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● Written from the makers' and suppliers' own listings and our store, November 13, 2026Prices and models move — tell us if something here is stale
How we picked
What this is: the specifications in each press's listing on our store (the supplier's wording), checked against the maker's own page where we could open it (fellowproducts.com and hario-usa.com on November 13, 2026), quoted where it matters, plus the arithmetic of sizes and doses.
What this is not: a bench test. We have not brewed in these five presses side by side or measured heat loss, and no claim on this page is ours unless it is arithmetic. It is also not the whole market: the best-known press brand, Bodum, is not on our shelf and is not ranked here (see the recall note below), and neither are Espro or Frieling.
Prices are our store's on November 13, 2026, with the maker's own price beside them where we read it.
Contents
Read the ounces, not the cups
Press makers count a “cup” as about 4 ounces, not an American mug. The three sizes on our shelf show it: the 2-cup Yama holds 8 oz, the 6-cup Yama holds 25 oz, the 8-cup OXO holds 32 oz. Fellow counts the other way and sells the 24 oz Clara as 3 cups. Nobody is lying, and nobody agrees.
| Sold as | Holds | In 12-ounce mugs | Coffee at 1:15, full fill |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 cup (Yama) | 8 oz / about 240 mL | Two thirds of one | 16 g |
| 600 mL (Hario) | 20.3 oz | One and two thirds | 40 g |
| 3 cup (Fellow Clara) | 24 oz / about 710 mL | Two | 47 g |
| 6 cup (Yama) | 25 oz / about 740 mL | Two | 49 g |
| 8 cup (OXO) | 32 oz / about 950 mL | Two and two thirds | 63 g |
The capacities are the listings'. The mugs and doses are our arithmetic: ounces divided by twelve, and water weight divided by fifteen. In practice you fill a press a little short of the top to leave room for the plunger and the grounds, so read each row as a ceiling.
One person, one mug: 20 to 25 oz, and brew it half full if you like. Two people: 32 oz. The 8 oz press is for a small cup at a desk, not for a mug.
Glass or steel, and the three things that matter
- Material. Glass costs less and lets you watch the brew; it also breaks and sheds heat. Borosilicate, the glass in both Yama presses and the OXO, is the kind made for sudden temperature change. Double-wall stainless steel (the Clara) has nothing to shatter and an insulated wall; it costs about three times as much for the same pot.
- Replacement glass. The quiet reason to choose one glass press over another. Both Yama presses have their glass sold separately on our store ($13.50 and $16.50). A press without a spare is a press you replace whole.
- Cleanup. Every press leaves a puck of wet grounds at the bottom. A filter that comes apart (Yama) lets you clean the mesh properly; a grounds lifter (OXO) takes the puck out in one piece; a non-stick interior (Fellow's description of the Clara) rinses easier. Pick the one that matches how much you hate this step.
- What does not matter much: the plunger's looks, the brand on the frame, and “bars” of pressure, which belong to espresso. A press is a jug with a sieve. The coffee, the grind and the ratio do the work.
If you already own a blade grinder and a press and the coffee is muddy, the press is not the problem. Read the grinder guide before you replace the brewer.
The five presses
All five are sold on our store and shipped by the specialty coffee dealer that stocks them. Read this as a shelf with opinions, in the order we would steer most people.
Yama Glass 6 Cup French Press, 25 oz
A plain glass press at a plain price, with the one feature that matters on a glass press: when the glass breaks, you buy the glass, not the press. The listing calls it “thick, sturdy borosilicate glass”, with “a mesh filter that disassembles for easy cleaning” and “removable glass for hassle-free cleaning and easy replacements”. It measures 6 × 5 × 8 inches and holds 25 oz, which is two 12-ounce mugs.
The replacement glass is on our store at $16.50, “hand blown from borosilicate glass” and listed as “dishwasher and microwave safe”. That is under half the price of a new press, and it is the reason this one is first on the page rather than the cheapest or the prettiest.
We have not tested it; the figures and the quoted words are the supplier's listing.
- 25 oz (about two mugs)
- Borosilicate glass
- Filter disassembles
- Replacement glass $16.50
Good
- Replacement glass sold separately, $16.50
- Sized for two people
- Filter comes apart to clean
- The lowest price per ounce here
Less good
- Glass loses heat faster than double-wall steel
- No grounds lifter: cleanup is the usual scoop and rinse
- “6 cup” means 25 oz, not six mugs
OXO 8-Cup French Press with Grounds Lifter
The honest complaint about a French press is not the coffee, it is the sludge at the bottom afterwards. OXO's answer is a lifter that sits under the grounds: in the listing's words, “you just lift the handle and out come the grounds so you can compost or toss”, and it “acts as a squeegee, cleaning the glass sides of the press”.
