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The famous art of brewing a cup of coffee has spurred a major debate of French Press vs Drip Coffee Maker.
Believe it or not, these solid machines have allowed even a regular person to brew some fine-tasting coffee like pro baristas as they’re easily available online or in physical stores and have unique features.
On the other hand, there’s a majority of brewers who have contrasting opinions about the best coffee-making processes. One such controversy is – which machine brings the best taste out of coffee beans?
We’re gonna discuss each of these factors to determine the ultimate winner in the battle of the french press vs drip coffee.
So let’s find some common ground if there is any or pick a side that’s best for you.
French Press – An Overview!
First introduced by an Italian in 1929, a French Press is also known as a coffee press or a coffee plunger.
Over the years, it has seen modifications and upgrades but can still be seen in many kitchens and hotel rooms.
French Press coffee makers are known to brew a flavourful coffee with a nice mouth-filling texture.
It has a simplistic design of a cylindrical container to be filled with a specific amount of coffee.
To brew, you need to add some warm water and stir it a little. After that, you need to put a lid on it so that it can brew for some time.
Once it’s done, you can push down the plunger filter gradually. This forces the ground coffee to the bottom while fresh coffee stays up on top.
Many French Press users describe the machine as a great tool for personalization, which allows you to make the coffee in a way you want to have it.
Even though an Italian invented this coffee maker, all of this still doesn’t explain why it’s called French Press.
Drip Coffee Maker- An Overview!
Drip coffee makers are a common sight at households and workplaces.
It’s great for keeping the coffee hot and always ready for a sip. Probably, that’s why it’s a great choice for any coffee lover.
Although Drip has also seen various modifications over its age, it generally remained more or less the same.
Compared to french press, drip makers are high-tech and feature a fully automated process.
All you really need to do is place your ground coffee in the filter and flip the On switch.
The machine does the brewing for you and gets you a delicious cup of coffee whenever you want it. Basically, it’s a ‘set & forget’ machine for your coffee needs.
Drip makers are designed for everyday users and beginners. They’re essentially as easy as just ordering a coffee at a cafe.
On top of that, they have some amazing features like timers which will keep the coffee ready whenever desired.
Besides waking up to a delicious brew, you can also program it to shut off when not needed automatically. If that wasn’t all, it keeps your coffee hot for a long time just as you like it.
French Press vs Drip – 7 Factors That Differentiate Both!
On to the main topic, let’s discuss factors to conclude the French Press vs Drip debate to find a winner.
We’ve compiled these factors to include everyone’s needs and wants from a brewing method. So here we go!
1. Which is More Reliable?
Reliability is a huge consideration for coffee lovers. You need coffee on a daily basis to keep yourself stress-free and fresh to fight throughout the day.
A French Press comes out as a solid contender here as it has no mechanical parts and there’s no chance for the appliance to stop working.
However, you may go on to break the glass beaker by dropping it on the floor. That’s the thing about it, and even if worse happens, it’s cheap to replace.
Drip coffee makers are also sturdy and reliable for the most part. The only known faults you may experience are a broken heating element or a lack of electricity.
So, it’s fair to say that both machines are reliable to deliver your cup of coffee.
We will give a narrow victory to the French Press for being more reliable for this one.
2. The Mobility Test!
If you’re a coffee lover that likes to travel or you’re just more on the road, this one is for you!
Getting the taste you want and doing it yourself when not at home is challenging, but not with a French Press.
A French Press is small and can fit in a regular size backpack and can go along wherever you take it.
The only other thing you will need is the grind of your choice and some source for heating coffee water.
As far as drip coffee makers go, there’s little to no chance of taking it on the road. They come in small sizes but need electricity.
Unless you have a campervan with all facilities in it, you won’t really be able to make use of a Brewsense Drip Coffee Maker for example!
For the mobility test, the French Press takes a landslide win.
Is French Press More Expensive Than Drip? – Let’s Find Out!
A lot of us prefer homemade coffee to simply avoid paying $1 – $2 every day for a single cup. Both brewing methods featured in our comparison cost lower than getting coffee outside.
