Not a leap forward
Someone put thought into this press--it's hefty, well designed, well constructed, the components articulate well, and I'm left with the impression I'll have it for years. But at $80 for an 8fl oz model, I want more than a good cup of coffee--I want a device that genuinely does better, and after about twenty test brews, I agree with the claim it makes better-than-average French press coffee.
*How* it makes coffee is a different story. Both filters' micron ratings (I believe it's the same) are so small water has great difficulty passing through them without some fluid pressure--you can literally pour 100mL water into the carafe, put the filter (not basket) on, invert the carafe, and get less than 20mL out. Interestingly I found no change in retained volume with the basket on and grounds in the carafe; grounds seem to help build fluid pressure but minimally affect retained fluid volume.
Retained volume is a problem because it seems to be stuck round 50mL, with silt, regardless of water volume, mass of grounds, or grind size. My dry grounds typically absorb 1.6-2.0mL water per gram, so, at a manufacturer recommended mix of 19.1g dry grounds to 314.6mL water I end up with 52.8g of mud (water plus silt, ~3/4+ is water) and 35.8g of water retained by the grounds for a volume loss of 20%, putting 222.2mL in my cup. Keep in mind ~265.6mL are available for consumption, so it's 222.2mL coffee to drink and there's still some silt in my cup, though noticably less.
These results are typical of the brews I've logged data on (about twenty). Twenty percent fluid retention is huge for coffee making equipment, especially as volume scales up (recall I bought the small press). Though the press delivers its promise of low-silt coffee in a way that's more complicated than innovative, other brewing devices and methods deliver silt-free, loss-minimized coffee without the extra steps. To me this is significant because of Espro's price point, for $80 I want more than impressive construction and weak implementation of a concept. Decanting coffee pressed with a traditional wire screen also removes silt, with less drinkable coffee lost, and I am hard pressed to say the Espro's extra features make brewing French press coffee in one step more efficient than using a decanter. A larger micron filter would greatly pique my interest if Espro makes one available.
