I now have three years of experience with this Frieling 33oz French Press, and felt it was time to share my experience for others considering this purchase.I used to make my coffee with a Capresso drip coffee maker, and the Capresso has not been used since the day this Frieling FP arrived on my doorstep. French Press coffee is so much better than the automatic drip machines - but you must be prepared to do a little more work to get it!! Some don't prefer the extra work a press requires (boiling water, timing the brew, pressing, etc) but for me the reward of better coffee in the cup is worth it. Amusingly, I left my Capresso drip machine sitting on the counter for the last three years, always thinking I would use it again... I just put it in the shed today, and asked my wife to bring it to Goodwill this coming week for donation. It still works fine, at least I think it does as I have not used it in a while... but I finally came to the realization I am now a French Press drinker. (So I am a little slow on the uptake.)I spent a lot of time deciding between Frieling, Bodum and other brands but at the end of the day I am 100% satisfied that I chose the Frieling, and with what I know today would do it again in a heartbeat. Looking at the Bodum Chambord now with its plastic top, thin glass, etc I just chuckle at the difference in quality. And the fact that my Frieling still looks and operates like the day I bought it after three years is only a testament to its quality. I can't see anything changing this fact, it would take sheer negligence to break or cause a Frieling to malfunction IMHO.... of course, there is always the proverbial lemon, but isn't there always? And I guess if I tried, I really could break it... we all know there is always that 1 out of 100 that always seems to break anything, but like figure skating you gotta throw out the high and low score to really get to the facts. I know one thing for sure, after three years I would have broken at least ONE Bodum carafe, and maybe more. And from the reviews I read these days on the Bodum, it seems as though a good sneeze is breaking the ever-thinning glass carafe. (ever-thinning meaning some say they don't "make em like they used to" or so I hear).For what it is worth, I also ordered the 44oz Frieling today - the 0130 model. I find on some days I am going through two rounds of coffee, and also when I have company I want the ability to make more... so the 44oz is an attempt at getting more coffee for my work. Plus, I have grown attached to the Frieling, and think they are just cool. I probably did not need the larger one, but think I will enjoy the extra capacity on those long days where I want 11oz more coffee! Lol.For what it's worth, some notes about my preparation procedures - I pre-heat the Frieling with extra-hot water before brewing, and have my system down to assure the four minute coffee extraction temp stays between 195-205. (I experimented and measured the process with a handheld temp probe to test the results, see where the temp was, etc) Coffee extraction between 195 and 205 degrees F assures the maximum flavor from your coffee according to the Coffee Gods (really, look on Google - don't just trust me - there are a lot of coffee minded people out there who spend a lot of time coming up with this useful info...)I also grind my beans fresh every day to assure maximum flavor. Plus, I DON'T use my local Phoenix tap water as it has too much chlorine / junk and makes my coffee taste bad. I alternate between mixing Spring Water with filtered water - whether RO or local water store filtered water. Sometimes I go with 100% spring, but never 100% RO as it does not have any minerals in it and the coffee will taste flat. RO water strips out everything, and is best used to mix with your spring, tap or filtered water to find the right combo for your taste buds.IMHO, the water matters very much to the final result!! Again, the Coffee Gods (geeks) claim that coffee extraction results in the best taste if your water has minerals in it - something about the coffee and minerals interacting to impart taste - and this is why RO / Distilled water are not desirable for Press or drip coffee. Your mileage may vary, many opinions here on the water and what type to use. Experiment and find what works best for you. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere that has water coming out of the tap that is palatable, then don't experiment, and I envy you! If you can't relate, take a trip to Phoenix some day, turn on the tap and take a big swill of our lovely... ummm... whatever they call that stuff coming out of the tap... lol.One tip - don't pour your boiling water (or close to boiling) directly onto your ground coffee - it "scalds / burns" the coffee and imparts a bad taste. Assure your coffee / water meet at 205 F max, and if you can, try to assure it does not dip too much below 195 by the end of the four min brewing cycle. You will have to pre-heat your Frieling with hot water most likely to achieve this... but trust me, if you do these little extra steps, you will be shocked at the improvement in your coffee in the cup!Just for the record, the tips I offer above were learned over the three years. I started out putting my pre-ground coffee (ground days before and stored) in a cold carafe, then pour my boiling RO water straight onto the coffee, and only from reading, experimenting and opening my mind ;-) did I learn better. And even though this poor method I started with was better than my drip machine, what I do today with the proper technique is light years better than when I started with the French Press three years ago. French Press is a step up IMHO, but French press done right with the proper press technique is only rivaled by the best methods of any coffee house..... try it! Cheers.EDIT: Minutes after submitting, I realized I did not touch on the lessons I learned about the correct grind of the bean (ie - how fine vs how coarse) and further lessons about how to minimize sediment in the cup (the dread of French Press) and the proverbial coffee grinds between the teeth. If I get enough interest, I will come back and add this... I will say, with my current grinder(s) and method, sediment, grinds in the cup, etc are at a minimum and are hardly an issue. For the first year, it was not the case, I thought sediment and grinds in the teeth were a fact of life, now I realize it can be kept to a minimum and are not a concern with the proper technique, grinder and minor attention to detail.