French press coffee has a loyal following for a reason: full bodied, oil rich cups that a paper filter would normally strip away. The Veken French Press Coffee Maker, sold in 34oz and smaller sizes under the “No Plastic Touching Cafe” name, leans into that appeal with a design built entirely around brewing surfaces that never touch plastic. I looked closely at how this press is built, how it actually performs cup to cup, and where owners run into trouble, so you can decide if it belongs on your counter or in your camping bag.
Quick Take
The Veken French Press earns its reputation as one of the better budget to mid range presses on the market, mainly because of two things: a genuinely plastic free brewing path and a 4-level filtration system that keeps sediment noticeably lower than single mesh competitors. It is not a thermal carafe, so like most glass French presses it loses heat within about 40 to 45 minutes, and like every French press, technique still matters more than the equipment. Used correctly, with a coarse grind and a patient plunge, it produces clean, rich coffee at a price well below premium stainless steel models.
Key Specs at a Glance
- Capacity: 34oz (1 liter), yielding roughly 3 to 4 standard cups, with a smaller 21oz single serve version also available
- Materials: thickened borosilicate glass carafe with a 304 stainless steel frame, filter, and food grade silicone seal
- No Plastic Touching design: every surface that contacts brewed coffee or hot water is glass, stainless steel, or food grade silicone
- Filtration: 4-level system combining a spiral plate, a cross plate, and two fine mesh screens
- Heat resistance: borosilicate glass rated for thermal shock up to 360°F, safe for hot water, cold brew, or loose leaf tea
- Cleaning: plunger and filter assembly are dishwasher safe, glass carafe disassembles for handwashing
- Available finishes: Dark Pewter, Silver, and Copper accents on the stainless steel frame
Design and Materials
The headline feature is right in the name. Cheaper French presses often use a plastic lid, a plastic plunger knob, or a plastic frame collar, all of which sit directly against hot water or brewed coffee during steeping. Veken builds this model so that the glass carafe, the stainless steel filter stack, and the silicone gasket are the only parts that ever touch your brew, with plastic limited to non contact areas like the outer handle grip. This matters for two practical reasons: hot liquid can leach compounds out of lower grade plastics over time, and plastic can hold onto coffee oils and odors between brews in a way polished stainless steel and glass do not.
The carafe itself is thickened borosilicate glass, rated to handle thermal shock up to 360 degrees Fahrenheit, which means going straight from a cold rinse to boiling water is not a concern the way it would be with ordinary glass. That said, it is still glass, and the manufacturer itself notes a small breakage rate under normal handling, so this is not a press you want to drop on a tile floor or subject to sudden temperature swings outside its rated range.
The 4-Level Filtration System
Filtration is where French presses tend to separate from each other in quality. The Veken uses four filtering layers, a spiral plate, a cross plate, and two fine mesh screens, stacked together rather than relying on a single mesh screen the way many entry level presses do. Independent testing comparing multiple French press brands has found this stacked approach produces noticeably less grit at the bottom of the cup compared to single screen designs, though it still cannot fully eliminate sediment, since some fines passing through the mesh is inherent to how immersion brewing works.
Grind size has an outsized effect on how well any French press filter performs.
Brewing Performance and Taste
Used with a coarse grind and a standard immersion time of about 4 minutes, the Veken produces the classic French press profile: full bodied, higher in retained coffee oils, and noticeably richer than a paper filtered drip cup. Testers who have compared it directly against other mid range presses describe the filtration as competitive with or better than similarly priced stainless steel models, with only premium double screen or micro filter systems edging it out on sediment control.
Worth knowing if you drink French press coffee daily: because paper filters are skipped, more of the coffee’s natural oils, including compounds called diterpenes, end up in your cup.
Heat Retention
Like essentially every glass carafe French press, the Veken is a single wall design, which means it loses heat faster than a double wall stainless steel model. In side by side testing against insulated presses, glass models including this one typically keep coffee drinkably hot for around 40 to 45 minutes before it starts noticeably cooling, compared to several hours for a vacuum insulated stainless steel carafe. If you tend to nurse a single cup slowly over an hour, that is a real tradeoff to weigh against the visual appeal of watching coffee bloom and steep through clear glass, which insulated stainless models cannot offer.
Cleaning and Maintenance
Cleanup is one of the more practical strengths of this design. The plunger and full filter stack are dishwasher safe, and Veken designs the assembly so it comes apart completely, which matters because trapped grounds between filter layers is a common source of stale, bitter tasting coffee in French presses that are harder to fully disassemble. The glass carafe itself should be handwashed to protect the glass finish and the silicone gasket seal over time. Routine full disassembly after each use, rather than a quick rinse, is what keeps both the filtration quality and the flavor consistent brew after brew.
