Customer Reviews

Bodum Columbia Thermal 51-Ounce Stainless-Steel Coffee Press

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have tried several types of brewing methods (drip & vacuum), but this coffee press is my absolute favorite. I am able to make hot and robust coffee. Since you control the brew time, water temperature, coarseness of the grounds, & amount of water, you can make your coffee to suit your tastes.

It took me a few pots to tinker with the variables mentioned above, but it was well worth it. It is a little more trouble than a drip machine, but I got much smoother yet richer coffee with this method.

The pot is sleek and easy to clean. It does a decent job of keeping coffee hot, although a lot of heat seems to escape through the top once you press the coffee grounds down. Also, it makes 12 FOUR ounce cups. Most drip machines are measured in SIX ounce cups, so choose your pot size with care. Occassionally a tiny amount of grounds get through the filter (common with this brew method), but for the most part I have been happy with the filter.

I would definitely purchase this product again!

This product, along with my Bodum Assam tea press are the BEST purchases that I have made to date from Amazon. This thermal double-walled stainless-steel coffee & tea press insulates hot coffee or tea to keep it warm for up to two hours. The top part of the stainless steel filter has a closed position to keep the heat in & a strainer position when you need to pour. The end result is something that you can't get from an automatic, vacuum, drip, percolator, or tea bags. You get, instead, a rich, full, smooth, flavorful cup of joe or tea with perfectly extracted flavors and aromas. Since there isn't a paper filter to soak up the rich oils in coffee beans, the oils stay in the coffee where they rightfully belong.

The best practices for this press are the following: For a fine cup o' joe, grind fresh beans to a coarse consistency, add 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons of coffee for every 6 ounces of water, add boiling hot water and let the grounds brew for about four to six minutes, depending on how strong you like your coffee before hitting the plunger on top to stop the brewing method.

Tea brews in basically the same manner, but add 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of loose tea leaves for every 6 ounces of water, add boiling hot water for black & oolong teas and almost boiling (170 degrees) for green, herbal and white teas, let the grounds brew for about four to seven minutes, depending on how strong you like your tea, too much longer and you will get a bitter cup of tea, press the plunger and voila... a lovely spot o' tea!

I highly recommend this product! It is crafted of the best quality, is esthetically pleasing to look at & use and will last a lifetime!

Just like every review; I will also say nothing beats a coffee press! I used to have a glass, 8-cup press which I had for 2 years and just loved it. The glass broke, and instead of replacing it, I seen this (non-breakable) stainless, insulated, 12 cup unit (I love coffee). I made my first pot and just like the glass press, it tasted fantastic the first round. The second round; it had the smell and taste of the rubber gasket around the screen (and yes I washed it thoroughly). I sure hope this issue subsides with usage. I would have preferred if they stuck to spring gasket (like the glass pot). Perhaps the metal on metal prohibited this design. All-in-all, I wish I just replaced the decanter.

This coffee pot is the best.

My husband is a coffee lover and has brewed coffee all the different ways possible, and by far, he claims this is the best. I, myself, find the coffee the best tasting that I have ever tasted. Out of the French presses, this is the best design since it is made out of metal whereas the glass versions do not last very long and end up breaking. Also, the filter, being not only very environmentally friendly, is constructed in one piece. The other French presses have filters made in two parts, and that can be a bit of a pain when grinds get caught and are hard to clean.

It is ideal that the pot is thermal. There's no need to reheat.

I give it an A+.

ADDENDUM: and a special NB for latex allergy sufferers: (Oct. 28, 2007)

The strainer for this coffee pot has rubber around its edges, which break down after a couple of years, making the coffee taste gnarly, and for those that are allergic to latex, a fine latex tea. I'd recommend replacing the strainer, and for those with latex allergies, I wouldn't recommend this pot.

Bodum has done a wonderful job with the Columbia line of presses. I have had mine for over two years now and I would buy another one (if I needed one) in a heartbeat. I recommend this press to anyone looking for an easy to use and clean durable French press. I will try to get into detail of why I love this press so much.

