The humble french press is a highly underrated way of making a fresh brew, and it might be the cheapest. But even among the cheapest coffee-making methods, IKEA's version is unusually affordable. The UPPHETTA coffee maker starts at $9 and comes in two sizes, but that's only a good deal if it's a good product, so I picked it up for myself to find out.
As an SCA-qualified barista with six years of reviewing the best coffee makers under my belt, I've reached a point of coffee snobbery where if a brew doesn't meet my standards, I simply won't drink it. So I wasn't optimistic when I poured 18 grams of my precious fresh-ground beans into the UPPHETTA. But honestly? It pleasantly surprised me.
Here's how I got on.
Can you make a good coffee for just $9?
Having confessed my coffee snobbery, it might not surprise you to learn that my go-to coffee maker is well over $1,000 and takes up a significant portion of my kitchen counter. IKEA's UPPHETTA is none of that. It's cheap, tiny, and portable. I even took it to the office to get my colleagues' verdict on how it performed, and it slotted easily into my work bag.
While it does feel cheap, with a wobbly plastic handle and plunger, all the important parts are made of glass and metal. The pitcher is a clean, well-shaped glass vessel with a neat spout that pours cleanly, and it even has a removable base, allowing you to clean up easily.
The filter also un-screws, allowing you to clean off any oils and grounds left between brews with less hassle. All of these touches for under $9 were a welcome surprise to someone who just threw this gadget in their heaving IKEA basket on a whim.
The coffee maker comes in two sizes: 13.5fl oz or 34fl oz. I opted for the smaller of the two, and found that it was ideal for making one large or two small coffees. For an extra $5, the larger version is better suited to families or the caffeine-deprived!
Does it make good coffee?
I've been using the UPPHETTA for a week to figure out how to get the best out of it, and in that time, I haven't experienced any significant issues that would get in the way of my recommending it. Now, is it the best french press coffee maker you can buy? Probably not. It's not insulated and the glass is thin, meaning your drink cools down fast, and it does feel flimsy to use and touch.
With that being said, I was able to make some really great coffee in the UPPHETTA. I steeped 18 grams of coarse fresh-ground coffee in just-below-boiling water for four minutes before plunging and leaving for a further couple of minutes. I was left with a rich and smooth brew at the ideal drinking temperature.
I did find that my first few attempts gave me a lot of coffee silt and residue at the bottom of my mug. Some of this is normal with any french press, but it's also the result of using the wrong grind size. When I ground slightly coarser, my brew was lighter, and almost tea-like in consistency.
The verdict
Will I rush back to use the UPPHETTA french press? Probably not. But like I said, I'm more of an espresso-drinker, and I have an arsenal of expensive machines to choose from.
If you're on a budget or you simply don't have the space for a permanent countertop coffee maker, this $9 option will definitely do the job. Plus, you can spend that leftover cash on a coffee grinder, which is the only essential gadget needed to make top-tier coffee.
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