The Bodum Bean French Press 10945 is easy to use: pour hot water over the ground coffee beans, let it steep, then push down the plunger-type plate to hold the beans at the bottom, then pour out the coffee. Positives: you can vary the time that your beans are steeping, so you can have strong coffee without using extra beans. You can also vary flavors (I've mixed dark roast and Colombian) that you can't do with pods. Since you grind the beans, this is the freshest coffee and therefore the best taste, in my opinion. It's also relatively inexpensive. Negatives: Time-consuming, therefore not great for morning rush time. I also found that I had to buy another food chopper just for the coffee beans (spice mills are the cheapest) because even after cleaning, the chopper retains a coffee odor and flavor that transfers to any other food you grind in it. The trickiest part of using the Bodum is getting the beans ground to the right size so that they don't slip through the holes when you press the plate down, because the holes are different sizes. The instructions say to grind the beans for about 6 seconds, but every time I've tried that, there are still some smaller pieces that escape from beneath the plate. There is a filter on the top that catches some of them, but I'm still left with a few grounds in my coffee. Overall, the Bodum is worth it if you have the time and like to be able to brew very fresh coffee and whatever strength you like. Design Sleek design, but loses points for the different sizes of holes in the plate that never seem to catch all the coffee grounds.

MaggiesViewpoints

Chesapeake, VA

I have had drip coffee makers of all kinds and even the expensive Keurig, but I have converted to french press for it's ease, deliciousness, and inexpensive equipment. Bodem makes a good french press. To be honest, we have broken several (the glass). But I'm okay with that because I can buy ten of them for the price of a normal coffee maker. Plus it's so much better tasting than drip coffee. You heat the water to almost boiling. I think a true coffee connoisseur would want exact temperatures, but I don't bother with that. I just heat the kettle to really hot. Then I load the french press with ground coffee, add water, wait five minutes, and use the press to gently push the grounds to the bottom. Delicious coffee in minutes. I was not a fan of the keurig because the cups were so expensive and the flavored ones were so sugary. The french press just makes a great, simple cup of coffee, which is what I like.

JulieCrog11

USA

Bodum makes some very good products. We have tea kettles and tea presses from them as well as cups and mugs. This product is also very well made (as expected). But, you have to be very careful not to over fill it and not to press too quickly or too fast. You might get burned, but even if you don't, you'll make a really big mess out of it. Brew Performance It brews wonderfully! Makes a delicious cuppa whatever you're drinking. Has a good capacity, too, so you can make enough for several people at the same time. Because glass by Bodum is heat resistant, you don't have to worry about pouring boiling water into the unit and anything breaking. Such a pleasure to use. Ease of Cleaning The jar itself is very, very easy. Just be really careful you don't clink it with anything else in the sink because we had an older one break (shatter) quite quickly. The press requires a little more cleaning effort, but just running water through it in the opposite direction is enough. Design Press slowly and evenly.

BobbettJascor

USA

This is a good little inexpensive french press. Nothing too fancy, but does the job. Brew Performance Perhaps I'm still not great at the brew with the french press versus the standard plug in coffee pot, but it's been good so far. not great, but that's likely operator error. Ease of Cleaning Very easy to clean. No complaints here. Ease of Use Seems incredibly easy to use. Again, I don't have a great deal of practice with the french press, it seems hard to mess it up. The lid was a little tricky, but not bad. Design I mostly just think it's adorable. matches funky kitchen decor. Durability Seems durable for the most part. The plastic lid and parts make me not worry too much about breaking it. All in all a nice little coffee maker.

pogmorel

USA