First it's very easy to clean. That is so important in coffee making. Old coffee oils or even worse old grounds can destroy a pot of fresh brewed coffee. The Columbia completely disassembles by hand into 5 total parts (pitcher, lid, filter rod, filter screen and a cylinder nut) and is dishwasher safe. A daily rinse and towel dry is a must and is easy to do. I then run mine through the dishwasher one a week or so. It's very easy to keep clean and that's a big plus for me.

It's easy to use. That sounds dumb to say about a coffee press, but the Columbia is no exception. The lid fits nicely and the filter screen seals to the sidewalls very well. As long as your grind is not too fine the screen does not clog either. The spout is also drip free when pouring the fresh coffee. The handle is also nicely shaped as to really give me confidence when pouring. Brewing with this press is the same as any other press:

1) Heat fresh cold filtered water to 195-205F in a kettle.

2) Prepare press by removing lid and filter assembly. Preheat the carafe with hot water if you wish (discard before brewing).

3) As the water in the kettle hits brewing temperature grind your fresh roasted (3-14 days) coffee to a medium coarse grind (burr grinders are best). The grind is important! Experiment until you have a grind that is just coarse enough not to clog the filter when pressing it down then adjust the amount of coffee you use to your own taste. I like one gram per fluid ounce of water, so 32oz of water gets 32g of ground coffee.

4) Dump the grounds into the press carafe and when the water is at temperature pour the water over the grounds. Stir to completely submerse the grounds. Place lid on top of carafe with filter rod pulled all the way up so the filter is above the coffee/water mixture.

5) After 3 1/2 to 5 minutes (depending on your taste) slowly press the filter rod down through the coffee. Pour and enjoy.

It really is that simple. What I really like is that press brewing and the Columbia press can allow the user to really experiment with grind size and brew time. With that ability anyone can develop a system that produces perfect results for them. Whether you like strong and thick or light and mild with the proper grind and brew time the Columbia can deliver!

The Columbia just looks nice. It's a real functional piece of art. Looks as at home on the morning breakfast table or evening dinning room table. The smooth elegant lines are a pleasure to the eye any time of day.

The Columbia like any press is able to produce a cup with any intensity in flavors and a terrific aroma. There is nothing like good press brewed coffee. Is there bad press coffee? Oh yes, especially if you break the general coffee rules (use only fresh roasted beans, the best grinder you can afford and proper brewing temperatures). Follow a few simple rules however and the Columbia will deliver in every pot and every cup.

I also like the Columbia line because of the all stainless (except filter screen which is a high density resin like material) steel construction. On the Chambord line the cylinder nut is plastic. Not so on the Columbia.

All things considered I love my Columbia brewer and it has been my almost daily brewer for well over two years. It still makes coffee as good as the day I bought it. With no mechanical components the press should last forever and still looks good. I simply love the thing and I know you will too. What are you waiting for?

My office has its own drip coffee maker, but the coffee tastes absolutely horrible. Everyone complains about it, but no one was doing anything about it.

So I bought this huge insulated french press, and brought it into my office along with an electric kettle and a simple coffee grinder. This is a large french press, so it's perfect for a situation in which many people will be drinking coffee, or a situation in which a couple people will each be drinking a *lot* of coffee.

The short of it: this little unit makes wonderful coffee. I have been using it twice a day for about 8 months, and it has never let me down. It keeps the coffee hot for about an hour (on average) and cleanup really isn't that hard.

Details:

I use about 3/4 cup of coarse-ground coffee for a full batch, and steep for 4 minutes 30 seconds. I could use a bit less and steep a bit longer (the directions advise a max of 6 minutes), but I don't want to risk overextracting from the coffee beans, which would make the coffee taste bitter.

I boil the water first and let it cool for a minute or two while I'm preparing everything else. This avoids the awful taste of scalded coffee (which we are all familiar with from drip methods).

