In the mid-1980s, the Bodum French press took America by storm, introducing the easy pressed coffee method while eclipsing beloved percolators, drip coffee machines, and instant coffees with ease. They were functional and affordable, and they looked cool, too. Plus, the washable mesh filter meant never having to buy another paper filter again, and they could be popped into the dishwasher to clean.

Not much has changed to this day as the percolator has been relegated to nostalgia and the elegant and utilitarian Bodum design has become ubiquitous on breakfast tables and desks. There have been innovations along the way, such as the Bean by Bodum, which solves any cooling problem with a silicon gasket connecting the lid and the glass creating an insulating effect. You press a lever to make the aromatic good stuff flow into your cup.

Bodum is not the type of company to sit on its laurels, or success, and in the meantime has continued to develop more attractive solutions for the kitchen. As you might imagine there are beautiful to behold Tea Presses, Iced Coffee Presses, Iced Tea Infusers and coffee grinders. And their line of insulated glassware, such as the Double Wall Highball, has won international design awards. Bodum has also branched out into such non-liquid areas as wok pans and cutlery storage.

But true to its roots, this family run company still makes their founder's first breakthrough product from the 1950s-the Santos Vacuum Coffee Maker, a highly innovative type of, you guessed it, percolator.