Customer Reviews

Frieling Ultimo 25-Ounce French Press

5 star:		(304)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

If you like the press method of making coffee, I can't imagine a better one than this.

If you are not familiar with the French press method, you should be aware that coffee from a press is not nearly as "squeeky clean" as typical American drip coffee. Grounds are separated by a fine wire mesh on a plunger and a certain amount of fine grinds will ALWAYS get through. To minimize this, your coffee needs to be ground specifically for a press - a much coarser grind than for drip.

But the press is widely regarded as the best way to get all the subtle flavors out of a great coffee bean. This one is beautiful and built like a battleship - you'll never have to replace broken glass insert again. All parts are dishwasher safe.

The Frieling is also insolated but don't get the idea you can let your coffee sit in it. It is not a "thermos". It really is only enough insolation to offset the undesireable thermal conduction properties of stainless steel and keep it superior to its glass/ceramic rivals.

No matter to me. Most coffee experts will tell you to get your coffee separated from the grounds after a 4-5 minute brew or over-extraction and bitter taste can result. So my coffee goes into a pre-heated, insolated carafe as soon as it is brewed.

Because the Frieling is steel, dense, and more massive than your typical glass press, you may need to adjust your brewing procedure slightly to keep it from adversely affecting your brew temperature - ideally 190-200F. I preheat mine with some hot tap water before brewing but I have heard that you can just put boiling water in one, insert the plunger briefly, then brew using the same water which will now have dropped "into the zone".

Happy brewing.

P.S. If you are going to "do the press" I have two suggestions:

- The Baratza/Solis Maestro Plus burr grinder: It's expensive but it produces a vastly superior (consistent) grind to blade grinders.

- CoffeeBeanCorral.com : Learn to roast your own beans and the world will be your cup of coffee.

(one year later) I am back to say this is STILL the best. I use it every day and it gets sent through the dish washer every day. It has taken a couple drops and still works fine.

(FOUR years later - WOW!) What a great press! I still use this every day and it still makes a great cup of coffee!

Granted it may not be the cheapest but you are getting a quality product. The two best things/selling points I can make are the fact that it is stainless steel meaning you will never have to replace a glass carafe again. Also, the steel is well insulated meaning that if you take your time with your first cup of press coffee, you can be sure the second will stay hot for you. As a side bonus, and unlike single wall stainless French presses you may have seen, this one should hold up to some damage as a ding in the outer wall wouldn't generally show through and cause the plunger to fail to go down. The only detraction, and it's minor, is that the hole in the lid for the plunger handle is not sealed, meaning water/coffee could get into the lid and would not necessarily be easy to remove. I can understand why they didn't try to seal this hole as it would have probably been a somewhat expensive weld and this item is already not so cheap. Still, as someone who's been through literally six presses (Bodums, Alessi, Hario) I think this one beats them all. I tried to upload the little user's manual that came with this press as a PDF which might help you decide.

I have been using a Bodum glass press pot for several months now. Been wanting a stainless to keep the water hotter during the brewing process. Actually placed an order for the Bodum Columbia, but received this one as a present so I canceled the order for the Bodum.

This pot works extremely well and is very attractive. It is quite substaintial which makes for a very nice feel. The coffee certainly comes out hotter than it did with the glass pot - a definate plus.

I prefer the bottom portion of the filter mechanism on the Bodum vs. this one (the top two pieces of the filters on both are identical). This one's bottom filter element is not flat like the Bodum. It has a slight curve upwards at the edges. Thus the trapped grounds are harder to clean out w/o disassembling the filter vs. the Bodum. It really isn't that big a deal, but I just like the Bodum design better. Unfortunately, both bottom elements have different thread diameters, so the parts aren't interchangeable.

That one small negative aside (you most likely wouldn't see this as a negative unless you've used a Bodum), this is a very nice pot. As a matter of fact, both this pot and the Bodum would benefit from the use of a one-piece filter instead of the three pieces ones supplied with both. If you have one of these, the Frieling will be flawless.

Another nice thing with the Frieling is that you can get a matching sugar and creamer. I'm not sure if you can with the Bodum. If you are into entertaining small groups, this is a vote for the Frieling too.

Highly recommended.