Pre-warming the carafe by soaking it in hot tap water really extends the length of time the coffee stays hot, because the heat of the coffee isn't wasted on warming up the inside of the carafe.

If I pre-warm the carafe and keep the lid closed (so that the mesh pour opening is aligned with the handle of the press and not the spout), the coffee easily stays hot for an hour, sometimes two, depending on how full the carafe is. A full carafe will stay hot longer than a carafe with only a few cups left in it.

There is always a little sediment at the bottom of each cup of coffee. You can't avoid this (no grinder is perfect), and since this sediment provides much of the flavor of the coffee, would you really want to?

Cleanup:

People complain about cleaning french presses, but it's really not that hard. Here's what I do:

Rinse off the plunger and lid;

Dump the used coffee grounds in the trash;

Rinse out the carafe;

Wipe fine coffee dust off the plunger and carafe with a wet paper towel;

Rinse once more (no soap).

Then I make sure to dry the outside of the carafe very well, just to avoid water spots. I let the filter and the inside of the carafe air dry. Once a month or so, I will take apart the filter (yes, you can do this, but it's well-designed so that you don't have to do it often) and thoroughly clean the whole unit.

In my office, very few people use the old coffee maker anymore. When I decide to make coffee, a crowd forms around my desk! French presses, when used correctly, make truly fantastic coffee.

I usually just read reviews and use them to make my purchase decisions. I actually did the same with the Bodum Columbia 12 cup press. That's why I'm writing this. This product has recieved many positive reviews and I felt compelled to buy it. I have to say that I was not a great product for me. It simply does not keep the coffee hot very long (I even pre-warmed the carafe with very hot water). Now...I like my coffee hot. So, if just warm is OK with you, maybe this is not an issue. I found that the lid did not fit very tight. Maybe that was the problem. Anyway, I returned it and found a BonJour thermal coffee press a TJ Maxx for $24.99 which is smaller (1 liter or 33.8 oz., called 8 cup) but actually keeps the coffee hot for well over an hour. It's a little small for 2 people but I like it better because it's vacuum insulated. I can always make another pot if we want more. BTY, the coffee tastes really good out of both presses.

This is my fourth, and hopefully last, french press coffemaker. I've been very happy with all of the previous ones I owned, but they all had one flaw: They were made of glass. It turns out glass is quite easily breakable. In addition, when broken, glass is rather sharp and pointy.

French press number 1 nearly removed my ring finger when it went.

French press number 2 tried to do me in with a slash across the wrist.

French press number 3 jumped off the counter when I walked by and tried to scare me to death by exploding on the floor behind me.

I'm pretty sure I could throw french press number 4 (this one) at a brick wall and only cause minor damage.

As far as coffemaking goes, this pot provides excellent results. I was very pleased to find this has a slightly finer filter than the glass ones I had before, resulting in less sediment at the bottom of the cup.

This is not a thermos... it won't keep coffee warm for 5 days. But, it does keep it warm for an hour or two, which is longer than you want to have coffee sitting for anyway!

I own both the 8- and 12-cup presses, and recommend them highly. They're durable, easy to clean, heat-retentive and easy to use when serving. A few hints: do follow the mfg.'s suggestion and use each vessel either for coffee or tea, so there's no transfer of coffee oils to your other brews. Also, it helps to retain heat if you keep the lid turned so that the spout is closed between servings. I also find that a spritz of vinegar before a thorough washing keeps you quality coffee/tea tasting its best. Having tried all sorts of other steeping devices, I can say that this Bodum is a winner, and worth the money.

We used the Nissan Insulated French Press for years until we dropped and broke the press mechanism. The Nissan was a nice press, but we needed something with more capacity. The Nissan is 1 L & this Bodum is 1.5 L. Great! Also, the Bodum is visually a very elegant looking unit, whereas the Nissan is somewhat "industrial" looking i.e. "ugly"! The press mechanism on the Bodum is more refined, and there are much less coffee grinds and residue in the bottom of the coffee cup. So far we really like this press and it makes great coffee!