French Press Coffee

That’s the question a person asked at CoffeeDetective.com.

It’s a good question, when even ‘unbreakable’ French presses sometimes leak or break. At the coffee house I volunteer at, we used to use Bodum’s glass French presses. They worked well, but being made of glass, they eventually break. In a cafe environment, this certainly happens more often than it would at home. The process of heating and cooling the French press glass also can contribute to breakage. We eventually changed to steel French presses, which work much better in a cafe, since there is no more glass to break.

I’ve had my current French press at home for 5 years, and it’s still intact. They can handle being knocked over on the counter, but knocking them into the sink or on the floor may be too much. Also, I’ve rinsed hot French presses out with cold water without them breaking, but I certainly don’t recommend it. If you use your French press daily, odds are it will eventually break, all the more in a high traffic environment. If you have kids around, a steel French press won’t shatter and is also cooler to touch on the outside, but also more of an initial investment.

If you have any stories about French presses breaking or advise on how to prevent it, please share!