The rest is a standard press done carefully: a “fine mesh stainless steel filter”, a “stainless steel housing”, “borosilicate glass that is shatter resistant” and a “soft non-slip grip handle”. 32 oz, 4 × 4 × 7.5 inches, 2.12 lb, hand wash.
We have not tested it, and we could not open OXO's own product page from here on November 13, so the price is our store's only.
- 32 oz (under three mugs)
- Grounds lifter
- Stainless housing around the glass
- Hand wash
Good
- Grounds lift out in one piece
- The biggest press on this page
- Steel housing around the glass
Less good
- Hand wash only
- No replacement glass on our shelf
- One more part to keep track of
Fellow Clara French Press
The Clara is what you buy when you have broken a glass press, or when the second cup from a glass press is always lukewarm. Fellow's page: “Fill to the ratio lines, stir with the included agitation stick, and plunge when ready. The double-wall design keeps heat locked in, the non-stick interior makes cleanup easy, and the all-direction pour lets you serve from any angle.” The listing on our store adds an “ultra mesh filtration” that “helps prevent sludge and silt from making into your mug”.
It holds 24 oz, which Fellow sells as 3 cups, and it is the only press here where you do not need a scale to hit a ratio: the lines are inside the wall. The price is the same on Fellow's own store, $99.95 in Matte Black on November 13 ($129.95 with walnut accents, which we do not carry).
We have not tested it. “Keeps heat locked in” is Fellow's claim; we have no temperature measurements of our own.
- 24 oz (two mugs)
- Double-wall stainless steel
- Ratio lines + stirring stick
- All-direction pour lid
Good
- Nothing to shatter
- Ratio lines replace the scale
- Insulated wall (Fellow)
- Same price as the maker's own store
Less good
- Nearly three times the Yama for the same amount of coffee
- You cannot see the brew
- Smallest capacity of the three full-size presses
Yama Glass 2 Cup French Press, 8 oz
The same press as the first pick at a third of the size: 8 oz, one small cup, “designed for one” in the listing's words, with the same borosilicate glass, the same take-apart mesh filter, and the same “removable glass for convenient cleaning and replacement options”.
The replacement glass is $13.50 on our store. Be clear-eyed about the size: 8 oz is a full fill, and a 12-ounce mug will look half empty. If you drink a big mug, buy the 25 oz and brew less in it.
We have not tested it; the figures are the supplier's listing.
- 8 oz (one small cup)
- Borosilicate glass
- Filter disassembles
- Replacement glass $13.50
Good
- The lowest price on the page
- Replacement glass sold separately
- Small enough for a desk
Less good
- 8 oz is less than most mugs
- Too small to share
- A small glass press cools quickly
Hario Cafe Press U, 600 mL
Hario's press is the simplest object here: a heatproof glass body, a stainless steel shaft and filter, and a polypropylene holder. The listing gives the size as 8.48 × 5.67 × 11.22 inches, the capacity as 20.3 oz (600 mL), the weight as about 400 g, the origin as Japan, and says it is dishwasher safe.
It is the same price on Hario's US store ($42.50 for the 600 mL on November 13; the 300 mL was sold out there). The holder is plastic; if that matters to you, the part-by-part materials list is in our plastic-free coffee makers guide.
We have not tested it. One was in stock on our store when we read the shelf on November 13, 2026; if the button says sold out, that one went.
- 20.3 oz / 600 mL
- Heatproof glass, stainless filter
- Made in Japan
- Dishwasher safe (listing)
Good
- Dishwasher safe per the listing
- Made in Japan by Hario
- Same price as the maker's US store
Less good
- Polypropylene holder
- No replacement glass on our shelf
- Very limited stock on our store
Side-by-side
| Press | Holds | Body | Cleanup | Spare glass on our store | Price (Nov 13, 2026) | Maker's own price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yama 6 Cup | 25 oz | Borosilicate glass | Filter disassembles | $16.50 | $35.50 | Not read |
| OXO 8-Cup with Grounds Lifter | 32 oz | Borosilicate glass, steel housing | Grounds lifter; hand wash | No | $49.99 | Not read (oxo.com would not open) |
| Fellow Clara | 24 oz | Double-wall stainless steel | Non-stick interior (Fellow) | No glass | $99.95 | $99.95, fellowproducts.com |
| Yama 2 Cup | 8 oz | Borosilicate glass | Filter disassembles | $13.50 | $26 | Not read |
| Hario Cafe Press U | 20.3 oz | Heatproof glass, polypropylene holder | Dishwasher safe (listing) | No | $42.50 | $42.50, hario-usa.com |
How to brew in one
- Weigh. About 1:15 coffee to water is a common starting point for a press, a touch stronger than the 1:16 our ratio calculator uses for drip. The table above has the dose for each size; a $14 kitchen scale is enough.
