If you are an avid coffee-lover, you have probably heard of, or are already using a French press. If you haven’t, we recommend it. There is something special about the process of making your coffee in a more manual fashion. Don’t get us wrong, there is a place for drip brew. It’s fast and convenient. But if you find yourself wanting to try something a bit more brass tacks, check out the Fellow Clara French Press.
- Capacity: 700 Milliliters
- Brand: Fellow
- Color: Matte Black
- Coffee Maker Type: French Press
- Material: Stainless Steel
- Capacity: 700 Milliliters
- Brand: Fellow
- Color: Matte Black With Walnut Accents
- Coffee Maker Type: French Press
- Material: Stainless Steel
About Fellow
A truly unique coffee company, they launched on Kickstarter in 2013, where owner Jake Miller designed a duo coffee steeper and raised over $200,000. After the massive crowd-funding success, Fellow was officially born. Since then, they have been making some of the best coffee products on the market.
They’ve even opened a brick and mortar know as the Fellow “Playground” in San Francisco’s Mission District. This is a place where coffee lovers can mingle, brew a cup of joe, shop around, or just talk shop.
What is a French press?
Short answer: it’s a more hands on way to brew your coffee.
Longer answer: The French press is coffee pot equipped with a mesh lid. The lid has a component that allows the mesh portion to push the grounds to the bottom, leaving freshly brewed coffee.
The French press was invented in 1929 and and is commonly used all over the world.
The process to use a French press is simple and can be summed up in six easy steps:
- Grind your coffee coarsely
- Place the coarsely ground coffee into the empty carafe (a.k.a. the beaker)
- A carafe is a fancy word for glass container
- Heat up some water until it’s basically boiling
- Pour the hot water over the coffee grounds
- Press the lid down onto the carafe where the grounds and hot water eagerly await
- Pour the coffee from the French press into your cup and enjoy
The Clara French Press
Alright let’s get into the specifics behind Fellow’s awesome Clara French Press.
We will start off by saying it just looks sleek.
The matte black finish gives it a minimalist appearance that screams good coffee. You can stick with all black, or add a nice walnut finish that nicely compliments the matte.
The Stats
- Coffee Capacity: 24 ounces
- Dimensions: 170 mm (L) x 115 mm (W) x 200 mm (H)
- Weight: 917 g (with plastic handle), 784.5 g (with walnut handle)
- Materials: Stainless steel body and filter, BPA-free plastic lid and handle, Non-stick PTFE-coated interior (PFOA-free), optional walnut wooden press and handle
- Cleaning: Only the filter is dishwasher safe
So what makes the Clara French Press so special? To be blunt about it, it’s much more thoroughly designed than your average French press. Let’s dig into exactly what we mean.
Ratio
There are clear indicators of how many coffee grounds and how much water you should pour in. This is important. Not every French press outlines proper coffee ground to water ratio. If you get this wrong, you won’t have the flavor you crave. The Clara takes the guesswork out of the equation.
Pour spout
The pour spout is a component on the French Press lid. On a lesser product, this spout has to be perfectly aligned to spout section on the carafe (fancy word for the beaker that holds the coffee). With the Clara, the All-Directional pour lid features 360° of holes, allowing you to pour without needing to line up the spout.
Insulation
Made with insulated stainless steel, the Clara preserves the temperature of your coffee. Make an entire brew and come back an hour later to freshly hot coffee.
Cleaning
Washing your average French press can be a daunting task. The Clara is made with non-stick coating so any left-over coffee grinds or sludge wash away without excess effort.
Proper cleaning is very important. If gunk and leftover coffee sediment sneak their way into your cup, the flavor of your morning brew can become compromised. Clara uses a strong filtration mesh that reduces left-over residue from one brew to the next.
Agitation Stick
When using a French press, sometimes the coffee grounds accumulate at the top of the carafe a.k.a. the beaker. Think of Fellow’s Agitation stick as your wizard wand that keeps your coffee grounds dispersed evenly so they properly extract and provide the best flavor possible.
Bottom Line
Fellow has done a remarkable job with their Clara French Press. The product designers are basically the Steve Jobs of French presses. From its minimalist look to its functional pour, it impresses end-to-end. Is it worth $99? In our opinion, yes it is.
You can buy the Clara here.
