My husband makes our coffee with an American Press every morning, and again after lunch. One brew makes two cups, one for him and one for me. We’ve used it for about 8 years now. In that time, we’ve had two of them, replaced the filter once, and now use the carafe from one I had given my mother-in-law.
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At a glance
Who it suits
- People who’d like strong coffee at home but feel a coffee machine costs too much or takes up too much room
- People who make one or two cups at a time
- People who’d rather not buy paper filters
If pressing by hand sounds tiring, a drip coffee maker might suit you better.
It’s American Press – American Press Coffee Maker
How it ended up in our kitchen
My husband, who is from France, loves coffee. When he moved to Japan so we could live together, his carry-on bag held a crepe spreader (a stick for spreading crepe batter) and an AeroPress.
My impression is that in Japan, many people have green tea after a meal, while in France, coffee or espresso after a meal is more common. And spending time at a café seems to be part of everyday life there. I also feel that in France, strong espresso is often the star, with a bold bitterness and richness, while in Japan, drip coffee is what many people drink, and you can choose anything from light to dark roast.
At first, I suggested canned coffee from the convenience store. I still like it myself, but it didn’t seem to suit his taste. Next, I bought a nicer instant coffee. I just didn’t know how much coffee meant to him.
In the end, he chose the American Press himself. We got our first one through furusato nozei, a Japanese program where you donate to a local town or city, get most of the donation back as a tax deduction, and receive a thank-you gift.
The American Press we use
Ours is the American Press from It’s American Press, an American brand. On Amazon in the US, its listing starts with “Definitely Not a French Press.”
According to Ark Trading, the brand’s distributor in Japan, the carafe and the pod that holds the grounds are made of Tritan, a BPA-free plastic. The carafe has a double wall. The filter at the bottom of the pod is a 100-micron stainless steel mesh, and the seal is silicone.
The standard amount is 355ml (12 fl oz), and it holds up to 414ml (14 fl oz). It’s about 8.8cm (3.5in) across and 21cm (8.3in) tall, and it weighs 647g (22.8oz). The carafe has a “MAX FILL” line, with “12 fl oz • 355 ml” marked just below it. At our house, one brew is two cups.
American Press vs. French press and AeroPress
Prima Coffee, a US coffee equipment shop, describes it as somewhere between a French press and an AeroPress. With a French press, the grounds steep in the water, and you push a mesh down through them. With the American Press, the grounds sit in the pod, and pressing it down pushes the water up through the grounds and the filter. The Japanese distributor says this leaves fewer fine grounds in the cup. With an AeroPress, you press the coffee down through a filter, straight into your cup.
All three make coffee with just hot water and a press. They just work in different ways.
So why do we use this one? If a coffee machine feels too expensive, or there’s no room for one at home, this is an easy way to make strong coffee. In my experience, it really does make rich, café-style coffee in a short time. The AeroPress my husband used in France is still at our house, but we use the American Press instead, because it gives us stronger coffee than our AeroPress does.
We have an AeroPress at home, too. If you’d like to compare, here it is.
AeroPress Clear Coffee Press
How we use our American Press coffee maker
My husband does the brewing, so this is how he makes it.
We use Kirkland Signature 100% Colombian Coffee, a dark roast, fine grind, in the 1.4kg (3lb) can. I like it for the value and the taste. In the US, Costco carries it.
He puts 3tbsp of coffee into the pod.
Then he pours hot water into the carafe, up to the MAX FILL line.
He sets the pod and plunger into the carafe so the pod sits in the hot water, and waits while the grounds soak. There’s no set time. He waits until it’s as strong as we like, and he likes it strong. I feel the strength changes with how long we leave it before pressing. Then he presses the plunger down.
If you’d like a starting point, one of the barista recipes on the Japanese distributor’s site is 20g (0.7oz) of medium-fine to medium ground coffee and 300ml (10 fl oz) of water at 90°C (194°F). It steeps for 30 to 60 seconds, and the whole thing takes about 2 minutes.
What wore out in 8 years
With two cups, twice a day, one unit has made roughly 4,000 cups for us before something wore out — about three years, I think.
With our first one, the mesh filter at the bottom of the pod tore. Back then, I couldn’t find the filter on its own, so we had to buy a whole new one.
On our second one, the filter got a hole too. This time, I found a place in Japan that sold just the filter.
After that, the inner wall of that second carafe cracked. Earlier, because we liked it so much, I had given one to my mother-in-law as a gift. She kept using the French press she already had, and it seems she didn’t use this one much. She gave hers to us, saying, “He likes this, so take it.” The carafe we use now is hers.
If you need a part, see Can I get replacement parts? below.
Something to know: pressing can get heavy
When it’s new, pressing is easy. But after long use, pressing gets heavy, and it takes real effort. When we tried different kinds of coffee early on, a medium grind was easier to press. The distributor also recommends a medium grind or coarser. We still use a fine grind because it’s the one we like, so I think that’s part of why it gets heavy for us. It depends on the unit, and some of ours never got like that. Because of this, I rarely make it myself unless I really have to. Honestly, part of me is waiting for this one to break, so my husband will finally buy a new one — the same model, since a new one presses easily.
The Japanese distributor has some tips for when the plunger won’t go down. I’ve put them in the questions at the end.
Cleaning up
Right after brewing, it’s very hot inside, so I don’t wash it right away. I take off the plunger side and the pod, and just dump the grounds where I usually put food scraps.
We don’t have a dishwasher, so I wash it by hand. Compared with a plate or a mug, it feels like there are more parts, so I think washing it is a bit of a chore. The parts are actually simple, though, and none of them are small.
The distributor recommends washing it by hand with dish soap every time and taking it apart about once a week. It says a home dishwasher is okay too, but not a commercial one. It isn’t made for the microwave or an open flame.
Where to find it
It’s available on Amazon in the US. Check the current price there.
It’s American Press – American Press Coffee Maker
Common questions
What grind size should I use?
The Japanese distributor recommends a medium grind or coarser, and says grounds that are too fine can clog the filter. The coffee we use is a fine grind. We’ve tried coffee from several brands, but this is the only one so far that gives us the taste we like at a good price. If pressing feels heavy, a medium grind is worth trying.
What can I do if the plunger is hard to push down?
The distributor lists a few common causes: grounds that are too fine, oil and fine grounds building up when it’s only rinsed with water, or the silicone under the pod flipping up. Its tips are to pull the plunger up a little to reseat it, or pull it up slowly to clear the filter and press again. It also suggests setting the carafe on a flat surface, holding it with one hand, and pressing with your palm. Empty the carafe before you pull the pod out.
Can I get replacement parts?
In Japan, the distributor sells parts such as the filter, the pod and the carafe. As of October 2026, there doesn’t seem to be a US store that sells them. The brand’s US website only shows an “Opening soon” page.
If you’re in the US and need a part, one option is to order it from Japan through Buyee or ZenMarket, proxy shopping services that buy from a Japanese store for you and ship it overseas. The distributor’s online shop in Japan, Ark Trading, sells the filter, the pod and the carafe, but it ships only within Japan, so a proxy service is the way to reach it. My guide to ordering from Japan compares the two, and both sites have a shipping calculator, so you can check the cost before you order. Service fees, international shipping and US import duties are added to the price.
In the end
The American Press has been part of our mornings for about 8 years. If you’d like strong coffee at home without a coffee machine, and you don’t mind pressing by hand, it’s worth a look.