- Grind coarse, about the texture of coarse sea salt. Fine grounds pass through the mesh and over-extract while they sit. Buying ground? Our coffee-by-grind page lists the coffees on our store whose roaster will grind coarse.
- Warm the press with hot tap water and empty it. It keeps the brew hot, and it is kinder to glass than boiling water on a cold carafe.
- Pour water just off the boil over the grounds, stir once with a wooden or silicone spoon, put the lid on with the plunger up.
- Wait about four minutes. Then press slowly; if it fights you, the grind is too fine.
- Pour all of it out into mugs or a server. Coffee left on the grounds keeps brewing and turns bitter. Leave the last half inch in the press; that is where the silt is.
Four minutes and 1:15 are starting points, not rules. Weak and sour: grind a little finer or wait a minute longer. Bitter and heavy: grind coarser or use less coffee.
The Bodum recall, and looking after a glass press
On October 29, 2026 Bodum USA recalled 5.9 million French presses with 8-cup and 12-cup replaceable glass carafes. The hazard in the notice is a carafe that is already damaged or cracked, including by stirring with a metal spoon, breaking in use and causing burns; the remedy is a free repair kit from Bodum. If you own a Bodum, read the CPSC notice for the model check and the contact. We do not sell Bodum, and the notice names only Bodum models.
The practical version applies to every glass press, ours included: look the glass over for chips and cracks before each brew, stir with wood or silicone rather than metal, and warm the glass with hot tap water before the boiling water goes in. If the glass is chipped, stop using it and replace the glass (Yama) or the press. If you would rather have no glass at all, that is the Clara, and our materials guide goes part by part through what several brewers on our shelf are made of.
Common questions
What does “8-cup” mean on a French press?
Not eight mugs. Press makers count a cup as about 4 ounces: the 8-cup OXO here holds 32 oz, the 6-cup Yama 25 oz, the 2-cup Yama 8 oz. In 12-ounce mugs that is under three, about two, and less than one. Fellow counts differently: the Clara is 24 oz and sold as 3 cups. Read the ounces, not the cups.
How much coffee do I put in a French press?
A common starting ratio is about 1:15 by weight, a touch stronger than the 1:16 used for drip. That is roughly 16 g of coffee for 8 oz of water, 40 g for 20 oz, 47 g for 24 oz and 63 g for 32 oz. Use a coarse grind and steep about four minutes, then adjust to taste.
Glass or stainless steel?
Glass shows you the brew, costs less and can break; the two Yama presses here have replacement glass sold separately ($13.50 and $16.50 on our store). Double-wall stainless steel like the Fellow Clara has no glass to break and, by Fellow's description, holds heat through the brew; it costs more and you cannot see the level without the ratio lines inside.
Why is there sludge in my French press coffee?
A press filters with metal mesh, not paper, so fine particles pass into the cup. Grind coarser, use a burr grinder rather than a blade grinder, pour gently and leave the last half inch in the press.
What grind do I need for a French press?
Coarse, about the texture of coarse sea salt. If you buy ground coffee, order it ground coarse or for French press; our coffee-by-grind page lists the coffees on our store that the roaster will grind coarse.
Have you tested these presses?
No. Every specification on this page is the maker's or the supplier's own listing wording, read November 13, 2026, and every price is our store's that day. All five presses are sold on our store, and the page says so wherever one appears.
What we'd actually buy
One or two people, glass is fine: the Yama 6 Cup at $35.50, and know that the spare glass is $16.50 the day you need it.
You make a press every morning and hate cleaning it: the OXO with the grounds lifter at $49.99.
You have broken one already, or the second cup is always cold: the Fellow Clara at $99.95.
And put a bag with a roast date in it, ground coarse. A press hides nothing: it will tell you exactly how fresh the coffee is.