Which French Press Keeps Your Coffee The Hottest? 4 Best

Is your coffee always cold by the time you pour the last cup from the French press? Is there a way to keep it hot until you drink it? Let’s find out.

The best way to keep coffee in a French press hot is to get a double walled stainless steel model. A double wall stainless steel French press works the same way a thermos does and will keep your coffee hot for about 4 hours. Pre-heating the press with hot water also helps.

There are a few other things you might want to try. Find them below.

How to keep French press coffee hot

We want our hot coffee hot and our iced coffee cold. Having something half warm in between is not very enjoyable. Sure, you can just drink your coffee before it cools down but that doesn’t always happen. You’re working and busy or maybe you just don’t drink that fast.

A French press is usually relatively tall and skinny. That means there is a lot of surface area that can lose heat and so the coffee in a french press cools down pretty quickly. You want the coffee to be still hot when it touches your lips. What can you do to accomplish that?

There are two ways to go about it;

• Keep your coffee hot in the French press
• Keep the Coffee hot in the cup

You might think that starting with the hottest water possible would help but in the grand scheme of things this really won’t make a huge difference and you run the risk your coffee turns out very bitter.

Not sure how to exactly make good coffee in a French press? Click here for my step-by-step guide.

Pre heat your French press

One simple thing you can do is to pre heat your french press. If you start with a cold carafe, when you pour in the water, it’ll immediately cool down. You lose a few degrees there in a few seconds. When the carafe is already hot, you preserve some heat.

To pre heat a French press is very simple;

• Boil water
• Have your French press ready. No coffee grounds, completely empty.
• Pour in boiling water
• Swirl around the water to heat up as much of the carafe as you can without spilling the water (it’s boiling water, you don’t want it on your hands.)
• Discard water
• Use as normal

You can even repeat the process two times to get it as hot as possible. If you preheat the carafe, have your coffee grounds and water ready to go because it will cool down again pretty quickly.

Suggested: Can you pour boiling water in a French press?

Pre heating will keep your coffee hot for a few minutes longer but that’s not going to be enough to make a huge impact. It’s free and easy but the next solution is going to keep your coffee hot for much longer.

Stainless steel

The majority of French presses are made from a type of glass that can handle heat stress very well. That means that you can pour boiling water into it and it won’t crack. That it can handle heat doesn’t mean it retains heat well though. Glass won’t do much to keep the liquid inside hot.

The best way to keep it hot is to get a double walled stainless steel French press. These things are basically thermoses but work like a French press. The layer of air between the two layers of stainless steel is a very good insulator which keeps the heat from escaping. This can keep your coffee hot for up to 4 hours.

Stainless steel French presses cost a little bit more than glass ones but are still quite affordable. For $40 you can buy a good one although they can get quite expensive.

Suggested: How much does a French press cost?

Insulated cup

If you’re just looking to keep your coffee hot while sitting at your desk, there is another way to go about it. You just want the coffee to be hot when it goes into your mouth. And since nobody drinks directly from a French press, you’ll be using a cup.

So why not get a cup that keeps your brew hot? The downside is of course that if you want to drink a lot, you’ll need a large mug. You have to pour all the coffee from the press into a mug to keep it hot. Some of those larger cups aren’t too nice to drink from. Similar to the suggestion above, a large stainless steel insulating mug keeps your coffee hot for quite a while. Not as long as the French press because the cup has no lid. Although you can get mugs with travel lids as well which will keep it hot even longer.

Heating mug

Ok, here’s a little secret; there are heated mugs that keep whatever liquid you put in it up to temperature.

The best one is the Ember. It’s a sleek looking mug where you can set your preferred temperature with a smartphone app. It drinks well and also works without the app.

These heating cups do have their limitations though. It’s not a kettle. It’s a battery powered heating element. It won’t be able to warm the liquid up from cold. It’s made to keep things that are already hot at that temperature. So if your coffee cools down in your French press and you pour it in the heating mug, it won’t get it back up to a very high temperature.

Brew smaller batches

Neither of those solutions above work for you? The next best thing is to simply brew smaller batches. Brew batches you can finish before it cools down. Want more, brew fresh.

Yes, that takes more work but your coffee will always be fresh and hot.

Suggested: Why is my French press coffee watery?

Best Stainless steel French presses to keep your coffee hot

Preheating your French press is simple. You have boiling water already so just pouring some in there before your grounds and throwing them out is easy. However, if you don’t have an insulated stainless steel French press, the only way to really keep your coffee as hot as possible is to get one. And here are your best options;

#1 Mueller 310

This Austrian brand does a lot of things right. Their Stainless steel French press is affordable but also looks sleek and modern. The whole thing is made out of stainless steel, even the lid and plunger.

It features a 4 layer filter for less sediment in your cup and you get a little travel container for your coffee for free. The used stainless is 18/10 which means it’s high quality and will keep looking nice for much longer than cheaper types of steel.

They claim keeping your coffee hot for at least 1 hour but probably it’ll be well drinkable a bit longer than that. This model is available from a few other brand names. Just look at the pictures and if you see they look similar, they are. They come from the same factory. Just get the one that’s cheapest at that time.

#2 Frieling French press

You want the highest quality and something that’s made in the USA? The Frieling is your choice. Yes, they are expensive but you do get a lot for your money.

They make presses in different sizes; 17, 23, 36, 44 oz. so you can always find one that fits your needs. Their filters are also quite good and you’ll have less sediment in your cup than with many other brands.  

#3 Bodum Columbia

Bodum is a pretty popular brand for French presses and they’ve got a pretty wide range of them. This one is a beautifully designed and made one. The design is a bit rounder than most other models and that’s what sets it apart.

It’s available in different sizes and the coffee is claimed to stay hot for up to 2 hours.

#4 Stanley

All of the models above are great at keeping coffee hot but aren’t good to travel with because while they look good, they aren’t made to be rugged. This Stanley French press changes that. Wheter you are camping or at work, this thing will take a beating and they claim it keeps your coffee hot for up to 4 hours so you can make it to lunch without ever going cold.