Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 19
 7 stars for coffee quality, 3 stars for construction July 27, 2006
Michael Goulish (Ann Arbor)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
We've had ours for almost a year now, and it's has always made the best coffee I've ever tasted. And I've tasted a lot of coffee. We do use something like half again as much coffee per cup as we used to with a drip coffee maker, but the taste really makes it worth signing up for Peet's "Truck Stop" subscription.
The construction should be better. The little handle on the back of the lid broke off soon after purchase. It's not a fatal problem at all, but it's irritating.
There are little filters that plug into the brewing bowl, which you have to change, but only once a month or so.
We got the clear one, and it's slowly getting stained with use.
Here's a very nice feature: the bottom of the device stays cool during and after brewing. The heating element is embedded inside, and well insulated. You can put your hand on the bottom of the thing while the coffee is hot, and you'll just feel a little warmth.
If it ever falls apart, we will definitely get another one just like it.
Great coffee -- less than great construction August 16, 2006
Woodturner (Virgina)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I have had this coffee maker since 2/03 and the coffee is just great. I've often referred to it as a "fire and forget French press." If you watch the cooking process, which is fascinating in its own right, you can see that the steps for making coffee with a French press are essentially followed. The differences are that you don't have to "do" anything and there is very little sediment at all.
I do have to agree with other reviewers that the construction of the ancillary parts leaves something to be desired. The little lid for the pot, which I basically find to be a nuisance, is easily broken. Bodum is aware of this as they offer the lids for sale. The lid that covers the upper chamber has a nice fit all around, but is held by a dimple that fits in a hole in the top of the upper chamber. This dimple will break over time. It does not affect the use of the pot, however.
As other reviewers state, the base is heatless as all of the heating occurs in the pot itself. The base is sensitive to wet counters and such, but if wiped off and put aside to dry should work well again.
Cleaning the pot is a bit challenging, but with the right long-handled scrubber is no problem. I, too have noticed the clear polycarbonate showing some signs of staining, but it hasn't affected the taste of the coffee as far as my palate can tell.
The folks at Bodum are a pleasure to work with if you do have a difficulty. My one contact with them two years ago went very well and they replaced my base without a bit of fuss. It turned out to have been unnecessary (see the problem of the wet base above), but they didn't argue, just sent me another base. I discovered the "wipe and dry" healing method while on vacation at the beach.
Comparing the use to any drip maker, especially one with a paper filter, this requires more cleaning by far. That said, the results are more than worth it and I would not hesitate to buy another if/when this one craters.
Great coffee pot August 29, 2006
Coffee Lover (Huntsville, AL)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
We have had our Bodum Santos for about 1 1/2 years and have really enjoyed it. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing, but it makes excellent coffee. I have read other reviews that have said it is hard to clean but we have found that if you rinse and dry the upper bowl after each use and use the company's cleaner every couple of months, it actually is easier to clean than traditional coffee makers that always seem to collect mineral deposits and water spots. We have the orange model.
best coffee maker ever! January 20, 2008
J. Brown (Los Angeles, CA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
With such a sleek and interesting design, this coffee maker is sure to start up a conversation! I just got this for my coffee obsessed Mother for Christmas and she hasn't stopped using it. It's fun to watch and the kids will think it's magic... and there is no denying that the coffee it brews is spectacular. There is very little upkeep (no annoying filters!) and very easy to clean so even though it is a bit more expensive than other typical coffee makers this one takes the cake.
OH MY GOD!...So thats how coffee is supposed to taste. October 1, 2004
Frank Oliva (Brooklyn, NY)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I've been an on again, off again coffee drinker for years, you know, a cup of crappy brew from whatever corner deli or food stand it was convenient to buy from in the morning. I fell off the wagon two years ago and haven't looked back since... sigh. When I started to actually care enough about the quality of my coffee I to grind my own beans from Puerto Rico Importing Co. drip brewers and gold filters just weren't cutting it. I really wanted to get a coffee maker to do them justice. So I read up on coffee brewing and was sold on vacuum technology. I'd read the reviews on the Bodum coffee makers and purchased mine with a bit of trepidation. It produced weak brews, it was flimsy and poorly constructed, it was a mess to clean, it consumed whole cans of beans in a single cycle, it was responsible for global warming... OK, I made the last one up. So I get this thing that looks like an IKEA replacement part for a bedroom lighting unit, read the instructions and brew my first pot. Holy crap! Five minutes and I had in my hand what was doubtless the best cup of home brewed coffee I've ever tasted in my life. Absolutely nothing to interfere with the taste of the beans! It was like tasting coffee for the first time. The unit seems sturdy enough. The weakest part looks to be the clear snap on top for the upper pot, feels like you might break it in two when you take it off for the first time. Other than that there are very few parts to mess with and the clean up could not have been easier, cleaning out the grinds from the top part is not a big deal at all. I use the Bodum at least twice a day and it has produced consistently full flavored pots of coffee each time, four scoops of beans produces four cups of perfect coffee (two for me actually) I can't speak to the units long term durability but I'm very happy with this weird looking little coffee maker and am looking forward to many long nights of caffeine fueled insomnia with the Bodum by my side.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 19
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