Jetboil Grande Silicone Coffee Press

An easy-to-use, lightweight accessory for the Jetboil MiniMo and SUMO systems that makes delightful coffee. A regular sized option is also available for the Jetboil Flash, MicroMo, and Zip. The fine mesh press with silicone ring ensures grounds don't find their way into your cup. With this little accessory, you're well on your way to a great cup of coffee. What better way to start the day.

Conditions: 

I’ve utilized the Jetboil Silicone Grande Coffee Press probably 15-20 times over the last 3 months with the Jetboil SUMO stove. The coffee press has gone with me on backpacking trips, car-camping trips, and some days just on my back porch while listening to the birds sing. I’ve only used one type of coffee (yep, pseudo-coffee snob here, sorry!) and that is from Camano Island Coffee Roasters. Because I purchase whole bean coffee from them and grind it myself, I was able to try different ground sizes in the coffee press and no matter how large or fine the grind, the outcome was always the same...delicious coffee with very minimal to no grounds in the cup.

Specs:

Weight: 1.7oz (48.2g) if using the longer SUMO connection rod and 1.6oz (45.4g) if using the shorter MiniMo connection rod. 

Sizes: Two sizes are available, regular and grande (I tested the grande)

• Regular is compatible with the Jetboil Flash, MicroMo, and Zip, as well as with the 1L tall and .8L spare cups.
• Grande is compatible with the Jetboil MiniMo, SUMO, and SUMO TI, as well as with the 1L short and 1.8L spare cups

Usage: 

Here's what the instructions on the packaging say. 

I've modified them a little bit to suit my tastes. 

• Step 1: Thread french press through lid with the correct rod length
• Step 2: Boil water in the pot 
• Step 3: Remove pot from stove
• Step 4: Pour coffee grounds into hot water. Recommended 2 Tbsp (12g) per 8oz (237ml) of water. Seems heavy on the grounds to me, but each user can dial-in their desired taste. 
• Step 5: Wait 3-5 minutes, give it a little stir, wait another minute
• Step 6: Plunge the french press, pour coffee into cup, enjoy coffee!

You’d think for someone who uses a french press everyday like I do, it would’ve been second nature to use this coffee press. Well, not so fast. Because the press isn’t already thread through the lid, and because the water is boiled in the same pot as the press (as opposed to a kettle at home), the steps are a little different than at-home french press coffee, but easy to learn nonetheless.

The main difference is in step 4 (above). You pour the coffee grounds into the hot water, not the hot water into the coffee grounds, like you would a traditional french press. This is probably more of an issue for those, like myself, who use a french press every day and therefore are ingrained with a certain step-by-step process and have to deviate a little bit from our normal process to make coffee with this press. 

Once I got the hang of it, this has become a very simple to use and effective coffee maker that requires very little extra weight and space for the benefit it provides in the backcountry. The grande size works with both the popular Jetboil MiniMo and SUMO, as well as the 1L short and 1.8L spare cook pots that Jetboil offers.  

The only quibble I have about it is that I’ve had the threading come undone a couple times in the midst of a press. This could have been because I didn’t make sure it was all the way tight or because I was playing with it some, so I may be to blame a little bit, but either way, it shouldn’t be that easy to unscrew. Either longer threading or some sort of locking system would ensure this doesn’t happen. 

From what I can tell about the earlier version of the grande coffee press from Twig's well-rounded 2015 review, the introduction of the silicone ring, and probably other tweaks here and there, have made this newer version better at keeping grounds where they belong...in the pot, not the cup. 

Non-Coffee Usage:

Jetboil mentions on its website that this product can be flipped upside down to steam vegetables or fish. Not sure why it needs to be flipped. I could not find any web content of theirs showing a recommended approach to doing this. I have yet to try this product as a steamer, but if I do, I will update this review appropriately.

Construction and Durability: 

Everything looks solid and works well on the Jetboil coffee press. As with any coffee press, the area first likely to give out is the fine mesh, typically ripping out of the frame from overuse and a heavy washing hand. There are no signs of wear or vulnerability with this press, but it is something I will keep an eye on in the future. The other area of potential concern for me is the threading wearing bare. This is a concern on anything that repeatedly requires screw-like threading in its operation. But, in all fairness, there are no signs of wearing out yet. Just something I plan to keep an eye on.

Storage:

Jetboil placed a handy storage recommendation directly on the packing. It states the threaded rods and handle should be unthreaded and tucked in the Jetboil burner assembly, while the main press component should be stored in the stove’s bowl that attaches to the underside of the cook pot/cup. I love when add-on accessories for a product are made with storage alongside the original product in mind. Kudos to Jetboil for thinking this through.

The only potential worry I have with this storage recommendation is that the silicone ring around the press is bent when storing in the stove’s bowl. I’m not sure silicone should be bent for long-term storage (but I’m certainly no materials expert). For this reason, I simply store the components in a resealable plastic bag (i.e. sandwich bag) that weighs next to nothing. 

Background

I very seldom go a day without coffee. French press-style coffee is part of my daily morning routine at home. When afield, my car-camping coffee-making apparatus of choice is the REI Table Top French Press and in the backcountry it is the GSI Outdoors Ultralight Java Drip.