FrielingDouble-Walled Stainless Steel French Press Coffee Maker - Brushed 36 oz (1 Liter) Insulated Coffee Press

Update, February 2017It's been several years. No sign of rust anywhere. Pressing assembly still fits the pot tightly enough that it still takes some strength to press. The pressing screen itself has also remained tight. In fact, just because it is convenient and well designed, I have used this press many times now for things other than finely ground coffee. The screen has held up like a champ. I get more impressed every time I use it. Pricy purchase, yes, but an excellent investment, and I certainly get raves on the coffee. I believe this is one of those lifetime investments that one never regrets.Original review, 2013:First, the confession: I don’t drink coffee. I didn’t inherit CD1, the primary coffee-drinking gene. (Unfortunately, I did inherit the pie-eating gene …) The only coffee I know how to make is in a mug with 2/3 coffee, and the rest Jamieson, Irish cream, peppermint schnapps, and a little Godiva chocolate liquor.So, what’s with the review? Well, I found myself cooking for a bunch of hunters and guides at my cabin up in the mountains. Of all the things these guys need during the day (besides a rifle, some ammo, and a decent chance at an elk), they wanted coffee. Ack! Panic! I have a two-burner Coleman camp stove that’s 30 years old, with limited propane, no other source for heating water (i.e., no wood stove), no way to use an electric coffee maker -- and an urgent need to provide at least two carafes of coffee every morning by 5 am.Enter the French Press. The Freiling 44 oz brushed stainless steel press, to be specific. No power required, just add water. I read the reviews (multiple reviews, many sites) of all the presses -- Freiling, Bodun, BonJour, La Cafetiere, Espro… blah blah, but four things stood out with the Freiling: 1) No plastic. 2) No glass. 3) Clean lines. 4) Stable base.This was a last-minute arrangement, and I received the two Freilings the day I was packing (kudos on the expedited delivery). I had no chance to try them out. I simply verified that the innards fit the outtards, tossed the two presses in a box with my scanpans, cast iron, a little salt, a little garlic… And drove like a bat out of, well, you know, to meet up with the team before we headed up into the pitch black hills.The next morning there I was, 4:35 am, staring at the gleaming pot in one hand, the strainer assembly in the other, hoping this would go well. Really not a good idea to piss off a bunch of groggy, grumpy armed men at 5 am.I measured the coffee (1 T per 8 oz water), poured in the hot water, allowed 1/4 to 1/8 inch space below the spout. Set the lid on, pressed just enough to push the coffee raft under. Let it sit 4 minutes. Then pressed slowly down (it’s like an herb press). Presto, hot coffee. Notice my mistakes: I didn’t stir the coffee in the water. I set the strainer into the raft immediately to hold the grounds down under, didn’t check the temperature of the water, etc.I did take a serious liberty. I told the hunters that this was the best cowboy coffee in the world. I was hoping the marketing hype would help me survive their realization that they were up in the mountains for a week with a woman who didn’t know how to make coffee. I suppose I had vain hopes that, if they expected cowboy coffee -- melted spoon included -- perhaps they wouldn’t be so harsh.Here’s what they said before they drank it: “Huh.” “Uh.” “Guh.”Here’s what they said aftewards: “This is really good.” “That was great coffee.” “We never had it this good at my other hunt camps.”Can’t tell you how much relief I felt. It’s never a good thing when someone has to shoot the cook, but I wasn’t sure I would escape it, what with the whole newbie-at-coffee thing I had going on.So after a week of solid use, here’s the upshot:1) Workmanship. The presses (both of them) feel well made, precision machined, with sturdy, good materials. They feel good in your hands. The press assembly fits tightly against the inside walls -- tightly enough that it takes some pressure to move it up and down.2) Aesthetics. (I got the brushed stainless steel.) Nice aesthetic lines on the larger pot. Before I ordered, I didn’t like the handle -- looked too clunky in the photo, and hard to grip. However, when you actually see the press, the lines work very well. I suspect the lines work better on my larger, taller version (44 oz) than on the smaller presses.3) Design - Functional. Well designed. The flat, stable base is great, especially if you’re in a camp environment where nothing is really level -- I didn’t’ have to worry about them tipping over at all. Again, from the photo, I didn’t like the non-ergonomic look of the handle -- thought