Clara French Press From Fellow

Thoughtful Design Meets Exceptional Quality.

The design gods at Fellow have done it again – after swiping the SCA best product award for their ODE Grinder earlier this year, they have gone and reinvented the humble French press.

Oozing with modern style, Clara is Fellow’s take on a timeless classic. The Clara aims to tackle some of the irritations of brewing with a French Press –  silty cups of coffee, messy clean-up, lining up the strainer with the spout, and your coffee going cold far too quickly.

After 169 years, the French press was long overdue a refresh. But where do you start with reinventing a beloved brewing staple? It’s a bold move that could easily have backfired but following extensive user testing and prototyping, Fellow’s designers have cleverly combined form and function to transport it into the 2020s.

But the French Press wasn’t the first thought of the design team’s mind as Fellow’s senior product manager, Drew Cosgarea, reveals in this interview. Initially, they considered an immersion brewer similar to AeroPress® but landed on a French press during the testing phase.

You asked – they answered

The Clara’s design is driven by consumer feedback. People felt French presses didn’t hold enough coffee to make a cup for them and the person they lived with, so Fellow made sure the design was oversized.

Fellow’s all-directional pour was another significant change, given most French presses have a small strainer that needs to carefully line up with the spout. Fellow tackled challenges with traditional lids being too tight or too loose with Clara’s smart all-directional pour lid that feels secure without having to push down too hard.

Cleaner strain with an ultra-fine mesh

Fellow found the biggest complaint about French presses was that coffee comes out too silty. Clara’s ultra-fine mesh is designed to prevent clogging and produce a cleaner cup with a heavier body than your typical pour-over.

Cosgarea explains: “We tried dozens of mesh varieties with numerous recipes. This was to make certain that Clara would provide a cleaner strain no matter the recipe. It was also important to have a mesh and strainer that was easy for users of any level of strength to use since many French presses are often difficult to push down in the straining process.” 

Vacuum walls to keep your brew warm

In addition to solving the world’s French press headaches, Fellow has gone one step further in adding value where they can – with their ingenious agitation stick.

Clara has a non-stick coating which can be susceptible to scratches. Fellow pre-empted users would most likely grab a metal spoon to stir their grounds, which could eventually scratch and damage the non-stick surface. So they added in the neat agitation stick to avoid this completely. 

And with vacuum walls to beat the bother of a barely-warm brew, coupled with Fellow’s renowned quality finish the Clara is firmly set to take the market by storm.

We will be opening up a pre-order very soon.  If you want to be the first to hear when The Fellow Clara is available, complete the form below.   All our newsletter subscribers will receive access to the pre-order 48 hours before general release.