Frieling Stainless Steel French Press Coffee Maker Review

We purchased the Frieling Stainless Steel French Press Coffee Maker so our reviewer could test and assess it. Keep reading for our full product review.

French press coffee makers have been associated with high-quality brews for decades. Requiring no electricity or paper filters, French presses are highly portable and environmentally sensitive, and well-designed models like the Frieling Double-Wall Stainless Steel French Press Coffee Maker are also a beautiful item to display in your kitchen. We put this luxury French press through its paces to find out if it’s worth the investment. Read on to find out what we discovered.

Design: Sleek and luxurious

This French press is an elegant statement piece available in two finishes: brushed and polished. It works the same way all French press makers do—by plunging down coffee grounds brewed in hot water—but this one has an opaque, stainless steel carafe. After testing three French presses all at once (two made of glass, one made of stainless steel), we found that this particular construction is great at insulation, keeping contents warm for longer than a glass model. It’s also durable and won’t shatter like glass beakers. However, for those who like to see what’s happening inside their French press, this may not be the best option.

This product comes in five sizes—8, 17, 23, 36, and 44 ounces—and we found the overall look tall and sleek. However, we could see the narrow handle being a bit hard for some users to grasp. This coffee maker is also considerably heavier than glass carafe models.

A word on the plunger: The Frieling coffee maker employs a two-stage filter system. There’s a pre-filter and super-fine mesh filter intended to eliminate sediment that can sneak into your cup. We found this dual filter system, combined with the coil design, to be a surprisingly tight fit. While plunging effectively traps sediment in the bottom of the carafe, it does require significantly more effort than other models.

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Performance: Simple and elegant

With easy-to-follow instructions and a measuring spoon, it’s fairly simple to make French press coffee with the Frieling system. We had a bit of a hard time adjusting to not being able to see into the stainless steel carafe, but we got used to it after a few brews. The larger model we tested kept coffee warm for longer than a glass carafe, allowing us to linger and take full advantage of the coffee. And as a bonus, the French press looks quite artful on the breakfast table or kitchen counter. It really is a statement piece!

Cleaning: Easy to clean, but prone to blemishes

French presses need to be cleaned after each use to remove any bitter residue, meaning you must disassemble and reassemble the product every time you make coffee. It may sound like a lot of work, but the task is easily accomplished with the Frieling, thanks to the fine engineering of the parts. It took us no more than a minute to take it apart, and once everything was washed and rinsed, it was a breeze to put back together.

The coffee maker is dishwasher-safe, but keep in mind stainless steel is prone to spots. We opted to hand wash and dry the coffee maker after each use, but still we noticed the “polished” finish showed smudges easily. It took a fair bit of rubbing with a soft cloth to restore the originally flawless exterior.

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Price: For some, a worthwhile investment

With a price two or three times higher than many other French presses—around $100—this model might seem costly for a coffee maker. That said, the quality of the design, engineering, and resulting sediment-free java give this device an edge over its competitors. If you love the look and are willing to trade visibility for insulation, this is a beautiful investment piece.

Frieling Double-Wall Stainless Steel French Press Coffee Maker vs. KONA French Press Coffee Maker

The central comparison point between these two coffee makers is stainless steel versus glass. The Frieling Double-Wall Stainless Steel French Press Coffee Maker is constructed with heavy metal from top to bottom, while the KONA French Press Coffee Maker consists of glass and a plastic frame and lid.

The benefits of the KONA design include portability thanks to its lighter weight, as well as a clear view of the plunger and interior. Frieling, by comparison, offers the implied quality of a heavier weight, as well as insulation due to its double-wall stainless steel carafe. While KONA sells only 12- and 34-ounce models, Frieling has five sizes. However, the Frieling models are significantly more expensive.

Need some more help finding what you're looking for? Read through our best french press coffee makers article.