Customer Reviews

Bodum Shin Bistro 8 Cup Coffee Press, (No Cork) 34-Ounce

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This product is my first coffee press, and I love it! It is perfect for me since I am a college student and don't really share my coffee with my roommates. This press makes about 2-3 cups of coffee. The description does say 8 cups, but that is 8 FRENCH cups, which are MUCH MUCH smaller than the cups here in the U.S.

It makes just enough coffee to have a little in the morning and some later during the day OR enough to fully fill up my travel mug.

Since I had never used a French press before I was a little apprehensive about working the plunger, but after reading the directions, everything worked out great! I was able to make coffee in under 10 minutes (first I boiled my water in a tea kettle, and then poured it right into my press). I had thought using a press would take even longer than a conventional coffee maker that drips the coffee, but it was faster! The drip coffee makers take forever to drip the liquid, while the pressed coffee was ready in a few minutes after boiling the water.

This French press is also very easy to store and transport around. (I take it to my boyfriend's house since I don't always finish my coffee in the morning.)

There's quite honestly no better way to brew a cup of coffee than a French press. Drip machines, percolators, the travesties which are coffee-pod machines, and whatever is going to come out next all produce muck at once bitter and insipid in comparison to press-brewed coffee. Press-brewed coffee is both stronger and less bitter than either its drip-brewed or percolated counterparts: more flavour is extracted from the grounds while the less-soluble bitter oils, so easily dissolved by flowing water, remain ensconced in the grounds while steeping, and hardly enter the coffee at all with the single motion of plunger through grounds at the end of the brew.

And Bodum is the premier maker of coffee presses for a reason: impeccable quality, the proverbial "stunning good looks," and reasonable price. No, a Bodum is not the cheapest press you can find. It is, however, the best. There's a reason why, when I tried explaining the concept of a French press to my Swiss friend (as surprised as I was that she hadn't seen one before), she suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, you mean a Bodum!"

This particular press is stylish and functional as any in the Bodum line, and thanks to its simple lines and stainless accents, fits into any kitchen (trust me: you'll want it on display). The mechanism works smoothly without the catching and scratching between screen and beaker common with cheap presses.

Screen construction is conscientious as well: though you ought to clean it immediately following use, I know myself: I don't. However, nary a spot of rust ever show up on the screen, and the steel components are highly-polished, so coffee residues are easily removed without scrubbing. Using such a low-maintenance press approaches the running of the ubiquitous (and quite blasphemous, in my less-than-humble opinion) electric drip coffee pot.

If you regularly make coffee for only one person, I'd recommend Bodum's matched three-cup press. However, if you usually require coffee for two or more, this is the press to get.

I've had several french presses from Bodum over the past 20 years, and this is my first dissapointment. Great counter appeal and even better coffee, but washing it by hand after each day's use resulted in what looks like rust between the metal band and the glass after only two weeks. I can't imagine how bad it would look if it had been run through the diswasher.

Whoever was responsible for specifying the materials must have got a reward for saving a few pennies. In the past, the metal parts were all highly polished stainless steel. The Bistro's external metal seems to consist of a thin layer of chrome over mild steel. OK, I'm only guessing at this combo, but the base metal is definitely steel because all the external metal parts attract a magnet. And no part of the Bodum being replaced attracts the magnet (most commonly available stainless is not ferro-magnetic).

KlinQ.com - the actual supplier - didn't want it returned, and grudgingly sent me a replacement. The Bodum Young that was selected as a replacement is cute, but looks like something someone else returned: the plastic caddy is already scuffed, and the red, rubber overmold has black showing through from the underlying ridgid plastic in one spot.

Most dissapointing of all was that an email request for guidance sent directly to Bodum did not even get a response. So much for their interest in customer satisfaction or quality!

We also saw the same results that E. Parnagian above saw--rust underneath the band after a relatively short period of time. Even worse, however, the metal plate holding the mesh in place was extremely sharp. I didn't know this until I unscrewed it in order to hand wash the press. Soon I looked down as I was washing and found two different fingers bleeding. I thought I'd broken the glass until I determined that it was the ridiculously sharp edge on the "retaining plate" or whatever you call it. It had made two cuts at least 3/4" long.

For an otherwise-respectable brand like Bodum to release a cheap Chinese product with such a blatant quality and safety problem is a pretty serious lapse. It's also going to seriously dilute their image of European quality. My wife bought this assuming it was made in Europe; after this mishap we examined the package and found it was made in China. I guess we'll buy the "Chambord" to replace it--it's allegedly still made in France.

I have a few Bodum Coffee presses, but the problem with many is that they don't keep the coffee hot for very long. This double wall press keeps your Java fresh for about an hour. Long enough to get the first cup of caffeine injected into your systems and go back for another cup to sip on.

After fine-tuning the art of coffee, temperature, and steeping time, this is something i will never want to live without. purchased over a year ago and still working wonderful after daily usage and numerous camping trips. When this one no longer works we will probably buy the thicker glass insulated one as coffee does tend to drop temperature slightly fast. Would recommend to anyone who loves great coffee.

If you have never had french press coffee, you haven't had good coffee. IF you like rich, robust coffee, this is the coffee maker for you. If you like bland, weak coffee, don't buy this coffee maker.
One note, you will need your own coffee grinder, and then you will have to buy whole bean coffee. You cannot use standard ground coffee as the fine grinds will leak through the metal mesh filter. You have to grind the beans at a coarse grind. Then all you do is bring the requisite amount of water to a boil, pour over the grounds, stir with a wooden stirrer, allow to steep for 3-5 minutes, then depress the plunger.
One final word of warning, if you buy one of these and start using it, you will NOT be able to go back to automatic drip coffee.

Daniel Neff - Author

Let me start by saying that I love French Pressed coffee, but these Bodum glass carafes are not built to last! I'm not banging them around in the sink or over the trash can or anything crazy like that. This morning I shook the grounds out of the carafe into the trash and when I rinsed it I noticed it had a crack running from the base all the way up the carafe. This one didn't last 2 months and our prior Bodum press carafe only made it 10 months. I'm moving onto the Bonjour "unbreakable" presses.

It is easy to use. I can have a good cup of coffee in 10 minutes.

This item is exactly as avertised. I had no problems using this product. I would purchase this item again in the future.