Best Cafetiere – The Top French Press Coffee Makers For You
With fresh ground coffee beans, the French Press or Cafetiere coffee maker starts many households on a strong wake up cup of coffee. For those looking at a “slow coffee” start to the day, the pairing of this cafetiere coffee works very well with a manual coffee grinder.
The Cafetiere or the French Press Coffee Maker probably traces its origins to France but was actually patented by a designer in Milan in the 1920s. The Cafetiere became popular across Europe and the UK from the mid-1960s. It then became a fad for the way to drink coffee for quite a while.
This type of coffee maker is still seen as the “traditional” way to make coffee.
Is the Cafetiere the coffee maker for you?
Distinctive Coffee
The cafetiere makes a very distinctive strong coffee that tastes different to that from a filter coffee maker, a pod machine or any other coffee maker. If you’ve loved French coffee and liked the cafetiere style coffee, then this is a fabulous option to have at home or at work.
How do you drink your coffee?
Do you make a pot of coffee and have it last the whole morning?
The French Press is great for coffees where you have one or two mugs in quick succession. If you are expecting you can come back in a few hours for a second cup, the French Press Coffee may not be the right option since the coffee would have gone cold.
Simplicity of use
The French Press is attractive because it’s quite simple design and washing it and cleaning it are quite easy. There’s no requirement to descale and do other things you might have to with proper machines.
Choosing a Cafetiere
Size matters
If you are getting the cafetiere just for yourself, then the smallest size of 0.35l may be enough. However, if this is for a couple of people or more than three, you certainly need the largest size. While the French press coffee makers talk about 3 coffee cups from the small 0.3 or 0.35l coffee maker, the size they assume is a 100ml cup of coffee which is small and probably going to be just one third of a large mug.
Style
Style can play a role in the type of French press you choose. Do you love the classic French press look? Or are you ok with a stainless steel jug look if it keeps the coffee hotter for slightly longer?
Grind Free Coffee
Some French Press coffees don’t capture all the coffee grinds. This means that you can end up with a muddy coffee towards the bottom half of your cup or mug that changes the taste and the look.
Price Range of the French Press Coffee Makers Featured Here
The price of the French Press coffee makers we’ve selected are all between £18-30.
You can get a much cheaper cafetiere for around £10 but our assertion is that this isn’t money well spent since these tend to crack or become unusable in a matter of weeks.
The 5 Best Cafetiere or French Press Coffee Makers
1. Bodum Chambord
Bodum is a Danish design house now based in Switzerland that started with vacuum coffee makers in the 1950s.
They acquired the company that made the first ever coffee press maker, Melior. Today, the Bodum Chambord range reflects the design principles originally seen in the Melior coffee makers with the traditional Bodum design flare incorporated.
The current Bodum Chambord comes in four sizes from 0.35l which is perfect for one person to the 1.5l model which is good for guests or a family that loves their coffee.
The frame and lid are made of steel that’s been finished with chrome plating. The carafe is made of borosilicate glass. This glass has been a source of concern for some users, but this isn’t something that we’ve found to be a problem. Also, some have found that the coffee grinds do make their way into the cup no matter how hard they try.
When you follow the instructions on how to clean the Bodum Chambord Cafetiere, get the perfect grind and right temperature of water, this makes a lovely cup of coffee.
2.Café Ole Double Walled Straight Sided Cafetiere Coffee Maker
Despite the name, Grunwerg is a British family business that’s been around for seventy years or so providing homeware and catering products. Café Ole is one of their brands. The Cafetiere that is part of the Café Ole brand that is a stainless-steel coffee maker with a mirror finish.
This French Press Coffee Maker addresses the issue that customers of the Bodum Chambord have had that it keeps the coffee hot for a longer period. But remember, this is not a flask, it’s still a cafetiere, so don’t expect it to keep the coffee hot for hours.
This Cafetiere comes in four sizes as well from 0.3l to 1.5l. We’ve preferred to look at it in terms of the litre capacity because while it’s packaged as 3 cups of coffee for the smallest 0.3l size, this is certainly not the case if you are looking at a large mug of coffee.
This coffee maker comes across as solid and a quality feel.
3.Andrew James Double Walled Stainless Steel Cafetiere
Andrew James is a family owned retailer who sources several hundred kitchen ware products. This French press coffee maker is highly regarded.
This cafetiere comes in two sizes – 0.35l and a 1litre. Converting this to mugs of coffee, the smaller one is great for one person and the larger one for 3-4 people.
One of the big plus points about this cafetiere is that it doesn’t let any coffee grinds get into the coffee cup. It looks solid but it doesn’t keep the coffee hot for 2 hours as promised. Our experience is that it’s about 20-25 minutes. It’s still longer than glass based French Presses but we were hoping it would stay hot for longer.
There have been some recent concerns about a drop in the quality control for these cafetieres but this isn’t typical.
4. Cafe Du Chateau French Press Stainless Steel 1litre
This is the best cafetiere among the five we have shortlisted.
A stylish cafetiere from this small single product American company has been well received. We love the looks of the French Press. Combined with the four-filtration system that prevents coffee grinds from reaching your cup and much sturdier than the typical glass cafetiere, this is a firm favourite with several users including us.
We think this is the best cafetiere coffee maker since it has the stylishness that the glass French press provides with a sturdiness and a thoughtful design of keeping the handle cool enough to handle always.
It doesn’t have a 1.5l large size but it works perfectly well for 3 mugs of coffee.
5. GROSCHE MADRID Cafetiere, French Press, Coffee Press, Tea Press (1.0 L)
We love the Grosche Madrid for its stylish looks and robustness.
This is a premium cafetiere from a small Canadian company, Grosche that has its heart in the right place, with an intent of transparency and doing good for people in need. This social enterprise is one of those companies you want to champion. The stylish French Press is a favourite with its users.
It comes in 3 sizes, 0.35l, 1l and a 1.5l. It can also deal with loose tea, is dishwasher safe and easy to clean. The glass doesn’t touch the surface it sits removes the need for surface protectors.
Some users have found that this French press has a washer built into the filtration system that can be easy to lose track of. But no grinds make it to the cup. After using it for a year, it’s still sturdy and reliable.