Others say...

"Chef's Choice 695 Electric French Press"
Excellent product. It is easy to use. Very versatile, rapid, and makes excellent gourmet coffee. Since I am from Europe, I know and I appreciate the French coffee taste. This is the real thing and not an immitation.


"Excellent but high-maintenance"
This is an excellent idea, and the resulting product is quite good. It boils water incredibly fast and makes excellent coffee and tea. However, there are several things you should be aware of before purchasing this item, to maximize your enjoyment and avoid problems. If you are not the kind of person who can follow directions well, and hates taking care of finicky yet useful appliances, this is not the device for you. If, like me, you are willing to go a few extra miles to enjoy better beverages, you will probably really enjoy this device.

First, DO NOT let the unit boil over. If you do, it will spray hot liquid from the spout and some of the liquid will get down into the unit's electronics, causing the light to malfunction (or worse). There are several easy ways to avoid this:
1. Never fill the unit any higher than the "max" line.
2. Never put your tea or coffee in while the unit is actively heating. Most of the "boiling over" problem is caused by the foaming action resulting from the additives, not the water itself.
3. Watch the unit. Once it hits a rolling boil, just turn it off yourself before it boils over.

Second, use a coarser grind of coffee so that you don't have to exert extreme pressure on the plunger. This will, as another reviewer noted, cause gasket failure. Finer grinds are also much harder to clean out of the unit's bottom.

Finally, if you do have a leak problem, someone else suggested using high-temp gasket maker to fix it. That is a fantastic solution and will most likely solve the leak problem once and for all. Obviously, this is pretty far down the high-maintenance appliance road.

I use this pot several times daily to make tea and coffee - I have one at home and one at the office. There is no other device that would satisfy my needs as well as this one does.

"A disaster"
On day two, the unit leaked all the contents (including coffee grounds) all over the counter.

This is consistent with what several other reviewers have reported.

I would strongly suggest that one not purchase this item. There must be some serious flaw in the manufacturing or design process.

"Chef's Choice 695 Electric French Press"
This was a replacement of an existing coffee maker that was worn out after years of use. It makes great tasting coffee, using the French Press Method. It is not for everyone but if you enjoy coffee made with fresh ground beans, this is the only way to go.

"Great product"
I use it only to boil water for tea and for that it works superbly. I did have one die but I think it was because it was left empty with switch on. Probably burned it out. Other than that no problems. High price but worth it. Easy to clean glass pot, very quick boil. I have three of these, none has leaked.