How we rate French press

In a press, the filter is the machine. Everything else is a jug. A sealed micro-filter stops the silt a plain screen lets through, and a stack of layered screens sits between the two, whatever number the box counts.

What we can actually read: Filter design and material are published. Mesh size in microns almost never is, so the design the maker describes carries the weight, not a layer count.

Scored directly from published figures.

The 2 rules below score this criterion out of 10, and they add up to 10 exactly. That result is then worth 26 of the category's 100 points.

• Filter design6 of 10

  Micro

  6 pts

  Groundscontrol

  5 pts

  Layer, Level, Stage, Dual, Double, Triple

  4 pts

  Mesh, Screen, Steel Filter, Cross

  2.5 pts

• Filter material2 of 10

  Stainless Steel

  2 pts

  Mesh

  1.5 pts

  Nylon

  1 pt

  Plastic

  0.5 pts

8 of 10

A press is glass or steel, and that decides whether it survives a kitchen. Replacement parts matter more here than anywhere else, because the part that breaks is usually the cheap one.

What we can actually read: Body, plunger and lid materials are published, as is the warranty. Replacement part availability is stated by about half of makers.

Scored directly from published figures.

1 of the 5 rules below are struck through in this category, because too few makers publish the input. The 4 that remain score this criterion out of 10 between them: a struck rule leaves the sum entirely rather than counting as a zero. That result is then worth 20 of the category's 100 points.

• Body3 of 10

  Also read under Heat Retention, which asks a different question of the same fact.

  Stainless Steel

  3 pts

  Borosilicate, Stoneware

  2.5 pts

  Ceramic

  2 pts

  Glass, Tritan

  1.5 pts

  Plastic

  1 pt

• Plunger2 of 10

  Stainless Steel

  2 pts

  Plastic

  0.5 pts

• Lidnot scored here

  Fewer than one maker in four publishes this here, so its 1.5 points leave the sum rather than being guessed at.

  Stainless Steel, Stoneware

  1.5 pts

  Plastic

  0.5 pts

• Replacement parts sold2 of 10

  present

  2 pts

• Warranty1.5 of 10

  none

  0 pts

  up to 1 yr

  0.7 pts

  over 1 yr, up to 2 yr

  1.1 pts

  over 2 yr

  1.5 pts

10 of 10

A press brews for four minutes and then sits. Glass loses heat through the whole of both. Double-walled steel is the difference between a hot second cup and a lukewarm one.

What we can actually read: Insulated and double-wall are published as plain yes or no, and the body material confirms them.

Scored directly from published figures.

The 3 rules below score this criterion out of 10, and they add up to 10 exactly. That result is then worth 16 of the category's 100 points.

• Insulated4 of 10

  present

  4 pts

• Double wall3 of 10

  present

  3 pts

• Body3 of 10

  Also read under Build Quality & Durability, which asks a different question of the same fact.

  Vacuum, Stainless Steel

  3 pts

  Stoneware

  2 pts

  Ceramic

  1.8 pts

  Borosilicate, Plastic

  1 pt

  Glass

  0.5 pts

10 of 10

The one genuine chore of a press is getting wet grounds out of a filter assembly. Every extra screen is one more part to take apart and rinse.

What we can actually read: Dishwasher safety and the number of filter layers are published.

Scored directly from published figures.

The 2 rules below score this criterion out of 10, and they add up to 10 exactly. That result is then worth 14 of the category's 100 points.

• Dishwasher safe5 of 10

  present

  5 pts

• Filter stages to rinse3 of 10

  1 or less

  3 pts

  over 1, up to 2

  2 pts

  over 2

  1 pt

8 of 10

Pouring a litre of near-boiling water from a glass jug by a plastic handle is the moment a press is judged.

What we can actually read: Handle material and weight are published; balance is not, so this reads the proxies. Capacity is a choice by household size, not a quality, and is not scored.

Scored from figures that predict it, because the thing itself is not published.

The 2 rules below score this criterion out of 10, and they add up to 10 exactly. That result is then worth 12 of the category's 100 points.

• Handle3 of 10

  Silicone, Wood, Bamboo

  3 pts

  Stoneware, Ceramic

  2.5 pts

  Stainless Steel

  2 pts

  Polypropylene, Plastic

  1.5 pts

• Weight4 of 10

  400 g or less

  4 pts

  over 400 g, up to 700 g

  3 pts

  over 700 g, up to 1000 g

  2 pts

  over 1000 g

  1 pt

7 of 10

Points per pound against the category median, where the spread runs from $14 to $115 for the same four minutes of steeping.

What we can actually read: Needs a published price here and on at least three rivals.

Computed from price, not from a rule list

Value is the only criterion here with no thresholds of its own, because it cannot be read off one product. It asks what else the same money buys in this category, so it needs the category. That result is then worth 12 of the category's 100 points.

Points already earned on everything else

out of 10

Multiplied by the category median over this price

median ÷ price

Capped at

10

No price published, or fewer than 3 priced rivals

5 of 10

Half marks is not a verdict, it is a refusal to guess: with nothing to compare against, a product is neither good value nor bad, and scoring it either way would invent a finding. It corrects itself as the category fills.