I owned a similar product, the Bodum Columbia insulated press Bodum Columbia 34-Ounce Stainless-Steel Thermal Coffee Press Pot for 3 years, and I decided to switch to the Frieling press a few weeks ago. The Bodum has a filter that has a plastic housing and is surrounded by a silicone flap, and the silicone had worn off over time, allowing grounds to get into my coffee. In addition, the plastic absorbed coffee smell over time, making fresh coffee smell old.

The Frieling press has several advantages:

1. All parts are stainless steel. There is no plastic to wear out, break, or absorb odors, and there's no glass to break. It looks and feels well-made.
2. It keeps my coffee warm for maybe twice as long as the Bodum.
3. The filter screen has a smooth edge. I originally bought the Bodum press because the screens on other presses had rough edges that would fray or poke me when I washed them. Bodum fixed the problem by surrounding the screen with plastic, but Frieling takes the common sense option of just hemming it. Smart.
4. It fully disassembles for cleaning.
5. Replacement parts are available through their website.
6. It makes great coffee.

When the press arrived, the connection between the rod and the metal plunger was funky. It wouldn't tighten down all the way, as though the threads didn't quite match. I didn't want to have a whole new press shipped - that seemed wasteful - so I emailed Frieling. They were courteous and apologetic, and they sent me replacement parts within an hour of my emailing them. The parts arrived in perfect condition, and they worked. There are plenty of companies out there that don't stand by their products and treat their customers like they don't matter, so that means a lot to me.

I highly recommend that you buy this press.

I had the opportunity to try French-pressed coffee recently and I was sold immediately. The increased character and complexity just blows even the most carefully drip-brewed coffee right out of the water. The first time I saw a sheen of rich oil (normally removed by paper filters) shining back at me from a piping hot cup, I knew I was in for a treat. I wanted to be able have that wonderful French-press taste at work, but the glass carafe of the other models on the market prohibited the rough transport. Enter the Frieling. Holy moose. This thing is amazing. Even decaf has more character and body (which is great for me since too much caffeine just kills my stomach). It's built like a tank so it can withstand a good tumble in a backpack (just toss that ancient enamel percolater you used to take camping right out the window) and the insulated carafe keeps your perfect cup steaming hot. The carafe holds about 3 standard coffee mugs worth which I found ideal. If you're new to French press, do yourself a favor and purchase a good quality burr grinder with a "very coarse" or "French press" setting. They're expensive, but you're wasting your time if you just drop in some generic-grind supermarket grounds; you won't get the proper extraction from the beans and you'll have a lot of icky sediment. Blade grinders just don't give you a consistent grind and they tend to be a bit "dusty" which will leave you with even more sediment. I should note that sediment is a part of a French-pressed cup anyway, but the Frieling has a superfine steel mesh that removes all but the nearly microscopic grounds, which really just adds to the body of the coffee rather than anything unpleasant, and is an essential part of French-press coffee. This is a fantastic buy for anyone who takes their coffee seriously. The Frieling is also outstanding for loose tea so even if you're not a coffee fanatic you can take advantage of this high-quality piece of brewing equipment. I would also reccommend the Vacu Vin coffee saver to store your fresh ground beans so you can savor the perfect cup just about anywhere.

Well, I'm impressed. I'm don't drink a lot of coffee, so I want what I DO drink to be special. I had my first French press coffee over the holidays, and thought it was some of the best coffee I'd ever tasted.

After reading reviews for the various brands of French presses here on Amazon, I decided on this little Frieling model. It makes just the right amount of coffee to last me an entire morning (23 oz, or about 2 12-oz mugs). The "5-6 cups" specified in the description are 4-oz cups (demitasse size), NOT our typical American mugs, so bear that in mind. Also, you're likely to find a little "sludge" in the bottom of your mug, but that's part of the French press charm.

This is an attractive item as well -- very nicely finished, well-balanced, stylish. The double-wall construction provides insulation adequate to retain the heat of that second mug of coffee for a couple of hours. It's sturdy (no glass to break!), and cleans nicely in the dishwasher.

I've been so impressed with this coffee maker that I'm seriously considering getting a second larger one, so I'll be able to serve company.

