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Everyday Beans Podcast - Mostly About Coffee and Other Stuff
It's about coffee, food, life and what other randomness I feel that'll be helpful to the common coffee drinker or to anyone who likes to be entertained by a stranger, briefly.
Everyday Beans Podcast - Mostly About Coffee and Other Stuff
Why I Don't Recommend the Eva Solo French Press
In this episode, I dive into a piece of coffee gear that's been sitting on my coffee bar for years—the Eva Solo French Press. I share my honest thoughts on why I don't recommend this particular brewing device, despite its sleek design and sophisticated appearance. I walk through a live demonstration of how the Eva Solo works, discussing its unique tilting pour mechanism, neoprene sleeve, and premium price point that can range from $100 to $179. I compare it to the traditional French press and explain why the classic version is still the better choice for most coffee enthusiasts. I also touch on the stirring tool that comes with it, which ironically is the best feature of the entire setup.
By listening to this episode, you'll learn why expensive coffee gear isn't always better than tried-and-true classics, and you'll discover practical advice on choosing brewing equipment that actually enhances your daily coffee routine without breaking the bank. I'll help you understand what really matters when selecting coffee gear and why sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective.
For good tasty coffee, check us out at: everydaybeans.com
For tips, tricks and still trying to figure it out: https://www.youtube.com/@everyday-beans
[00:00:02] One of the things we don't talk about a lot, or even at all—I kind of talk about it from time to time—is coffee gear that I don't use, coffee gear that I don't recommend.
[00:00:19] As I was looking at my coffee bar and all that stuff, kind of just trying to see where I can make room because I bought some more stuff—that's a story for another day—I was looking at this and this one is interesting.
[00:00:40] This is an Eva Solo. This is a nice looking French press. This is what this is. So we're going to demonstrate this whole thing and I'll tell you the reasons why I don't recommend it and what I actually do recommend. I can't leave you hanging, right?
[00:01:01] So I got this years, years ago and I thought it would be cool. I guess back in the day I still bought a lot of stuff. And I saw this—it wasn't like this, but it was like this, right, if that makes any sense.
[00:01:21] This is a French press. You don't actually press, but it does exactly the same thing. You have this little cool little nozzle or pour device—actually stays on there pretty well. And then when you tilt it, the liquid, the coffee comes out and then it has this sleeve right here to keep it warm and to make it look cool.
[00:02:01] So we're going to demonstrate it without the sleeve. We're going to go from there. So I thought this company actually went out of business. And when I was looking it up today or the past couple of days, I was really shocked and surprised how much it was, that they're still in business and everything, and they're still doing their thing. They create other kitchen aid type of things.
[00:02:32] But this one particular thing I probably paid about 50 bucks for it years ago, 10 plus years ago. We look it up now—this is about some places say 100 bucks, Amazon says $179. So it's actually gone up in price.
[00:02:51] But the functionality, the usage of it is very minimal. I'm sure somebody who likes French press quite a bit will actually like this device quite a bit. But me, since I'm more of a pour-over type of person, I don't really care for it that much. Again, I'll talk about the recommendations for this machine. So let's get some coffee, let's get some water and let's brew.
[00:03:20] This is how you make it—all the simple, easy everything that we know what to do. That's the beauty of a French press. Believe it or not, this is literally the best thing that has ever happened with this device. They got this little stirrer—I've had this stirrer for years. It's literally the best stirrer in the world. It really is. Mix it through. Put it to the side. We're going to put this sleeve back on.
[00:04:11] That's what it is. It looks nice. It helps with temperature control and all that good stuff. I think it's pretty nifty the way that they actually made this to be what it is. And you just zip it right back up, put this on top, just wait, just wait a couple minutes.
[00:04:37] Why don't I really recommend this? It's expensive. It's overpriced. You can have a cup right here and put your grounds in and do the same thing and then filter it out through a paper filter or a steel mesh filter or whatnot. It does the exact same thing. I do like the filter of it though. It does a really good job of filtering out most of the things that you don't want to drink in your cup. But it just gets dirty from time to time.
[00:05:17] The way you let your pour your grounds or whatever, you pour out your coffee, it can tend to get dirty. I've never washed this before. I know people may say, yeah, we expect that from you because you're a dirty person. I mean, okay, I'm not a dirty person. I tend to let myself go unclean for a little bit longer than what it should be. But it gets dirty.
[00:05:44] And as you see, this looks like a pretty cool device and all that stuff is containing the heat very well. So it's doing its job. And you just sit here and you just wait and it looks cool. You can put this on a counter. You can be very sophisticated. It's better than a French press, right? That's what it is. That's what it's trying to do. That's how it's trying to be different.
[00:06:10] And it does a good job. But I never pick it up. I never care for it. And we have those gadgets, even when we get new gadgets. After a while, we're like, okay, how are we going to really play around with these things? Do we still play around with it? Do we force ourselves to play around with things that we used to like, used to use and all that stuff? But in this case, it's been years since I've actually used this. I think I've actually tried to give this away to a friend and they said no. I guess they probably looked it up and they're like, oh hell no, that's way too much money for me to actually take from this person who's trying to give this away.
[00:07:04] So now, let's go ahead and make a cup and let's see what it's all about. And we'll go from there. So here's our cup, here's our coffee. Cheers.
[00:07:33] Strong. Probably a little too fine on that grind. Coffee, right.
[00:08:06] And as you saw, it was very simple for me to make a cup of coffee and I didn't do that good of a job with telling you not to get this machine, this coffee maker, this device because more than likely you have something similar already at home that does a fantastic job of that. What do I actually recommend then?
[00:08:26] You already know you probably already have it—a French press. This is all you need, a tried and true French press. If you don't have a French press, you don't actually need a French press. If you already have one, then you're not missing out on this Eva Solo. You're not.
[00:08:50] If you want a French press and you want to experience something that's nostalgia, something that's unique and different, something that puts you in a ballpark of having good tasting coffee, this is probably the first place that you can start with. It's easy. Put your coffee in, plunge it, wait a couple of minutes. You do the same thing that I just did. This one's small, but you can find French presses from anywhere.
[00:09:22] I don't think most people will use it. I think they'll probably be more fragile, kind of apprehensive about using it because how much money they probably spent on it. Also, the glass isn't as thick as you would want it to be. I wish it was a little bit thicker and all that. This is what it looks like. It still keeps the heat very well so you can touch it and feel it and your coffee is going to continue to extract.
[00:10:08] And the top is cool. It's a cool top. It's a cool design. But other than that, it's a waste of money. I highly don't recommend the Eva Solo French press coffee maker. Just get a French press if you already have one. You're not missing out on anything. You're really not. This tastes like a French press.
[00:10:36] You saw my agitation. My agitation was stirring the grounds. You have to do that. You can just do this. That's what it is. So we don't have to keep buying things, I guess, or if you want to, you can. But do realize that there are items or things out there that you probably don't care for or need. And at the end of the day, it really comes down to what's your way of making coffee, what's your weapon of choice, what's your daily driver in order to make something magical. If it's a French press, use it. If it's an AeroPress, use it. If it's a pour-over device, one or two of those—not like me over here, that's too many—use it.
[00:11:24] Espresso machine, use it. It doesn't really matter. At the end of the day, it's about you, that cup and that coffee and the way that you manipulate that stuff to be happy because coffee makes us happy, right?
[00:11:42] So this is okay. Every day being signing off. I highly don't recommend this. Just stay with this—works really well. This? Now this? Yes. Talk to you later. Bye.