Customer Reviews

Bodum Chambord 8-Cup (4 US cups) Coffee Press with Bonus Coffee Catcher

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I certainly didn't expect any miracles from such a simple device, but was I ever wrong - this basic press is tremendous!

After your first taste from this little machine, you'll want to throw out any "standard" coffee makers that you might own -- auto-drips, percolators, etc. Since the water never boils, the coffee has none of the harsh overtones typically associated with percolators. And, since there's no restrictive paper filters, the flavorful oils that release from the coffee beans remain in the final brew, creating a soft, rich cup of coffee like I've never tasted before. This is truly a 5-star-worthy product... it's perfect!

this is a lovely piece. hands down the best way to drink coffee everyday. makes coffee drinking the beautiful ritual that it should be. i put my big bulky paper-wasting coffeemaker a-way. ***Here's a tip: to keep the coffee nice and hot while waiting for it to be ready, i always fold a clean dish towel in two and wrap it around the carafe,securing it under the handle. like a coffee cozy.

This press makes delicious coffee but the catcher is not necessary. It doesn't make clean-up much easier and it absorbs the flavor and color of coffee immediately.

Otherwise this is a beautiful little coffee press!

the french press brings out the true flavor of coffee. if you ever go to a professional coffee company (or even just starbucks) they will tell you that you are supposed to brew coffee with a french press.

clean up is the same as with any other coffee maker...throw out the grinds and rinse the carafe. i think it takes me an extra 30 seconds to clean this.

the only downfall is that you are going to spend more on coffee (will realize how much commercial coffee sucks)...and you need to make sure that it is ground to the right coarseness.

I bought this for my son who is always in a hurry, but loves his brewed coffee. He is extremely happy with it because it is fast and yet the coffee tastes like it was made in a coffee machine. We have one of those instant hot water dispensers which makes this is a very convenient way to make coffee. It also goes through the dishwasher with no problem.

I don't know if I have a defective product, but the coffee catcher on my Bodum came slightly broken and was a real pain to put on and take off. The product demo on bodum.com makes it seem really easy to pull the catcher off the traditional filter, but for me I had to unscrew the whole contraption and then wiggle the holding piece all the way to the side before it would snap off. Definitely not something I want to do on a daily basis. And the coffee catcher consists of lots of tiny plastic wires that form a filter screen, but one of the wires came already broken and it pokes me when I try to remove the catcher. I'd imagine even more wires are going to break if I continue to use the catcher.

I bought my Bodum when the coffee catcher version was cheaper than the non-catcher version. I'm happy that I can just throw away the catcher part and still use my Bodum the traditional way. Without the catcher, everything about the french press is fine.

That pretty much sums it up. Also, it is a glass carafe, so I am just waiting for it to break. The coffee catch makes it the best glass carafe manual coffee press out there, in my opinion, but frankly, when the glass carafe eventually does break, I will probably 'upgrade' to the thermal one.

Other reviewers have complained that this is advertised as 8-cup but is actually 4-cup. The "cups" specified are 4oz coffee cups, not 8oz US measuring cups. If you do 30 seconds research at the manufacturers web site, you can confirm this. For me, this is not a problem, as it was exactly as expected: 5/5.

I had some problems with the item shipping, but this was the fault of the delivery firm rather than the vendor, and the vendor was prompt, courteous and helpful in dealing with those issues. Again 5/5.

The coffee catcher is a great bonus. It makes cleanup about 10 times easier. No more scooping out gunk with a spoon, just tip the basket into a paper towel. There are two slight problems. First: On the manufacturers website, it's listed as "Free". This ought to mean that Amazon doesn't charge any extra for it. This is not the case. I forget how much extra I paid, but it may have been near five dollars. Second: Unclipping the basket from the bottom of the plunger is done in a non-obvious way, and it took me a good couple of minutes fiddling to figure out how to do it without sending coffee grounds flying across the room, including reading the enclosed instruction leaflet (which does not detail the procedure). Over-all 4/5 for the catcher.

The mesh on the plunger isn't very fine. Using coarse-ground coffee as recommended, you don't get any actual grounds in your cup, but an the filter lets through an awful lot of the fine powdery residue that forms a little puddle of gunk at the bottom of the cup. 4/5 for the filter.

As to the actual quality of the brew? Well, in my opinion that's more conditioned by how much care you take in selecting and storing your coffee beans, and even more so how much care you take in the actual preparation. The press does not noticably detract from a decent brew in any way, as long as you're savvy enough to neither freeze nor boil at any point. 5/5

This is a straight-forward, easy to use french press. It is easy
to fill and just as easy to clean. Coffee catcher works as intended when used with coarse-ground coffee, although no press
will be able to stop the fines left from grinding.

As one of the premier French Press Makers, Bodum makes a fine product. For those who enjoy the French Press style of coffee making, this is as easy as it gets. There is one beef I have and thats with the coffee catcher. I feel the design is poor and in reality, while catching a majority of the grounds, its messy to handle. Personally, I could do without it. Other than that, its a great product and highly recommended.