Not counting coffee grounds and an inch of space at the top, this apparatus makes 35 oz. of coffee, or about four mugs full. (The size of your coffee mug and the amount of grounds to discount may vary, of course.) Another reviewer says "the hole in the lid for the plunger handle is not sealed," but that problem appears to have been fixed. The lid is now sealed where the plunger stem passes through, and there's no way I can see for liquids to get into the lid. Overall, this is a solid piece of work and beautiful besides. I hope to get years of service from it. I rate it four stars only because it doesn't keep the coffee hot for much longer than other coffee presses. (Yes, I do heat it up ahead of time.) If you expect to drink all your coffee within twenty minutes or so, it's fine, but it's not like a glass thermos with a vacuum seal that might keep it hot for hours. Maybe it's too much to ask, but I guess I'll have to keep on using the microwave to get the last cup or two good and hot!

Used a Bodum French press until the plastic connection between the plunger screen and shaft loosened to the point where the screen would tilt! as the plunger decended (allowing big time "blow by" of grounds).

Then decided to shop around for really high quality French press and after reading the excellent reviews on the Frieling, bought two of the 6 cup models. Have used these now for a couple of months and have come to really appreciate the German design, engineering, and manufacturing quality of these press pots.

Here are specifics as to what sets them apart (and in my opinion makes them worth the steep prices):

-- All metal construction of the plunger assembly means everthing stays together and aligned (no blow-by due to wobbly screen-to-shaft connections).

-- Very important -- the screen mesh wraps very precisely up and around the sides of the round plunger spring and has never inverted -- on the Bodum the screen would invert when raising the plunger for cleaning -- this meant that the edge of the screen would eventually get very uneven (crinkled along the edge) and allow 'blow by" of grounds when pushing the plunger back down on subsequent use. My impression is that on the Bodum, the screen is a flat disc that wraps up around the side of the spring, whereas on the Frieling it seems that the screen has been pre-molded in a dish-shape to ensure that the edge is smooth as it wraps upward.

-- Screen mesh appears to be somewhat finer than other models, however I've never had a clog.

-- Handle design has really good ergonomics (thumb goes on top of the outer shaft, curled handle makes for a natural smooth pour, and finger gap is just right distance out from body of pot).

-- Double wall insulation means coffee stays acceptably hot for up to 45 minutes.

-- Subtle thing but, with the plunger raised, it's easy to just smap the cover and plunger screen on top of the pot (fits precisely with a resounding 'thunk') while coffee is brewing, and this is stable tight fit (again unlike the Bodum which has a loosely fitting top and plastic insert) so you can walk around with the pot ready to plunge... and equally importantly, because there's no wiggle room at the cover, the plunger goes precisely straight down with no wobbling or walking at the edge of the screen.

-- No drip spout.

-- Clean up is trivial -- just a rinse.

-- Polished stainless steel looks great.

-- Bullet proof stainless steel construction does look like it should last a long time.

BTW, replacement screen/plunger assemblies for all pot sizes are indeed available from the USA importer for Frieling -- just search on "Frieling", go to the consumer products section of the main site and then to the "Coffee Accessories" subsection.

I love the design of the French press, with its polished stainless exterior and brushed stainless interior. The Handle is well proportioned and the pot pours nicely. The problem is with the press action. I have not been able to get a clean press without either coffee spraying out of the spout, or coffee grounds showing up in the brewed coffee. I have experimented with different grinding levels with little improvement. I also own a glass press which never leaks grounds into the pot. There is some issue with the plunger and the seal it is able to maintain during compression. I would be interested if other buyers are seeing similar results.

I have been "tinkering" with coffee for many years. I roast my own beans and own a grinder that cost more than my first (used) automobile. Do a little research, and you will find that most coffee connoisseurs recommend the use of a French press for the best cup of brewed coffee. Two main reasons: 1) coffee should be brewed with water just off a boil in order to release the full flavor of the beans, and, 2) the natural bean oils end up in your cup, not trapped in a paper filter. Even the best home drip coffee makers fail to brew at the proper (hot) water temperature, and most suffer the paper filter issue as well. I encourage you to read all the other reviews for more detail about this quality product. Then, if you are ready to start experiencing quality coffee (from even medium priced beans), buy a Frieling Stainless-Steel French Press and get started.