Drip is a great choice to save money over time. Let’s take a general price for 12oz ground coffee as $10.
Mathematically, 12oz is about 340g. Depending upon the drip machine, each cup may take between 7-10g of coffee. So, a cup of coffee will cost around $0.25.
Other costs include electricity and the cost of the machine itself. So basically, Drip makers cost anywhere between $20 to $300.
French Press is a little more expensive than Drip as it requires 20g of coffee per cup.
If we take the same ground coffee as the previous one, we can have 17 cups from the same 340g coffee.
A cup of coffee with a French Press will then cost around $0.55. Other than this, there are no other additional costs except for the machine itself.
So, a French Press machine is cheaper than a Drip maker in terms of initial costs.
But over a period, Drip offers better value with more than half the cost per cup.
Is French Press Easy or Drip? – Ease of Use for an Average Person
Although this factor is highly personal and subjective, we still have a definitive answer.
Just know this – French Press or Drip can have different requirements. You need to consider the coffee grind, water temperature, and the brew time.
Additionally, in the case of the French Press, the rate of pushing the plunger-filter is also a variable that comes into play.
A French Press offers the ultimate level of personalization to your coffee.
Apart from the coffee grind, you can choose how much time you want to give your brew.
However, you need to be careful as too long or too short an amount of time will change the taste drastically.
Make sure to find the best time for your brewing process.
Drip machines are far easier as you only need to measure the correct amount of ground coffee. Usually, the precise amount is stated in the manufacturer’s instructions.
Although some drip makers offer small adjustments, they are nothing compared to a French Press.
The winner for being easy to use is definitely a drip coffee maker. Just hit the On switch and wait for a delicious cup!
How Much Time Does French Press or Drip Take for A Cup of Coffee?
If you’re one of the impatient ones and want your coffee fast, here’s the French Press vs Drip factor for you.
We will see how much time each machine takes to brew and what clean-up process looks like.
A French Press takes around 5-8 minutes to brew a cup of coffee. And when the water boils, you need to allow 3-4 minutes to steep.
That takes the total time around 8-12 minutes per cup of coffee.
On the other hand, a drip-maker takes about 5-10 minutes as you wait for the machine to warm up.
You will get a recommended time from the manufacturer’s instructions. As a matter of fact, several machines offer automatic procession of the coffee, which takes less than 3 minutes to make a cup of coffee.
The clean-up time for both machines is the same, which is a simple rinsing and running through clean water.
So, the fastest cup of coffee between the two is made by the Drip.
How Many Cups Can We Get Out of Drip or French Press Brew?
Both French Press or Drip makers come in various size options.
A French Press starts around a single cup serving up to around 10 cup servings.
But if we look at Drip makers, it start from a few cups and max out at 14 cup servings.
An important consideration within this factor is the lack of heating plates in the French Press. As a result of that, if you have any more coffee left, it will get cold and become tough to swallow.
So, the winner for delivering quantity is the Drip!
French Press vs Drip Coffee Maker – The Final Taste Test!
The most important factor for French Press vs Drip Coffee Maker debate is the final taste.
The flavor of the finished brew is a crucial thing for any coffee lover.
The French Press is great for the degree of control it offers and gives a variable taste for the coffee.
Besides, it also ensures that you find your own procedure to get the desired taste.
With Drip, you can choose the grind of choice and add some flavourful oils and minor adjustments to the filter.
But, all of that can be done with the French Press as well.
So, a Drip maker may offer a quick coffee, but for the pure tasteful experience, French Press rules the party!
Final Thoughts
That’s everything we had for the French Press vs Drip debate. But wait..!!
Where is the conclusion?
Well, there isn’t a definitive answer but the best outcome depends entirely on you.
Among all the factors we’ve discussed above, you need to pick your own choice for what you need.
The general conclusion would be – Drip is the better alternative for a quick and easy cup of coffee. Whereas, for a truly personal and majestic taste, French Press is better overall.
