Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is, so far, my favorite french press. Exactly what I've been looking for (double wall s/s) but also has the extras (double screen, easy to clean). Precursor: My roommate works at Kéan Coffee, one of the top artisan roasters in the country, so we love (and know) our coffee. I'm going to write this review for the aficionados, and the everyday joe. I don't have a handle bar mustache or cool haircut, but we do have a v60, aeropress, etc. and of course fresh roasted top quality beans from Kèan. In terms of affiliations, I have none. I'm not paid or given anything (like a free one) to write this. I'd gladly take another one free ;) but this is just my experience. Out of my amazon prime box, the packaging does not say "super high end". It's cleared designed in China, the packaging that is, and the manual is enough to explain the simplicity of a french press, nothing more. With that said, the day it was being delivered I got a nice email from SterlingPro with some great recommendations for the every day user: - Always clean and dry this after use (including taking apart the screens, it's easy and prevents water trapping) - Don't leave coffee / grounds in this for long periods of time (the acidity of coffee is harsher than you think) - Polish it up and leave it out for your friends to see (just kidding, but it is a beautifully made piece) As for the actual build quality, the packaging is all I can really harp on. This is stainless steel, feels super solid, looks beautiful, and all the pieces fit together perfectly. Extra two screens I wasn't expecting but is a great added bonus, along with a coffee scoop. The only, only thing I noticed, to be critical for you, is slight pitting in the welds where the handle connects to the base unit. And by that I mean, I work in the print industry and examine photographic prints for detail for a living, so I'm inspecting closely and being harsh and see 2 small pits in a 1-2mm weld - all the other welds are perfect, this won't affect anything, but if you want to find something that is it. TESTING - Now for you coffee nuts, we brewed two batches to get an idea of how the output is, with slight variation from experience vs instructions. I know how you like your measurements, so here you go: The first batch, we brewed using a fresh African blend which was roasted ~5 days ago. It's got a lot of Ethiopian in it, at a light-medium roast, so you can expect this to be a little fruity and quite acidic. Using a Capresso Infinity at the coarsest grind, we measured out 5 scoops ( 1 per 6oz., that's 29.6cc per scoop ) as we really feel we get about 30oz. out of this press without overflowing. Water at 205° (R.O. water btw) we poured over in a circular motion and paused until we got a nice bloom, stirred, then filled the rest of the way and put the top on. 4 minute extraction, and we poured two cups. The first cup had a nice ring of crema, while the second lost the crema but had some nice microbubbles around the edges - to us, that's a great extraction, and it came out very hot. We let it cool a bit, and it tasted exactly as it should, no bitter or metallic tastes from the steel, and easy to tell notes from this coffee the same as we've had it the past few days via v60 pour overs. Second test. This time, with a Sumatra that was roasted about 10 days ago, medium roast with nice oils on the beans, less acidity and more chocolate notes. Same 5 scoops, same coarse grind in the Infinity. I noticed the instructions mention slightly higher water temp and slightly lower steep time, so I went 207° water temp, same circular pour, pause for bloom, stir, fill, cap. 3 minute steep, pour first cup. Again, nice ring of crema, this is the photo posted to the review for you to see. For those curious, the temp pouring out was 175.2 - nice and hot serving temp - but I let it cool as most any (George Howell) will recommend, tasting is better between 135-155. Again, excellent extraction, came out nice and robust with easy to identify notes as expected from this bean - for you everyday joes, it tasted bold as coffee should taste, much better than if I made it in my drip machine. Now, as I spent the last 45 minutes writing this review, I left the second cup in the press - part of the reason to get this was camping, so when it's 15° that morning and a glass press loses it's heat by the time I'm pouring, this baby keeps it hot. As a lot of you know, it'll keep steeping slightly as it sits, which can sometimes result in a bitter second cup. I measured the second cup at 135° after 45 minutes, excellent heat retention, and it did keep brewing, but not to the point of bitterness. My second cup is thicker, stronger notes, more to 'chew on', but personally I like it. Like a nice Stout, I like malty hearty mouth feel. One thing I noticed, was condensation builds up on the roof of the cap inside the press, but that's just from the hot steam so it's not adding any more water than was already in the press. Lastly, the big quest to greatness of course comes with grains and silt. How much is left in my cup? Well... I poured my second cup til the last drop out of the press, and I drank it out of the cup til the last drop (usually I wouldn't, but I wanted to see if I got grit in the last sip). I drank slowly to look for grains.. There are no grains in the bottom of my cup, and none down my throat. Was the last swig silty? Yeah, as you can expect, and partially I know the Capresso Infinity is known to have a little bit of silt no matter how coarse you grind, so until we upgrade to a professional level grinder, I'd say the double screen worked exactly as advertised - no grains in the bottom of my cup. A small amount of silt, which could be from the grinder - as with any french press, I would drink til the last ounce or so. Overall? This baby rocks. Very happy purchase, I just ordered a second as a wedding present for a friend, I'd buy again, my roommate is jealous. Solid win and nice job SterlingPro.