Bodum Brazil 8-Cup French Press Coffee Maker, 34-Ounce Reviews

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This was my first French press. I have always enjoyed this type of coffee, particular after dinner. However, I was attracted to the plastic framework surrounding the carafe, as I can be clumsy at times.

This press has worked just as well as the more expensive, more traditional looking French press pots. I set the coarsest setting on my Braun grinder, and no grounds get through the screen. It is just perfect. I haven't ever run my press through the dishwasher, it isn't necessary with the easy cleaning with this one. I just put hot soapy water in the carafe, up-and-down a few times with the plunger and it's all ready to use again. I have heeded the warning not to stir with a metal implement; I use a wooden spoon.

I would heartily recommend this model of Bodum for someone who would like to experience French press coffee at home, inexpensively.

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Let's face it, dumping coffee grounds into a bucket of hot water is nothing new. The Bodum Press is a refinement of the cowboy coffee brewing method, minus the campfire & straining it thru a sock. In My world, there is no such thing as "too Strong" for coffee. There IS, however, too bitter & too acidy. The press does what perking, dripping and steaming ground coffee cannot do: produce a stout, yet smooth cup of coffee just like the stuff made around decades of my campfires.

Model Brazil, made in Denmark by a Swiss Company & called a French Press. No wonder the confusion over exactly how many cups this actually makes. The Euro-instructions for the press say 4 oz. per cup, but even my fine Bavarian China cups (from when I lived in Munich) are 6 ounces.

Just look at it this way: It holds 32 ounces of water.

The instructions on your roast coffee container usually say to use 1 TBSP per 6 ounces of water (NOT 4 ounces & NOT 8 ounces). Again, in MY world, 32 ozs. makes about 2 cups of coffee.

I toss in 6 or more scoops of ground coffee, pour in hot water & wait the obligatory 4 minutes. The result is a smooth coffee that you can drink by the quart without that nasty heartburn/reflux side effect.

It's ideal for work, where the office sissies are afraid of offending anyone with REAL coffee, so they make it weak. I simply step up to the hot water spigot & take the Press to my desk.

Now, you, too, can have coffee the way you like it at work without having to cover up someone's botched brew with that foo-foo Vanilla, Hazelnut, Irish Cream or other phoney-flavored faux creamers.

Cleanup? Swirl around some soapy water, & dump the grounds down the sink just be sure to have the water blasting & the garbage disposal running, so as to not plug up the sink trap.

Even if you already have the coffee-brewing apparatus of your dreams, buy the Bodum 32 oz. model. You won't be disappointed.

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I have two Chambord models, and this one. I prefer the features of the Brazil's keyed lid, and secured plastic frame to the Chambord models. I've had this for about 3 years now, use it every day, and it's held up perfectly. Great press.

Honest reviews on Bodum Brazil 8-Cup French Press Coffee Maker, 34-Ounce

This is a very simple, easy-to-use and easy-to-clean French press. I couldn't be happier with it. Brewing with a French press generally results in much more flavorful, rich coffee than using a conventional drip coffeemaker.

Though it makes very good hot coffee, I especially like using it to cold-brew homemade iced coffee. Ever notice how when you try to make iced coffee at home by brewing some with a regular coffeepot and then sticking it in the fridge till it cools, it never tastes right? That's cause most good coffeeshops cold-brew their iced coffee, which results in a smoother flavor. When you cold-brew, you use time rather than heat to brew the coffee.

In case you've never cold-brewed coffee, here's how I do it: I take a grinder-ful of fresh-ground premium beans, toss them in the press's pitcher, fill it up the rest of the way with cool, filtered water, let it brew 12-15 hours at room temperature, then press the beans down, stick in the fridge for a while, and serve in a glass with some ice cubes. Delicious! Add sweetness and cream to taste. I'll save a fortune by brewing my own iced coffee from now on. (By the way, the directions for brewing hot coffee are the same, only you use hot water rather than cool, and the heat makes it brew in about 5 min rather than 12 hours.)

If you're a coffee nut like myself, whether you prefer it hot or cold (or either, depending on the weather), you owe it to yourself to try a French press, and this Bodum can't be beat for the money!

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Had this item about a month now (8-cup size). I use six level scoops for a full 'pot'of strong coffee. Makes about 3-4 "American cups" (8oz +). More than I can drink in a day, so I share with office-mates.

PROS:

1)Coffee tastes better from this than from my drip coffee maker, IMHO. This is of, course, the number one reason for getting any coffee maker -otherwise we'd all drink instant and save the trouble of brewing and cleanup. Reading some reviews here and foodie-type sites, the great taste is because the 'natural oils' from the beans are not filtered out by a paper filter. I don't notice 'oily' coffee or any other change in texture but I do notice the upgrade in taste and that earns four stars right there.

2)(YMMV on this)My office has a hot-water spigot at the water cooler so I get hot coffee slightly faster than the generic drip coffee maker where I have to wait until all dripping's done to get my one cup cleanly. If you don't have a ready source of hot-water, more time will be added waiting for water to heat up.

CONS:

1)You'll still get some 'silt' (micro grounds), even when you coarse grind your coffee. This is mostly due to my grinder, I guess, but a work-around is that I've started to use a small strainer as my scoop. Using this, most of the silt is discarded -but some still gets through.

2)Keep in mind that the round-ball press handle prevents the mesh part from reaching all the way to the bottom of the container. Because of this, if you put 4 or less scoops (i.e. making a only a cup or so), there's still some space leftover and you don't get that extra squeezing out of flavor from the grounds. Also, I think I got a little more 'silt' when trying to get the last drops out than I got from a full load. Perhaps a packed set of grounds traps more silt than a loosely packed mound.

3)Cleanup is pretty messy, and is my biggest CON for me. As AZshooter recommended, I also use a stream of water to get out the grounds. Works WAY better than trying to scrape them out dry into the trash bin. This, of course, requires a drain and water source. Also, a few grounds always get stuck in the metal frame that holds the mesh in place. I have to use a toothpick to get them out.

Lastly, be sure to drink all the coffee quickly OR separate it from the gounds by pouring the coffee into another container (e.g. thermos). The acidity of the coffee grounds begins to taint the flavor of the liquid above if you leave them together for an hour or longer. This and CON #2 should weigh into consideration as to which size French press to buy.