A French press is simple enough that you can account for every surface the coffee touches. Few product pages bother.
The parts
- Carafe or body. Glass (usually borosilicate, sometimes unspecified "heat-resistant glass"), stainless steel (often double-walled), or occasionally ceramic. It holds the coffee for the full steep.
- Frame or sleeve. On glass presses, the metal or plastic cage around the carafe. It touches the outside of the glass, not the coffee, unless it extends over the rim.
- Lid. Stainless or plastic. The underside sits above the coffee and gets splashed and steamed.
- Plunger rod and knob. The rod passes through the coffee. The knob doesn't.
- Filter assembly. A fine mesh screen, usually stainless, sandwiched between a spiral or spring plate and a cross plate. All of it is submerged. Some presses add a second filter or a silicone edge gasket to seal against the wall.
- Spout and pour-through flap. Some lids have a flap or sieve the coffee passes through.
- Gaskets. Stainless presses often have a silicone or rubber gasket in the lid or around the filter edge.
For a materials question, three parts matter most: the carafe, the filter, and the gaskets. They sit in hot, slightly acidic liquid for several minutes. The underside of the lid matters too, because it sees steam.
What the makers say
| Press | Carafe | Filter | Lid and gasket | Country | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ESPRO P7 | Stainless steel (grade not stated), double wall | Dual micro-filter; materials listed as stainless steel and polypropylene for the product overall; which parts are polypropylene not itemized | Not itemized | Made in China (stated) | espro.com product page |
| ESPRO P3 | Glass (type not stated on the page we read) | Same dual filter design | Not itemized | Not stated on the page we read | espro.com |
| Frieling French press | 100% 18/10 stainless steel, every component dishwasher safe (stated) | 18/10 (per the "100% 18/10" statement) | Not itemized | Not stated on the Frieling product page we checked | direct.frieling.com |
| Planetary Design Basecamp | 18/8 steel (stated); colored models have a powder-coated exterior | Not itemized | Not itemized; BPA-free badge shown | Not stated | planetarydesign.com |
| Fellow Clara | Stainless with a PTFE-coated interior (stated on the Clara product page) | Stainless steel (stated on the Clara product page) | BPA-free plastic lid and handle (stated on the Clara product page); plastic type not named | China (Fellow's help center, a brand-wide statement; the Clara page names no country) | fellowproducts.com Clara product page; Fellow help center |
"Stainless steel" presses still contain polymer parts, and the makers rarely say which ones.
The Fellow Clara is stainless with a PTFE-coated interior, and Fellow discloses the coating in its specifications. A coated interior is a design choice. You'd still want to know about it before you buy.
Questions to ask before buying
- What is the carafe made of, exactly? Borosilicate, soda-lime, or unspecified glass. 304, 316, or unspecified steel.
- What is the filter mesh made of, and the plates that hold it?
- Is there a gasket, and what is it made of? Can you replace it?
- Is any interior surface coated?
- Where is it made?
If the answer is "it's stainless steel," ask again about the filter and the gasket.
Our product profiles list each of these parts separately. Anything the maker didn't state is marked "not stated."
Reviewed: 2026-10-15.
Read next: Borosilicate, soda-lime, tempered: which glass is in your kitchen gear and What 18/8, 18/10, 304, 316, and 430 actually mean.