Secura French Press Coffee Maker, 304 Grade Stainless Steel Insulated Coffee Press with 2 Extra Screens, 34oz (1 Litre), Silver

I’ve had this French press coffee maker for almost one year. I like it because it is stainless, sturdy, has clean lines and is easy to hand wash and maintain. It makes a great cup of coffee that is not bitter, even though I brew mine fairly strong. The 17oz. version is good for one large mug or two small – medium cups of coffee. They make a one liter (34oz.) and other sizes if you are serving more. For French press generally, one is supposed to use a slightly coarser grind than regular, store bought, but with this one you can add an extra filter for finer grinds, similar to expresso. I use ordinary ground coffee, usually a strong coffee like Sumatra. Just one of the supplied metal filters works fine to keep these grounds from getting through. I have had zero problems with wear and tear. Some tips on making it: They describe it as having a double wall construction, which is the same as a thermos. It seems light enough for that to be the case. Despite its good thermal properties, I nonetheless preheat the pot by pouring hot water into the empty carafe and letting it sit for a few minutes. Ultimately, this keeps your coffee warmer as your final product does not lose as much temperature by heat transfer to the metal container. (Remember, once you mix hot water into the grounds it has to sit for 5 minutes before you pour.) Once the carafe is heated for a few minutes, dump the water you heated it with and put in your coffee grounds. Slowly pour in your hot water for the coffee, leaving enough room for the thick lid and filter mechanism. Then turn the lid to lock it (arrow facing away from the spout) and slowly push down on the press. I usually take about 15 seconds to push it almost all the way down. I believe this allows the coffee to impart flavor without bitterness. Fifteen seconds seems like a long time when doing this. The results are the reward for a little patience. (After all, you would not be using a French press if you needed an automatic brewer while heating a Pop Tart for 10 seconds in your microwave as you run for the door.) Turn the lid arrow back to align with the pouring spout and dispense gently into your cup. Highly recommended. - JPK

This is a great item to use, easy to clean, easy to use, and it tastes much better than using your ordinary household "percolator" coffee maker. And Im using cheepo coffee from walmart. (Your supposed to use higher quality coffee or grind down coffee beans to give that fresher taste)Gave some to my mother, she mentioned that with the percolator, the coffee tasted "bitter" (well in her opinion) Then using this french press, she then states it tasted "smoother" (and remember, this is the cheep coffee from walmart)Another great feature is that the pitcher is very thick stainless steel. Quite solid and not cheap.All in all, This is a great product made to last a long time (at least I hope it will last years of use)Update:(5/18/2020)Ok, so far no trouble with the french press. Still working good and no problems. However, I did decide to add a few tips here.Since Ive never owned any other "french press coffee maker" this is the only one I can bench mark from.The stainless steel is slightly magnetic, but the items description mentions its from the stainless steel variety that is slightly magnetic "304 stainless steel". (In my trade of construction Demolition, most scrap stainless Ive found were non magnetic) But this is supposedly a good thing. Supposedly this type resists corrosion and oxidation and is quite tough and used for the food industry.When making coffee, you shouldn't fill the water to the top of the pitcher. I'd say slightly above halfway. For if you do, since the top doesn't seal the top pitcher, coffee can "overflow" over the top and onto your tabletop. This has happened to me a few times.Mix the coffee grounds with a spoon or utensil with the hot water, and right before your going to press the lever downwards. (of course, right after you let it sit for about 5 minutes or longer)When pressing the lever downwards, you must do it SLOWLY! The liquid needs some time to slip thru the metal mesh filter as the plunger goes downward along with the coffee grinds. If not, (and you press that lever plunger down too fast and too hard) you end up with coffee liquid going up the inside around the plunger and over the top of the pitcher. You want the coffee liquid to slowly filter thru the middle of the screen plunger whilst coffee mass gets pushed down.Be ready to do more cleaning than a percolator. I use a large rubber butter or mayonnaise spreader to clean out the pitcher of coffee grinds into the garbage can. You could just put water in it and pour it into the sink, but you may need a drain filter (if one isn't installed in your kitchen sink already)And lastly, with cleaning the plunger, I simply find rotating the plunger counter clockwise (while holding the lever still from rotating), the metal mesh filter, bottom metal piece, and the plunger handle/plunger come undone. Wash rinse and dry is all that is left.Its still a great product I use it every morning now before work, and clean it out when I get home. Hope this helps!

I bought two - the 17oz for tea and the 34oz for coffee. I just used the smaller one for loose tea. It was a luxurious experience. The product is well made, beautifully designed and keeps a perfect drinking temperature - not too hot, not too cold. I steeped at about 185-190 degrees. I made a white peony tea and installed two metal screens. The tea came out perfectly with fine delicate taste and no tea residue in the cup, although this tea is more leafy than powdery. I was tired of tea balls and the mess they make. I am very happy with the quality of this product and I’m a tough critic. Well packaged to avoid shipping damage. Easy to set up.Cudos to the designer and manufacturer for a producing quality products. It’s so rare these days as companies race to increase margin by producing low-priced crap and adding to landfills. This should last a good long time. Would like to be able to purchase replacement screens separately.