I have an entire shelf of coffee-making apparatus in my kitchen. French presses, pour overs, Italian stovetop espresso makers and a good automatic coffee maker. THIS top quality Frieling French press is the best one and I use it every day. The quality screens on this French press allows all the oils to go into the coffee so the flavor is rich and creamy. It's always smooth and easy to press. It's not glass so I can't break it. It's also insulated, which is perfect because it makes 2 cups so you can drink your first cup to wake up, then he second one to savor.
I discovered the Frieling at a resort. My morning coffee was brought to me in a Frieling, and after that amazing coffee experience, I had to buy my own.

I have been using this for a few weeks and it is working very well. I also have a Bodum steel French press. Unlike that one, this one has no plastic component and it's the main reason why I use this one instead of Bodum. What I have is the 17oz one which is perfect size for me, but I find it a bit difficult to clean because its opening is rather narrow. Because it lacks the silicon ring found in Bodum, the press doesn't go down smoothly, but I won't have to worry about have it replaced. The lid isn't securely placed like Bodum. When I am pouring coffee and when it's almost empty, the lid just slides out. It's solidly made and keeps the coffee warm longer as long as I remember to pre-heat the pot with boiling water before I start making coffee.

So although this was an expensive purchase, I am very satisfied with this item. The main reason is this - the plunger connection to the filter screen is a much better design then 99% of other french press plungers. More precisely, other cheaper plungers have the stem with the female inside threaded connector that is cheaply tack welded to the stem. God forbid you tighten it too much and you will snap that weld and now your filter screen has no way to stay in place at the bottom of the plunger. This has happened to me with several brands of french presses. With the Frieling model, that female connector actually screws onto the plunger stem with a fine, well machined thread. Then, the stem/connector assembly screws onto the screw that sandwiches the filter screen assembly. There is ZERO concern of snapping a cheap weld. Aside from that, the item is gorgeous, well made, etc, etc. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely. I will never need another.

I've been using this French press every morning for 9.5 months now and it looks like new. It has exceeded my expectations. It is very well built, sturdy, very nice looking, and keeps my coffee warm until I am done. (Admittedly, it doesn't take me long to get through this amount of coffee.) I had been thinking of getting a traditional glass French press, but was worried about my clumsy self breaking it. Every month or so, I might need to tighten the screw connection, but that has been all! It cleans up easily.

Although I wouldn't be classified as a coffee connoisseur, I know what I like. I like a rather strong, full bodied coffee with nuanced flavors shining through. I love the coffee I make with this press. I don't think I ever made a bitter cup with this press.

I have the 23oz, polished stainless steel version. The water boiler I have boils 500mL, which is a perfect amount for the 23oz press. When full of grounds and the 500mL of water, there is still enough room between the liquid level and the bottom of the pouring spout. I can press the plunger to the top of the liquid so that when I move it around while brewing, liquid doesn't slosh out of the press. With this amount of liquid, I've never had a problem with coffee splashing out the spout while pressing the plunger down.

I was skeptical about French presses. I'm not a big fan of scooping out wet coffee grounds, but I have gotten used to it. This is now my only coffee making gadget. I gave away my Keurig and I'm forever done with my old machines needing filters. The bar was high for me to be happy with this press, given it's high price. It was worth every penny.

It was a long search to find the best French Press coffee maker for me. I spent at least 5 hours (may be more) reading and researching. And I ended up buying this why. You might be struggling to decide on which one is the best for you, so here is my review and reasons why I bought this one. I hope it will help you.

Selection process:

I had several wishes:

1) Made in USA or Europe
2) Quality of materials and product
3) Usability (easy to use and to clean)
4) Price

After a quick search I realized that there was no ideal French Press coffee maker. However, I realized that I have several favorites and Frieling was the number 1 for me.

Why?

1) Frieling is a solid professional brand
2) Product had good reviews
3) Product looked solidly built.

Concerns that I had:

1) Made in China (I have nothing against China but I prefer products that are built in here or in Europe for, I assume, obvious reason)
- Nothing can be done about that. But again, Frieling is a solid brand and their French Presses looked not cheap.
2) Quality of Steel (Everyone should be concerned about it since you will eat/drink food that was made there and we consumed enough toxins as it is)
- I contacted Frieling about it and they answered me very quickly. Thank you, Frieling! Other companies are not that professional. For example, Cousinox ignored all my emails. However, the answer from Frieling was not what I wanted to hear. They told me they use either Chinese or Korean stainless steel from a big Korean manufacturer but they assured me that their 18/10 stainless steel was of high quality. I hoped for German, Russian or American 18/10 stainless steel but at least it was not a noname brand one from G*d knows where.

I thought hard about those two minuses, plus the product was not cheap. But at the end, I felt it was the best French Press I could find and I decided to buy Frieling Brushed 18/10 Stainless Steel French Press, 23-Ounce. I paid $79 for it, I see that now it is $59.

So, it has been two years and I love it and gave it 5 stars.

1) The coffee maker looks like new and is beautiful. I have used it at least 100 times, most likely more. I am glad I decided to get a brushed one. They always look like new for a long time since micro scratches are not noticeable and no finger prints.

2) It is made well. You can see it is not a $20 one.

3) It is very easy to clean. I have owned at least 4 different french presses before and always had issues. With this one, I just put a plunger under running water and that is it. Plus, all the parts are dishwasher safe. I usually hand wash it ones every two weeks. Put it in dishwasher at least 10 times too and had no issues whatsoever.

4) Makes good coffee - only remember about a 4 minute rule.

5) I purchased some parts (screens, plunger stick) but it looks like the original parts will last for years to come.

I am going to add some pictures too.

Good luck in your search for a perfect French Press maker and I hope it was useful for you!