A French press, also known as a press pot, coffee press, coffee plunger or сafetière à piston, is a simple coffee brewing device, probably invented in France in the 1850s, but first patented by Italian designer Attilio Calimani in 1929, who made subsequent design improvements over the years, and further refined by another Italian, Faliero Bondanini.
A French press consists of a narrow cylindrical beaker usually made of glass or clear plastic, equipped with a lid and a "plunger", made of metal or plastic, which fits tightly in the cylinder and which has a fine wire or nylon mesh filter. The simplicity of the mechanism and its potential for attractive after-dinner presentation have led to a variety of more-or-less aesthetic designs.
Coffee is brewed by placing the coffee and water together, stirring it and leaving to brew for a few minutes, then depressing the plunger to trap the coffee grounds at the bottom of the beaker. Because the coffee grounds remain in direct contact with the brewing water and the grounds are filtered from the water via a mesh instead of a paper filter, coffee brewed with the French press captures more of the coffee's flavour and essential oils, which would become trapped in a traditional drip brew machine's paper filters.
French presses are more portable and self contained than other coffee makers. Travel mug versions exist which are made of tough plastic instead of the more common glass, and have a sealed lid with a closable drinking hole. Other versions include stainless steel, insulated presses designed to keep the coffee hot, similar in design to thermos flasks.
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