Customer Reviews

Bodum 1308-16 Columbia 8-Cup Stainless-Steel Thermal Press Pot

5 star:		(193)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

Seems pricey but you'll quickly forget about the $. It's the very best coffee accessory I've ever purchased. The filter part of the french press is perfect. Makes a suction sound as you press it down because the fit is so precise. Virtually no coffee grounds make their way into your cup. And why didn't someone think before of making an insulated french press? In use every day at our house.

French Press coffee has one downside, if you do not serve the whole pot when it is first made then it tends to be coolish. This pot can be a help. It is not perfect but it keeps the coffee warm-hot for awhile. I fill it full of hot tap water before I make the coffee in it and then the coffee stays warm longer. I think it is the best press on the market at this price.
The other thing to be aware of is that when these coffee pots are rated for 10-12 cups that they are something less. The cups they are talking about are four ounce cups. These coffee pots make 4 regular cups of coffee and no more. PS: This is a good way to cut your coffee shop bill.

This press is great. I bought it in combination with the Bodum 5679-01USA C-Mill Blade Grinder. It is all we use anymore. So the perfect cup of coffee?

Fill the press with hot water to preheat it.
Put a kettle of distilled or filtered water on stove.
Grind 1/4 cup (adjust for type and preference) of fresh beans. I do about 10 seconds in the Bodum grinder, the key is you want it fairly coarse.
As the water comes to a boil put the ground coffee in press and add just enough hot water to cover and then fill your cups up with hot water to preheat them.
After a minute fill press to within an inch of top.
Let brew for 4 1/2 minutes, stirring occasionally with something that won't scratch surface of press.
Press very slowly, if you meet resistance, raise it up a little and continue.
That's it, you'll be amazed at the results. The variables are going to be the amount of beans that you grind, the amount of time you grind them and the length of time you brew, so keep track of what you do and keep mixing it up until you arrive at perfection.

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Yeah, like many coffee enthusiasts, I thought this thing would be the Shangri-La of french presses -- a french press that keeps the coffee hot for hours. This is an idea whose time has come...but alas, disappointment has reared its ugly head.

As a french press, the pot works great. Nothing earth shattering, it works and it's easy to clean. In other words, it works no better and no worse than a $20 french press.

The problem is the vacuum thermos feature, which is the reason this thing is so expensive. It does not keep the coffee hot very long at all. Yes, yes, I always preheat it with nice, hot 190 degree water. I add the coffee, turn the lid so that the little plastic cover is over the pour spout to prevent heat loss, and then....it's cold in about 45 minutes. Now granted, this pot does retain heat a LITTLE longer than a regular glass french press, but its insulation qualities are nowhere near as good as my vacuum thermos or my travel mug, which is also vacuum thermos-y.

I think the biggest source of heat loss is in the lid. The lid has no insulation properties at all. It's just a thin piece of metal over a think piece of plastic. So it basically defeats the purpose of the rest of the pot. The laws of thermodynamics dictate (here's the only time in the past 10 years that I get to use my engineering degree) that heat energy will seek to equalize with its environment as easily as possible. In this case, the heat finds a get out of jail free card in the lid.

So, in conclusion, if you are hoping that this french press will keep your coffee warm for a couple of hours, you will be greatly disappointed. My suggestion, buy a $20 french press and knit yourself a nice sweater to go around it. Something tasteful and not too itchy.

I've used this press daily for a number of years now. It is a great way to make the absolute best coffee every morning. I am convinced that there is no better way to make the best coffee. My wife and I also take it with us when we travel, so that we can continue to have our great coffee in the morning while we are traveling. After all these years and countless travel trips, it's a bit dented and banged up, but it still makes great coffee every morning.

I have noticed that a number of reviewers have mentioned that the coffee doesn't remain as hot as they would like. Here's how I get around that problem.

First of all, I don't think any french press design is really suited to keeping coffee hot for a long time. If you want that then perhaps you should stay with a Mr. Coffee or a percolator.

That being said, I do like to have my coffee hot for up to an hour each morning. I purchased the 8-cup Bodum and it produces just enough coffee for my wife and I to have a large mug of coffee, with enough left over for a warmup for each of us. If we're wanting more coffee after this, then we simply brew a 2nd pot. It's so easy to use the Bodum that it's not a bother to brew a 2nd pot on these days. So, we're not trying to keep hot coffee for a couple of hours in the morning. No french press can do that well.

When I want to make coffee in the morning, the first thing I do is fill the Bodum pot with hot tap water to warm it up a bit. Then I begin heating the water that will be used on the freshly ground coffee beans. When the water is ready for pouring over the grounds I empty the warm tap water, place my freshly ground coffee in the Bodum pot, then pour the near-boiling water over the grounds and let it set for 4 minutes.