Durability and Breakage
Because the carafe is glass, breakage is the main durability concern with this style of press, and Veken discloses a roughly 1 percent breakage rate under normal use, which is considered low for a glass carafe category where drops and thermal shock are the most common failure points. The stainless steel frame and filter components are more resilient and are less likely to be the point of failure than the glass itself. If you want to essentially remove breakage risk, Veken and similar brands also sell all stainless steel bodied French presses, though those come at the cost of not being able to see the brew develop through the wall of the carafe.
Versatility
Beyond hot coffee, the borosilicate glass and food grade silicone construction make this press equally usable for cold brew steeping and loose leaf tea, since none of those brewing surfaces are plastic that could pick up flavor carryover between uses. The compact size and simple four part construction also make it a reasonable travel or camping companion, provided you are comfortable packing a glass carafe carefully. For dedicated travel use, a stainless steel bodied French press is generally the safer choice specifically because it removes the glass breakage risk from the equation.
Common Complaints
- Sediment still comes through if the grind is too fine or the plunge is rushed, which is a French press characteristic rather than a defect specific to this model
- Glass carafe carries a real, if low, breakage risk under drops or rough handling
- Heat retention is limited to under an hour like all single wall glass presses, so it is not ideal for slow sippers
- Plunger resistance is on the firmer side, which some owners read as reassuring build quality and others find slightly harder to press than looser fitting competitors
Pros
- Genuine plastic-free brewing path, with only glass, stainless steel, and food grade silicone touching your coffee
- 4-level filtration noticeably reduces sediment compared to single mesh screen presses at a similar price
- Fully disassembles for thorough cleaning, with dishwasher safe plunger and filter parts
- Borosilicate glass handles thermal shock well, so cold rinse to boiling water is not a concern
- Doubles easily as a cold brew steeper or loose leaf teapot
- Priced well below premium stainless steel or double wall competitors
Cons
- Single wall glass means coffee cools noticeably within about 40 to 45 minutes
- Glass carafe requires careful handling and handwashing rather than dishwasher cleaning
- Requires a coarse, consistent grind to get the full benefit of the filtration system
- Not the most travel rugged option compared to all stainless steel presses
Price and Value
The Veken sits comfortably in the budget to mid range tier of French presses, priced well under premium options like double wall stainless steel or designer glass models, while still offering filtration that testers consistently rate as competitive with pricier competitors. For anyone deciding between a basic single screen press and a small step up in filtration quality, the price difference is modest relative to the improvement in cup clarity.
Who Should Buy the Veken French Press
- Anyone specifically looking to avoid plastic contact with hot coffee or tea
- Coffee drinkers who want a fuller, oil rich cup and are willing to grind coarse and plunge carefully
- Buyers who want one vessel that handles hot coffee, cold brew, and loose leaf tea
- Anyone comfortable handwashing a glass carafe as part of routine cleanup
Who Should Skip It
- Anyone who wants coffee to stay hot for hours without a separate insulated carafe or thermos
- Frequent campers or travelers who want a nearly unbreakable, all metal brewing vessel
- Drinkers who strongly prefer a completely sediment free cup, closer to what a paper filter or pour over produces
Final Verdict
The Veken French Press delivers on its core promise: a brewing path with no plastic touching your coffee, backed by a filtration system that punches above its price point. It will not keep coffee hot for hours, and it asks a little more care from you than a plastic bodied press, both a coarse grind and gentle handling of the glass carafe, but for drinkers who care about flavor purity and are willing to meet it halfway on technique, it is one of the more sensible mid range French presses available.
Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars, reflecting strong filtration and build quality for the price, with the expected heat retention tradeoffs of any single wall glass French press.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does anything plastic touch the coffee in this press? No, Veken designs the carafe, filter stack, and gasket from glass, stainless steel, and food grade silicone, keeping plastic limited to non contact parts like the outer handle.
What grind size works best? A coarse, even grind, similar to coarse sea salt, gives the 4-level filter the best chance of keeping sediment low.
Is the carafe dishwasher safe? The plunger and filter components are dishwasher safe, but the glass carafe should be handwashed to protect the finish and seal.
Can it be used for cold brew or tea? Yes, the glass and stainless steel construction works equally well for cold brew steeping and loose leaf tea.
