3 still has this one beat in the same price range.
Fellow Clara French Press
The positives? This is another beautiful press that we’d want to keep out of the cabinet for sheer eye candy value. It also has an effective filter and vacuum-insulted design for keeping heat in. The thing it didn’t keep well was the coffee, which leaked from various parts of the lid while pouring.
Stanley Classic Stay Hot French Press
While Stanley makes some cute and colorful water bottles and tumblers these days, its French press harkens back to its rough-and-tumble utilitarian roots. It’s big and rugged-looking, and it only comes in a 48-ounce size, making it more ideal for serving a group of your outdoorsy buds around a campfire than daily use in a home kitchen. That said, it does come in some cute colors.
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