One feature of the Bodum that is REALLY nice is that its press screen is very fine. Most french presses require that you use course grounds and they will not work very well with anything else (grounds that are too fine will slip past the press-screen and be in your coffee cup). But, coffee tastes better if you can use a finer ground coffee (not the course stuff). It's a dilemma with other french presses, but NOT with the Bodum. The Bodum has a super-fine screen that allows you to use the finer ground coffee grinds. I would recommend that you use a high quality bean grinder though, so that the grounds are a CONSISTENT grind size (burr grinder and not a blade design) then you can use finer grinds with the Bodum than with other french presses.

Incidently, I've found a great burr grinder for grinding coffee for the Bodum Press. I bought a Capresso 565.03 Infinity Burr Grinder and use the "fine" setting for my Bodum. The result is that I get the most from my beans used in the Bodum.

Anyway, I'm sure grateful that I purchased the Bodum. It's a great way to enjoy coffee.

I've been using the 8-cup Columbia French Press since it was introduced. I prefer French Press coffee to the other brewing methods but one thing kept me from using my traditional glass Bodum press pot, and that was the multi-piece filter. That filter never failed to trap coffee grounds in between the layers and I was constantly taking it apart for cleaning, and in no time at all the mesh screen started to fray around the edges.

That was then, but the Columbia is now. My favorite feature in this new design is the one-piece filter. Yes, ONE PIECE! No more unscrewing the three layers for washing. This improvement was obviously needed and I wish they had done it much sooner.

Regarding the stainless steel construction, it is useful for keeping the water hot during the 4-minute brewing time, but don't think of it as a carafe that you can just leave the coffee in. If you do, it will keep extracting the coffee from the grounds and you'll wind up with an over-extracted, bitter brew. For me, the real advantage of the stainless steel is that I'm not going to break it. The traditional Bodum borosilicate glass is very easy to break.

And so, I highly recommend the Bodum Columbia press pot. And if Bodum ever creates a one-piece filter for their glass French presses (like the one SwissGold used to make), that will be another great Bodum achievement.

Enjoy the Columbia!

I asked for (and received) this French press for Christmas, and I LOVE it. So does my husband, who originally said he didn't "know what the big fuss is about a French press."

I was in Switzerland in Fall 2003 and fell in love with the coffee over there, especially coffee made in an industrial-looking machine by Jura. Unfortunately, Jura runs about $1500-2200 here in the States, so I knew it was out of the question! My Swiss friend recommended buying a French press instead, saying that that is what many Swiss bring with them when they're traveling, skiing, etc. and that the coffee comes out "almost as good as a Jura."

I opted for this thermal version based on Amazon recommendations, mainly because it is less prone to breakage than the traditional grass presses, and on Christmas morning I learned that my friend knew what she was talking about in terms of the quality of the coffee. The coffee is fantastic, especially if you use freshly-ground beans. The directions are VERY easy, and I have yet to find even one tiny particle of a coffee ground in my morning coffee.

Some drawbacks to this product -- it makes about 4 mugs full of coffee, so you shouldn't go by the 8-cup description. This makes it a bit of a challenge if you're entertaining and need more coffee than that. But as the old cliche goes, "Good things come to those who wait," and it certainly holds true here. Wouldn't you rather wait a few minutes more for a fantastic cup of coffee?

Also, the coffee doesn't keep warm all that long, so make sure you serve it within a half hour or so. I find that the taste is not the same when only trying to make half a pot, so it's best to make a full one.

Don't let any of the drawbacks keep you from investing in this excellent product. Look at it like this: in less than 10 trips to Starbucks, this French press will have paid for itself. And Starbucks coffee leaves a lot to be desired!

The product is described as made of stainless steel. However, be aware that the plunger is mostly plastic. I wanted to specifically avoid plastic for brewing hot tea due to health concerns, and from the description of this product expected it to be stainless steel. It is described incorrectly and the description of press mechanism material needs to be added.I used it only once; tea stayed hot for less than 15 min. and did not taste well (plastic).Big disappointment. Needless to say, I'm returning it.

I received this item as a birthday gift from a good friend. I have been lusting after a good thermal press-pot for months. The construction of this unit is first rate. Zero coffee grounds escape through the screen into the pot. It maintains that "lava hot" temperature that we here in Hula Town enjoy for quite awhile. Used properly, this press-pot lets you unlock the full flavor of your java. Cleanup is a breeze! Dump the grounds out, rinse the pot with cold water and dry in the dishrack. Much less effort than cleaning the electric drip pot! The price may seem steep, but it is worth every penny. And due to the stainless steel construction - - there are no safety issues that might arise were it constructed with glass. The handle is big, comfortable and offers a rock solid grip. After experiencing my java brewed in this, I will never go back to another method. Ever. I plan to take this with me when I go camping, hiking, etc. as well as to the office. Call it essential mission gear for a caffeineophile.

I actually purchased both the Bodum glass 8-cup press as well as this one. They are worlds apart. Clean-up is a breeze with this one - the glass one had too many parts/pieces. Plus, the coffee stays fresh and hot in the thermal pot. I was afraid the glass one would chip or break - not a problem with the thermal press. It is made exceptionally well and is a superb press for the money. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good quality, durable coffee press that produces the best-tasting coffee ever.