Customer Reviews

Thermos Nissan 34-Ounce Vacuum Insulated Stainless-Steel Gourmet Coffee Press

5 star:		(169)
4 star:		(90)
3 star:		(36)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I've had one of these press pots and have used it for about 5 years. The description says it keeps coffee warm for hours. This is not quite right. It will keep it drinkable for an hour (the press pot is not double hulled like nissan thermouses). I transfer mine directly after pressing into a nissan thermous. My press pot has been used daily and it is as good as new. I don't under stand why people buy the glass one press pots. This nissan will last forever! The mesh screen does get worn, but mine is not so bad I'd replace it.

I drink my coffee stronger than average, okay, my husband calls it "Jet A" (the fuel used for jet engines) and I've never been happy with these automatic drip coffee makers. It came down to a professional espresso thousand dollar job or this little Nissan and I couldn't be happier with it and the 9 bills I saved buying it. While some say it doesn't keep coffee hot for very long, well how long does it take 2 people to drink 2 cups of coffee each? I just fill the pot with hot tap water while waiting for the kettle to boil and this keeps the coffee hot enough. Much better than that burnt taste of coffee left on a heating element.

I bought this coffee press about two years ago and I love it. Makes a great cup of coffee. Easy to clean, usually I hand wash it but about once a week I toss it in the dishwasher. (They say to hand wash it only, but it seems to do fine in the dishwasher.)

I find that it keeps coffee warm enough for a couple of hours. Maybe not as fun as the see-through glass coffee presses but I like the extra insulation.

It's a great press, does what I want it to. However, I've needed replacement screens for several months now, and everytime I call customer service, I'm told there is a backorder, call back in 6 weeks. So you can't put your name on a list, and they are always out of stock! By the way, the number is 800-831-9242. Call them repeatedly and bug their grouchy customer service reps!

I work in an office that does not allow individuals to have their own coffee machine due to fire concerns. Rather, they offer free coffee (ahem, if THAT stuff could be called anything other than hot colored water).
So, the french press is the way to go, and this thermos keeps the coffee hot just long enough for me, which is about 2 hours (don't know why they claim 6 hours, mine is OK for 2-3 hours). I have seen some negative reviews of this product, and I think those folks need to take a minute to work with the product a bit more. Here are my recommendations:
1. If it leaks coffee grinds, then look at the screen. There should be NO bends in the screen along the coil. This is where coffee grinds can leak through. Nissan should replace the screen for you free of charge if you receive a defective screen, which is not all that uncommon. You can also buy replacement screens at local kitchen supply places.
2. If you don't like the super-fine grained coffee that still gets through (I am like this), then do what I do. I place a regular paper coffee filter on top of the grinds prior to placing the screen on top. This does a fantastic job for me. It slows the press a lot, but the extra 10 seconds of press time is worth it in my mind.
3. Rinse the thing with HOT water prior to adding your coffee water. It makes a difference in my experience and helps make for a hotter cup of coffee.
4. Make sure the water you use is HOT. Be careful of some office coffee machines that have a hot water tap on them. This is usually not hot enough for coffee. You may want to use a separate container for microwaving your water to boiling hot before pouring into this container. This is true for all french presses, but the added thermal capacity of this stainless steel model cools the water slightly, so it helps.
5. Between pours, rotate the lid closed so that it is sealed off and won't cool down as quickly. I usually forget to do this, but when I remember, I get warm coffee for almost 3 hours.

In summary, I get fantastic coffee with mine. For those of you that don't, maybe try a few of these tips.

I would give this 5 stars, but I believe they ship too many of these with faulty screens that need replacement (the small bends in the screen near the coil can let grinds come through). This is a minor complaint for the price, though, as replacements are readily available if you don't want to wait for Nissan to send you a replacement.

I bought this particular french press because I was going to use it for camping, and I thought it would be wise to go with metal over glass. Sure enough, this thing has bounced around with me for thousands of miles, been banged off rocks in mountain streams, dropped, kicked and stepped on, and it still works as well as when I bought it a couple years ago. It never got all the grounds out of my coffee, but what the heck? The insulation is nice, too. I'd say that it keeps coffee drinkable for a couple hours.

I have been using this for at least 6 months now. It works great. You get Nissan's quality vacuum insulation, and a sturdy press mechanism. The rod is not fused to the screen with plastic like in the Starbucks units. The press consists of four metal pieces that easily break down for cleaning. The container is also wide enough to get your hand into, also benefitting cleaning. Best of all, for klutzes like myself, it's unbreakable!

It is durable and keeps the coffee hot, but I had two problems with it. When I first got it the stainless steel mesh filter was too large, which created 3 or more creases around the perimeter while pressing coffee. This would lead to a lot of grounds getting past the screen. Thermos was quick to replace it with no questions asked. The replacement screen worked great. The second flaw I found is that there is no way to seal the top so as not to spill coffee. In order to pour the coffee you have to position the knob on the stem so that it fits in the lid just so, which makes it impossible to turn and seal the lid. Thermos makes so many great products that I was surprised they hadn't designed this one better. All in all I'm pleased, but not impressed.
NOTE: Since this press insulates so well you MUST cut back some on the brew time or the coffee will brew to long and be bitter. It took me quite a few attempts to figure this out!

Before - grind coffee ... boil water ... work press pot ... chase kids around house for an hour ... drink cool coffee (sadness).

After - grind coffee ... boil water ... work press pot ... chase kids around house for an hour ... drink steaming hot coffee coffee (happiness).

Need I say more.

I got this because the Bodum presses invariably break at the junction of the rod and the steel filter after a year. We'll have to see how this one fares, but it looks much sturdier in that regard. This presses the coffee and keeps it hot as advertised - even up to four hours later, it was still hot enough to drink. But you can't see what's going on inside of course, and pulling the press out to clean it all is invariably a mess - more so than with the glass filters which let you see what you're doing. I have a feeling this press may grow on me so that a year from now I might give it a "5", but we'll see.