french press suggestions?
 

I picked up a fairly inexpensive Bodum french press the other day, and I'm thrilled. Mr. Kipper is pondering stealing it when he travels, especially when he goes out into the woods for hunting.

A few questions:

1. Is there one that might be better for travel, especially hunting, than one that's glass?
2. Is there one that would make 2 cups of coffee at once, rather than just one? By two cups of coffee, I mean two coffee mugs of coffee (large mugs), as ours claims it's a 3 cup, but I only ever seem to fill one coffee mug with it.

Thanks!

I use an Aeropress for travel. Technically can do two cups, but I always do one at a time since I prefer to make it like brewed coffee and not like espresso.

http://m.rei.com/mt/www.rei.com/product/820424/rei-table-top-french-coffee-press-32-fl-oz

They come in both Plastic and Stainless for travel, in different sizes. Bodum also makes them (along with others) if you like Bodum products.

I purchased a Bodum initially because it was on sale for $8 or $9, and we'd been discussing trying it. :) I don't know that I'd insist on staying with Bodum, but I do like it thus far.

Perhaps I'll suggest stainless for travel to Mr. Kipper. I'd actually be thrilled if I could find one that was osmething like 48 oz, because that would probably give us 2 large coffee mugs at one time, although that wouldn't need to be for travel. :)

I have one made of plastic, and it makes 2 1/2 cups. Not sure where I got it, and it has no markings. I travel with it sometimes.
Doesn't Starbucks make a personal mini press that is also a coffee mug? Thought they did one time...

There's really nothing to a french press that will make one brand different than another one. As long as it's leakproof in a travel one, and as long as it doesn't let the grounds get past the screen, they are all pretty much the same.

I believe the largest french press is 12 cups, which some define as 48 ounces and others 51 ounces, so you should be able to find anything from one to 12 cups.

Thanks. I apparently need to find one that's 48 ounces or 51 ounces. :D

French press
 

OK, guys. I own a cookware store, and I buy and sell lots of french presses.
The easiest ones to come by that travel well are a plastic one sold by Starbucks, and a considerable more expensive stainless steel one sold by Freiling. Everything else has glass parts or falls somewhere in the middle. There are also similar apparatus for milk frothing, as well as the sort of battery powered toothbrush style, that I don't like as much.

I have a 12 cup Bodum and it is great. I picked mine up I expensively from a department store, so might be worth trying your local ones rather than a (possibly more expensive) specialty store.

A French Press is nice, but a Napoletana is more fun. You can flip or just pour hot water through. I find the coffee a little too cool from a large french press. Something I read and can't personally verify--when you add hot water to the french press, fresh coffee will foam up, stale coffee not at all.

Sounds interesting, but I find something a bit theraputic about using a french press. :)

I don't know if they do any more, but they did make two types, and I own both. I disagree that all french presses are the same.

One is stainless steel, and produces about 2 cups (or one large travel size cup) and works very well. I have used it about 300x per year for at least 7 years with it still working as well as when I purchased it. And it keeps the coffee very hot until I am ready to drink it.

The other is plastic. It may be lighter for travel (but more liable to break or crack) It doesn't keep the coffee as hot, and the press part doesn't work well after just a few dozen uses. Others have reported this as well on the thread elsewhere on FT about making your own coffee while travelling.

I have actually searched for a stainless steel version for some time now as colleagues are always jealous of my hot, self-made coffee, but have not found a comparable product.

I believe that this is the one willie wonka mentioned (I was confused by the 'Freiling' as this is by 'Frieling') http://frieling.com/products/coffee-and-tea-essentials/ The small size may be suitable for travel.

I have found this to be accurate though i have not scientifically proven so. The large Seattle-based coffee companies rarely foam. Local small batch works best.

I'm in the market for a new french press ASAP... Mr. Kipper, in typical Marine fashion, while trying to disassemble it to clean it, apparently thought it was much like trying to field strip an M16, and used brute force to tilt the handle away from the carafe, to remove the carafe. In doing that, he managed to break the glass. :(

As such, I think we've decided that stainless steel is a must. We did stop at 3 different stores this morning, but we were not able to find stainless steel, just glass. :(

I think I'm just going to order this one.

I like the look of that one.

