Gee, I don't think French presses make a mess.. at least no more than any pot that needs to be cleaned. I do rinse the press part and scrub with a dishwashing brush, but I don't find that to be a hassle either. I guess if you compare it to a Keurig, it is more of a hassle than that.

I don't miss my Keurig, nor my Cuisinart drip machine (I did really like that machine, though. It had a built-in coffee grinder, and the coffee quality was excellent).

Alan, Maxwell House?? Yuk. You're no coffee connoisseur. My DH tells me I'm fussy, and I probably am, but he's the guy who just this morning forgot to turn on the electric kettle and poured cold water into the French Press and then when he realized it, he put the cold-brewed coffee into the microwave and then drank it, so his opinion clearly doesn't count.

And yes, I'm catherine, and I'm a coffee-holic.