Review: ESPRO Travel Coffee Press P1

Disclaimer: I don’t drink coffee. I use this thermos with the tea filter. Oftentimes they can be bought together. Still, I would imagine that most of my review will apply to coffee too.

This is a fine travel thermos for brewing quality tea on the go. I’ve often left home with just a bunch of leaves with me, and then asked for a fill of hot water from a coffee shop etc. No need to suffer from Lipton teabags.

The other use case is to make the brew at home and just stop the infusion by pressing the filter down before I set off. This method works pretty well too. The thermos keeps the tea hot for the better part of a day. That said, the seal between the leaves at the bottom and the main body of tea is not quite 100%. Some infusing will continue to happen even after the filter has been pressed down. This is my only complaint with this flask. (I don’t know whether the same holds for the coffee filter)

What this travel press really deserves credit for, is the open top side structure. Drinking through the typical nozzle will absolutely kill any fine aromas of the tea, whereas the open structure allows the aromas to escape to your nose while drinking. This is a crucial property for anyone who counts themselves as a serious tea (or coffee) hobbyist.

The topside has 4-wide holes for drinking. This allows aromas to escape to your nose while taking a sip. (Own work. License: CC-BY-SA.)

I’ve used this thermos over 4 years now. It certainly has passed the test of time. With regular cleaning and an occasional deep clean, all the parts have remained operational. I’ve never had to replace seals etc.

All in all it’s a fine thermos, and one of the rare ones with a built in press too. As an enthusiastic tea drinker, I recommend this thermos.