What is it about a french press coffeemaker that makes such great coffee? Granted, french presses aren’t for everyone, but if you truly love coffee, and like to make it strong, then they may be just for you.
Today I’m going to talk about several different options that you have and the different price ranges you can expect to pay. When we’re done, you’re going to have the knowledge you’ll need to find the press that’s right for you. So let’s dive right in!
First, how do they work
If you’ve never used a French press before, then I want to take a minute or two to explain the basics. If you already know this stuff, you can skip down.
The first step in making French press coffee is grinding your beans. You want to make sure that the beans have a slightly more course ground to them. The finer the beans are ground, the stronger the coffee will be.
Next you’ll heat up your water on the stove until right before it begins to boil. Dump a couple scoops of ground coffee into the bottom of your French press and then fill it to the top, or near the top with hot water and let it sit for five minutes or so.
Next fasten the top on to the French press (the thing with the round filter and plunger). Push down on the plunger slowly to filter the grounds to the bottom of the carafe. Personally I like to let it sit for another five minutes after I’ve done this step. That’s it! Now you can enjoy your coffee!
What popular brands are the best?
There are many different French presses on the market and all of them work really well. The most popular include:
- Bodum Chambord French Coffee Press 10 Cup
- BonJour Hugo 8-Cup Unbreakable French Press
- Bodum Brazil 8-Cup Coffee Press
Bodum tends to offer stainless steel options while Bonjour offers rubber and plastic models, hence the price differences between the two that I will discuss below.
Bodum Chambord French Coffee Press 10 Cup
At $45 this is a very nice French press coffee maker that is incredibly popular. It will brew 51 ounces of coffee and is made of a very sturdy chrome plated brass frame with an easy to clean glass carafe. This model has 365 – five out of 5 star reviews at Amazon, which is amazing. Whether you choose the smaller bodum 8 cup french press or this larger one, you simply can’t go wrong with Bodum.
BonJour Hugo 8-Cup Unbreakable French Press Coffee Maker
At $20 this is a less sturdy and less substantial French press then the Bodum model, but if price is an issue then it’s a very real alternative. It makes 32 ounces of fresh brewed coffee and has an unbreakable polycarbonate carafe and rubberized comfort grip handles with a plastic lid and frame. Out of 136 customer reviews I give this an 80% B- because it has a large number of negative reviews, probably from people who don’t like the rubber and plastic feel of it.
Everyone should have a French Press Coffeemaker and since they’re so inexpensive you really have no excuse not to own one. Bodum is the clear industry standard when it comes to French press and no matter what size you’re looking to purchase, they have options to fit your needs. Plus if your carafe ever breaks, it’s easy to find a replacement very inexpensively.