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244 of 249 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lives up to the hype!, September 18, 2006
Okay, to some the idea of using a French press coffee maker is a little too precious, bordering on snobbishness. I used to be in that boat until a few hours ago. Tonight on a whim, I purchased this Bodum French press. Now I should warn you readers that it is generally NOT a good idea to test out your shiny new french press when you are getting home at 10:30pm on a Monday after spending way too much money at Target when you just ran in to get "dog food". I write this review so heavily caffienated that I will probably stay up until dawn tonight re-organizing my closets or alphabetizing my CD collection or doing some other useless task. Despite being a daily coffee drinker (of the muddy variety the office's Bunn machine churns out), one cup from the french press has knocked me into the stratosphere, and that alone is worth giving this product 5 stars.
My caffiene overdose aside, this press produces the best coffee I have ever had at home, and it truly rivals or surpasses coffee I've had at coffee houses. It's slightly more involved than using an automatic maker, but not difficult at all. The unit itself is pretty sturdy, and looks lovely.
French press coffee is a great alternative to using those smaller 1-2 cup automatic drip makers. Being single, I've gone through my share of those, and the coffee they make alway seems about ten times worse than the coffee from a normal-sized drip maker. If you like to make a large pot of coffee and drink it throughout the morning, I would suggest picking up a good quality carafe or thermos to keep the coffee warm.
Pros:
-Best tasting coffee you'll ever have at home, period.
-Strong, full bodied flavor
-Pretty easy to prepare
-Impress your friends with your snobby european coffee-making ways :) (looks good on your counter too)
-Great for making small amounts of coffee, for one or two people.
-Priced about the same as a ho-hum auto drip coffee maker with no extra bells and whistles, yet makes coffee a million times better.
Cons:
-More cleanup than using a automatic drip maker
-No heating element to keep coffee warm. Use a thermos/carafe if you want to sip several cups over a few hours.
- 8-cup capacity is based on a 4oz beverage size. Not really a "con" but something you should be aware of. If you had a large group you were making coffee for, it might get a little tedious to be constantly making a fresh batch of coffee.
Couple other notes: Coarsely ground coffee is recommended. This is no problem for people that already buy whole bean and grind their own, but it will be an extra step for some people. Also, I recommend picking up an Aerolatte milk frother if you want to make truly effortless cappuchino. I find that there's plenty of time to warm some milk in the microwave and froth it up while the coffee brews for 4 mintues. A $20 Aerolatte milk frother + $24 french press = coffeehouse coffee at home, whenever you want it. That's really a tiny investment for coffeehouse quality java!
I also purchased a smaller 1-cup Bodum press to take to work. Tomorrow I plan to smile smugly while my co-workers chug down the crap that comes out of the Bunn machine. If my boss is really nice, I may let him use it too. Maybe.
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158 of 162 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best coffee I've ever had, June 17, 2003
I previously owned a (much) smaller version of this press, which made an excellent cup of coffee. But that was the problem. It only made a CUP of coffee. I usually have two, and what if others want coffee? It takes a while, going one cup at a time.Needless to say, I upgraded to this larger press, which makes about 3 times more coffee. It makes the best coffee ever - I could never go back to a junky old drip coffee maker after this. Yeah, it's more work than a drip coffee maker, but really, would you rather have quick, easy coffee that tastes bad, or a delicious cup of coffee that takes 5 minutes more? Using this is like steeping tea - you boil some water, grind some coffee beans (I hope you're grinding your own coffee beans!) and pour the water over the coffee grounds to let them steep for 4 minutes. Then you push the knob down, which filters delicious coffee into the water and leaves the grounds at the bottom of your pot. Then, voila! You've got about 3 cups of yummy coffee, depending on to what extent you water your cup down with cream and sugar. If you're one of those people who just CAN'T WAIT for their coffee, you'd be better off getting a typical drip coffee maker. But if you love coffee, and want it to taste as good as it possibly can, you have to buy this press.
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92 of 93 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great coffee, but fragile, December 14, 2003
A french press is one of the best methods of brewing coffee at home. I have never liked the "drip method" machines like Mr Coffee which, in my opinion, produce a very bland cup of coffee. Some reviews have mentioned the extra effort involved in comparison to a drip machine. This really is not a big issue. You have to boil the water separately and remember to press the plunger down when the coffee has finished brewing. The clean up is about the same.Some tips for getting the most out of this machine. Always use coarsely ground coffee. I've found a 9 second burst with my grinder works best. You'll have to experiment. I also gently shake the grinder while using it. This results in a more even grind. With this approach I have very little sediment in my final cup. Allow the boiled water to cool for a minute before adding to the grounds. This seems to produce a less bitter cup. Finally, stir the grounds and water with a chopstick or similar. Let the coffee brew, then press the plunger down *slowly*. If making more than one cup per person, store the extra in a vacuum flask. The coffee cools very quickly if left in the press. Always clean your grinder. Oils accumulate very quickly resulting in increasingly bitter coffee.
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