it would be hard to grip. However, I had no trouble holding the large pot with one hand while pouring. It’s well designed even for someone like me who has extreme tendonitis. The 44 oz size is on the outside edge of what I can manage with one hand.4) Performance. I used both presses for a week. They performed flawlessly, with smooth action.5) Yield. I got just over three cups of coffee from each 44-oz press. I’m grateful I bought 2 presses. I could not have kept up with just one press.6) Grounds in coffee? No. As long as I allowed at least 1/8 inch space below the spout, no grounds came out with the coffee. As a precaution, I continued pouring through a small wire strainer to transfer the hot coffee from press to thermos. The only time I saw grounds (4 grains, by the way) was from the one pot in which I accidentally poured the water up to the spout.7) Taste. I got raves. Days later, still got raves. Three weeks later, still raves. Between the coffee and the meals, I earned the highest accolade in a hunting camp: “Cookie.” Felt quite proud of that.8) Clean-up. Really easy if you have running hot water. Still okay even if you are pouring hot water over the press from an enamel kettle and using a plastic tub with 1/4 inch water for wash-up.9) Stains. The coffee discolored one pressing disk during pressing, but did not discolor the other. I don’t know why the difference. When I cleaned the disks, there was still a hint of discoloration on that one disk. After a week’s use, the one disk continues to discolor during use. I can get the disk mostly clean, but there is always that hint of darkness. It does not affect the taste of the coffee.10) Heat retention. Several reviewers complained about the lack of heat retention. However, the Freiling clearly says that it keeps coffee hot for only a little while. Besides, it’s cold in November in the mountains. And those hunters and guides were armed. I wasn’t taking a chance on cold coffee. I simply pre-warmed a couple of man-sized Thermos’s and used them to keep the coffee hot. Worked great, and I could continue to make more coffee as needed while they poured from the thermos’s.11) You gotta work for it… Just as an FYI, I made the guides grind the coffee beans. Since I have no electricity at the cabin, I handed them two small hand grinders: I’d chosen the well-rated Porlex JP-30 Stainless Steel Coffee Grinder. I bought 1 + 1 for a backup. I told the guides before we went up the mountain that, if they wanted coffee, I’d make it, but they had to work for it. Foolishly -- and not realizing how much effort it would take to grind coffee for the whole mass o’ hunters + guides -- they accepted the challenge.It took them less than 4 minutes (and I think three beers each) before they said, to heck with this. They got a power drill from one of their trucks, put on a 1/4-inch bit, popped the grinder’s handle off and, using the light from the bonfire in the firepit and a couple 900 lumen flashlights (because anything less would just be wussy), they ran two mornings’ worth of coffee through those poor little grinders in approximately 0.438 seconds.If you want to try their Alternate Method of hand grinding, there is supposedly a 5.05 millimeter hex bit that will fit the grinder better. If you use a 1/4 inch bit, you’ll start rounding the head on the bolt. I might try to replace the bolt itself with a 1/4 head, just to be prepared for the next episode of Cavemen with Power Tools and Fire.Bottom line:I don’t like coffee myself, but I sure liked making it in the Freiling French press. The Freiling let me deliver an excellent cup of coffee in a fairly austere environment, with no hassle, almost no work, and simple clean-up. The press appealed to my aesthetics, and the precision workmanship appeals to my sense of the world. Add in the whole they-didn’t-shoot-the-cook benefit, and I figure I went from Newbie to Gourmet in a day, and saved my hiney and my reputation as “Cookie” to boot.Rating: 5 stars for both form and function.- tkh

I bought the mirror finish 44 oz. unit. I was told by a customer service rep at Frieling there will be a brushed finish available in Spring of 2013. I thought it might help with possible surface spotting, but I was not willing to wait.First, this is a beautiful unit. The mirror finish is great, can be wiped clean with ease and is better than expected appearance wise on all counts. It has the feel of a quality tool with no area that suggests that short cuts were taken in the manufacturing process. It is shockingly simple with just the pot cylinder and the lid/plunger/screen assembly.The 44 oz. quantity is the amount that reaches the very bottom of the V on the pour spout - possibly an unusable amount. I judge that approximately 42 oz. (about ½" below the bottom of the V) is close to the actual safe usable quantity if the bloom and screen depth, etc. are taken into account.The Frieling customer service rep told me that pouring water just off boil into the pot at room temperature would yield 205 degree water in the pot. I later verified this with my thermometer. He suggested that the ground coffee could be added to the 205 water and briefly stirred to saturate it before putting the lid in place for brewing. I did this and verified a temp drop to 199 degrees during the four minute brewing time. I used this method for awhile then switched to putting the coffee in first and stirring after adding the water. Either method seems to produce a comparable result. There is no requirement of preheating the pot or trying to measure or estimate the temperature of the water to see if it is in the 195-205 degree brewing range.While I have only been using the Frieling for a few days, it has produced an exceptionally good cup of coffee for me. I am experimenting with the coffee to water ratio to find the best result for my taste. I expect to use this unit for many years.To address some of the cons that I have seen in other reviews:1. French Presses are expected to have some amount of sediment come through the screen/filter. This unit has less than any other I have used. I was surprised by this. I am using a Baratza Encore burr grinder with medium coarse grind setting. I suggest that those who have remarked on having "grinds" in their cup not use pre-ground coffee, not use a blade grinder, move to a courser grind, pour the coffee only until the pot is almost horizontal, and if none of that works, contact Frieling customer service to see if a replacement screen is needed.2. The lid can slip forward/downward slightly with a metallic clunk as the pot cylinder approaches horizontal while pouring even if you have your finger on the knob of the plunger rod. You can put your finger on the lid and prevent this, but the lid or escaping steam could warm your finger past the comfortable point. There is a permanent solution for this issue. I call it the 25 Cent Solution. I went to Ace Hardware and bought a little bag containing two 1/4L Beveled Bib Washers for 25 cents (item number 02-1076P). Any hardware store should have these. Initially I cut the washer and slipped it onto the plunger rod, however after a couple weeks it became loose fitting, so I unscrewed the screen assembly from the bottom of the plunger and slid the other washer (flat side down) onto the plunger rod (it fits tightly) and replaced the screen assembly. The washer can now be moved up or down the rod (it gets easier with a little break-in period) into position to hold the lid during a pour. I don't even have to touch the plunger or lid during a pour as long as the washer is positioned against the lid. The washer does not detract from the general appearance of the pot, in fact I think it kind of adds, and can be easily removed if needed. Perhaps Frieling should consider a factory installed custom washer.3. The lid does not have a closure system at the pour spout of the cylinder. It has been suggested that this will cause heat loss that is bad for the brewing process. Please see this YouTube video: [...] for a comparison of the Frieling and other steel units that have spout closure. There was no significant difference in heat loss even after two hours.Keep in mind that this pot should not be used as a carafe to store your brewed coffee for any prolonged time until it is served after brewing or it can become bitter. The coffee should be served after brewing is complete or poured into a heated or thermal carafe until it is served.4. It has been noted that this is an expensive coffee pot. I think about it differently. The purchase price is higher than some coffee makers. However the cost of a 40 oz. pot of coffee made with this unit is about 65 cents using (Yes I know, non-gourmet) Costco Columbian beans ($236 annually for 1 pot/day), The result is comparable to Starbuck's Pike Place Roast and is a joy to drink. A 6 oz. cup of Kuereg coffee (made in a machine of comparable price) runs 50 to 60 cents ($438 annually for two cups/day) and to me tastes poor by comparison. A grande Starbucks Pike Place Roast runs $2.11 with tax ($1,540 annually for two cups/day) and it has a very good flavor. While I could choose a $40 Mr. Coffee drip coffee maker recommended by CR, the taste would without doubt not be as good, the machine would have a limited life expectancy and cost about the same $219 annually. So, to me, the pleasure I get in the morning from the coffee produced by me and this inanimate object is worth the difference in the cost of the starter kit. I also enjoy the morning ritual.I say 5 Stars.