Do you have a CostPlus Worldmarket near you? They used to sell a good assortment, but in general their variety of products seems to have declined over the past year. :(

We do not have one. I was hoping Macy's might have it in store, as they have a 20% printable coupon right now, but no such luck. :( I guess it's time to see who has the best cashback option. :)

Frankly, the Aeropress is great for someone like that. I can lean on it with all my weight (typically do) and it has survived years of that abuse every day.

I ordered one. We'll see how Mr. Kipper likes it, and how I like it. I figure that if nothing else, he may take that into the woods with him, and I'll buy and keep a stainless one at home.

Bodum measures "cups" as 4oz cups and so their 3-cup size means it holds 12oz of liquid (including what is used to brew the coffee grinds) so in reality, you get only 9 to 10-oz of actual coffee which is only a smidge more than an 8-oz US mug. For minimum 2 whole mugs of coffee, the best Bodum size is the 8-cup (32-oz) size you've got there in the stainless version. The 4-cup (16-oz) will yield just a mug and a half.

They don't make anything bigger than 16oz in their polycarb french press tumbler style but depending on how you like your coffee the tumbler has its own problems too.

I usually travel with a mini dual voltage travel kettle and either a reusable filter or some paper filter pockets so that I can make either coffee or tea. For coffee I just put the grinds in the filter, pour hot water over it and let it brew. With the reusable filter, it's very similar to french press as you get all the fragrant oils in the coffee. With the kettle, boiling water is quick and I make my coffee by the cup. If I use the room coffee maker, I make the hot water first then dunk the filter of grinds into the carafe.

Thanks for the explanation about cups for Bodum! That makes sense and explains why we didn't get much.

I tried the Aeropress this morning and wasn't thrilled with it. I felt as if the coffee mug was going to go sliding, and the volume of coffee was really low.

For me, I have to have a product which doesn't require filters, pods, etc and I believe that the French press is it (unless there are any other suggestions)

I see that Starbucks has a new plastic version, but again I highly recommend either metal, or glass for home use.

Thanks for the review, kipper.

I'm thinking the Aeropress may be returned or sold on eBay, unless Mr. Kipper wants it for when he travels.

You can buy replacement glass liners from Bodum.

We considered that, but then we considered Mr. Kipper's philosophy that brute strength is better, and figured that perhaps glass is a bad idea. :D

Aeropress returned to Macy's. We picked up a Bonjour "virtually unbreakable" french press, and so far, it's not bad.

+1 for the aeropress

Sorry you didn't like it, kipper, hope you like your new gizmo.

The Aeropress was worth a try, although, perhaps the look Mr. Kipper gave me when I started describing it should have been enough to convince me that I'm not coordinated enough to use it. :D

I had decaf last night before bed, and full strength this morning. :)

This time, I was the one to break the french press. :( The little nut that holds the filter to the rod fell off, leaving the filter at the bottom of the container.

I did fix it eventually, but it was a bit of a challenge, especially without coffee. :)

I really broke the french press this time. The rubber and filter started to separate and tear. So, we're now on to our third french press. This one should be delivered later this week. http://www1.macys.com/shop/product/b...xx.esn_results

Uh oh. Let us know what happens next.

I actually had a french press in a hotel room recently, and as I rinsed it out in the sink for a second use that day wondered how durable it would be with heavy guest usage (I assume)

The one that I broke supposedly has a limited lifetime warranty, so I'm pondering contacting the manufacturer about it. Worst case, tehy don't replace it. If they do, then we have one for travel, one for home. :)

Although a new french press is not offensively expensive but rather than buying a whole new press do the research for replacement glass breaker, save your money and cause less waste.

I have a Bodum french press plastic travel size. Had it for a few years and use it almost daily. Love it.

I did not break the beaker on this one, but rather, the plastic/filter started to tear.

I would also recommend getting and/or making a french press cozy. They have them all over etsy and they help to keep the coffee warm for much longer.

My wife made us one out of felt and it keeps the coffee warm for 2-3 times longer, you can also knit one if you are that crafty.

Best of luck!

The coffee doesn't last that long for me. :) I usually drink all of it really rather quickly.

I wish I had seen your thread earlier--I have a stainless French press that holds 48oz, and has vacuum walls which keep the coffee hot for hours. I've had it for 6 or 7 years, and the company just replaced the filter part for me at no cost.

It's this item:
http://www.liquidplanet.com/Planetar...ses-p-237.html