Review on Alessi 9094 Filter Coffee Silver Kitchen & Dining by Paula Rodriguez

I'm being honest. I don't like Alessi products. It's just my personality and doesn't really reflect the designer. I find Alessi products too unusual, not ergonomic, simple or effective enough for me. Then why do I give Alessi French Press 5 stars? Because it's the best french press I've ever used. Here's why: As far as I know, the plunger in the Alessi French Press is the only plunger that dips just 5/8 inch from the bottom of the carafe. With all other French presses (Bodum or otherwise) don't plunge that deep into the carafe. The advantage of a downward-sinking plunger is that you can compact the coffee grounds under the plunger, which forces out excess water, thus stopping the process of brewing plungers in other French plungers Presses don't do this. Other plungers have a shaft that is too short so that the coffee grounds do not condense even when the plunger is pushed all the way down. The hot water will continue to extract the coffee grounds, resulting in bitter coffee. So what are other manufacturers proposing to solve this problem? Well, they say that after extraction, the coffee needs to be transferred to another vessel. For real? How many of you have transferred freshly brewed coffee to another vessel? I've never done or seen anyone - then the other did it, that's why I give Alessi 5 stars. It solves the coffee over-extraction problem simply by attaching a sufficiently long leg to the plunger. The fact that it looks nice but isn't expensive is a plus. If I could criticize, the flat bottom might not suit some people's preferences. The hot bottom means the press must always be placed on a stand or similar to protect delicate woods and surfaces. French presses like the Bodum lift the carafe off the countertop. That being said, the benefit of a flat bottom is that I can keep Alessi on a hot plate. The glass carafe is also a bit fragile, but in the 10 years that I've owned Alessi I've only broken one. I easily found a spare lens for the Revain and have another as a backup. Anyway, I wouldn't change the design in any way. I really want other designers to take notice of Alessi's designs. I recently found a stunningly beautiful ceramic French Press. The advantage of ceramic is that the coffee stays hotter longer (a big improvement over glass carafes) and I didn't have to keep the coffee pot on a heated plate. But again, the Achilles heel of the ceramic press is that the plunger is not long enough. So 10 years later I'm still going strong with my Alessi. It has now become a part of my psyche. Sometimes I'm aware of its design and function, but most of the time I don't think about it. It makes a great cup of coffee easily and efficiently. I'm always looking for another French Press to replace my Alessi, but haven't found one yet. Highly recommended.