Finalpress coffee and tea brewer – our honest review

Could this be the perfect gadget for travellers who love great coffee?

*Update, November 2025: since writing this review, FinalPress have informed me that version 3 is now available. I have not yet tested version 3, so please be aware that it may be far superior than the older versions.

I was excited when FinalPress offered me a sample of their product to try out. Especially since I had just returned from a luxury resort that provided instant coffee in their rooms. Disappointing, to say the least. Could FinalPress be the perfect answer to sub-optimal tea and coffee-making facilities? (By the way, if you’re keen to know more about this luxury resort, read my post on Samoa).

What is Finalpress?

FinalPress is a handy gadget that allows you to make a one-person cup of real coffee or tea without the need for heavy or complex equipment. It works on the same principle as a plunger, in that it allows the grains or leaves to soak behind a protective mesh, in this case neatly contained at the end of a metal stalk.

The makers of the product managed to raise $1.5 million via a crowdfunding site, after which they spent two years developing it. They’ve also been featured in Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars programme. Impressive stuff.

My perfect coffee

I should start by admitting that I’m very fussy about my coffee. My absolute favourite, if I’m in a coffee shop, is a double-shot flat white. Paired with a caramel slice, a lump of quality chocolate or a tangy citrus cake, this is a moment of sheer heaven for me. Here’s an example from one of my favourite local stops – the Beach House in Wellington, New Zealand.

When it comes to making coffee at home, I’ve tried various gadgets, from percolators to plungers to filter machines. As for those trendy capsule coffee-makers, they may be okay for short black or espresso drinkers, but that’s all. Their milked coffees are inevitably tepid, short on quantity and mediocre in flavour. As for those used pods, they can’t be great for the environment.

While it may be unfashionable to say so, I’ve found that filter coffee is simply the best. It’s the most cost-effective, in that it typically needs half the amount of coffee required by a plunger. Filtering produces great-tasting coffee and eliminates muddy sediment. I can filter into one cup for a single serve, or into a jug for up to 4 servings.

Despite my love for filter coffee, I was determined to approach FinalPress with an open mind. I should say at this point that I haven’t tried it for tea-making, as I don’t use leaf tea at all. I just use teabags.

On the face of it, this attractive gadget looks perfect. It’s lightweight and portable, made from stainless steel. With no messy filter papers or pods, there’s zero waste – and the makers claim that it could save you a fortune on coffee-shop coffees, paying for itself in just 10 days. What’s not to like?

What’s in the box?

The parcel arrived at my address in just a few days – a great, fast shipping service. Good start! The contents were exactly as described below. I was a little surprised at being provided with a mason jar lid, without the jar, but never mind. A simple instruction sheet was also provided.

My first task was to follow the safety instruction to soak the components in hot water and detergent for an hour, in order to deep-cleanse them. Pretty standard practice for the first use of any appliance that comes into direct contact with food or drink.

Preparing to brew

I gathered together everything I needed: favourite mug, favourite coffee and the FinalPress filter. First step was to fill the kettle and boil the water.

Step one said to place 2-3 tablespoons, or 12 grams, of coffee into the filter. Fine to medium grind is what the makers recommend using. So I figured that my usual brand of plunger coffee, which fits that description, would work just fine.

I began by trying to use my usual coffee spoon, which holds around 1.5 tablespoons of coffee. This is how much I use when making my filter coffee. Okay: first tricky moment. The spoon was too large to be able to tip coffee into the filter without making a fine mess. Not to worry – I decided to weigh out the coffee instead, filling the filter with a teaspoon. The amount I had to use was twice as much as I use for my usual filter coffee.

Having filled the filter, the next step was to screw the filter back onto the plunger handle. Now I was ready to brew.

The brewing process

The next step was to place the FinalPress inside my mug, and slowly fill it with hot water. Then I had to stir the gadget around, 20 times, and leave it for 2 minutes to allow the flavours to emerge. Then I had to stir another 20 times, and press the plunger a few times. The top of the plunger has a spring inside, which helps push down the top of the filter to encourage the release of flavour. Unfortunately, the top of the plunger popped off during this process! I managed to screw it back on.

The instructions advised that for a stronger flavour, stirring and pressing should be repeated. I like my coffee strong, so I followed this advice.

The result – a good coffee?

So far, the process had been pretty simple. But the proof of the coffee is in the tasting, right? So, with great anticipation, I added a little milk and prepared to taste the result.

First, a word about appearance. The process had taken up quite a bit of the hot water, leaving a tide mark around the top of my mug. Not the end of the world, but a little aesthetically off-putting. Moreover, the coffee had that muddy look that is typical of plunger coffee.

Alas, the result was not what I hoped for. The coffee was insipid and muddy. Had I not used up 12 grams of my favourite organic coffee to make it, I would have thrown it out and made a fresh cup with my filter gear – which makes wonderful coffee every time.

Having forced myself to finish the tasteless drink, I was left with an unappealing muddy sediment in my mug. I dread to think how much more of this I might have ingested while drinking.

Final thoughts

I really wanted to like this product. It seems such a great idea – and it would have been the perfect solution to coffee-on-the-go for travellers. But as you’ve probably gathered, I was not impressed with the coffee that Finalpress made for me on this occasion. Here’s a summary of my findings:

Of course, this was just one test – perhaps the result could be better with a stronger coffee blend (mine was a medium roast). And if you’re a leaf tea drinker, FinalPress could well be perfect for you. Here’s what reader Paul contributed, in the comments below this post:

As someone who was brought up on loose leaf tea, I’ve found the FinalPress to be an excellent infuser for most loose leaf teas (as good quality loose leaf tea requires 3-5 minutes to brew properly), though you can sometimes get a bit of sediment from Rooibos type teas which are very fine.

Meanwhile, I’m going back to my own coffee filter system. It’s not zero waste – there are messy filter papers to dispose of – but it’s far more environmentally friendly than capsule coffee. Plus you get a better-tasting coffee and a more generous serving – at a far better price.

I’d like to thank FinalPress for their generosity in giving me the chance to test out their product. Sorry it didn’t turn out the way we hoped.

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