Many people simply can’t start their day without a caffeine jolt. Buying a cup at the local coffee shop each morning is costly and inconvenient, especially if you work from home. Making cups from coffee pods is convenient, but it doesn’t always give you the best flavor, and it’s not very kind to the environment.
Bodum has an answer. According to the company, its pour-over coffee maker “is the key to making richer, bolder coffee from the comfort of your home.” Bodum says its coffee maker is easy to use and can brew a “full-bodied, smooth tasting coffee with a robust aroma that will win your heart.”
We tested the Bodum Pour-Over Coffee Maker to see if it lived up to the manufacturer’s claims. This is what we found.
To test Bodum’s coffee maker, we chose someone who is a regular coffee drinker to use this product in a real-world situation. Our tester prefers drinking a hot beverage that retains the flavor of the coffee. While they’ve tried a variety of styles and currently use a French press each morning, our tester thinks pour-over coffee is the best option for their particular tastes because it offers the most authentic flavor and is convenient to brew.
During the trial period, our tester paid particular attention to the filter quality, the durability of the coffee maker, how easy it was to use and how difficult it was to clean.
The Bodum Pour-Over Coffee Maker features a simple yet elegant design. It has a carafe-like shape with a large, rounded bottom section, and it’s made from borosilicate glass. This special type of glass is manufactured using boron trioxide so it won’t crack under extreme temperature changes. The glass feels thick and hefty, so there’s little fear of accidental breakage.
The neck of the carafe is narrower than the rest of the coffee maker to give you a comfortable place to grip it. It features a cork band because cork has very poor thermal conduction, which means it doesn’t absorb or transmit heat. In other words, no matter how hot your coffee is, when you grab your Bodum by the cork, it will be safe to touch.
The key to Bodum’s brewing, however, is its permanent stainless steel filter. You never have to throw away or replace this filter, so it’s much more earth-friendly than paper filters and single-use pods.
The Bodum Pour-Over Coffee Maker retails for $19.21. However, you can often find it at a discount, so it’s wise to peruse sellers to find the best deal at the time of purchase. You can buy this coffee maker on Amazon and Wayfair.
We found this coffee maker to be very easy to use. All you need to do is place the stainless steel filter into the opening of the carafe and add freshly ground coffee — approximately one rounded teaspoon for each 4-ounce cup of water. Slowly pour freshly boiled water over the grounds until they’re evenly saturated. Continue adding hot water until the top is filled to maximum capacity and let it drip through into the bottom of the carafe.
From our experience, this process takes patience and works best if you fill the carafe in several smaller pours rather than one long constant flow. This allows the flavor to come out more crisp, robust and slightly less bitter. We also discovered it’s best to use a coffee grinder to make fresh ground beans, as store-bought coffee will be too finely ground.
After you’ve made the desired amount of coffee, simply remove the filter, insert the lid and pour yourself a cup.
We noticed two important things after making several brews. First, the coffee stayed reliably hot in the carafe for roughly 90 minutes, which was a happy surprise. Second, the glass doesn’t seem to absorb tastes or aroma, so every cup you brew and pour has a pure, unadulterated flavor.
Every element of this coffee maker comes apart easily for cleaning. We didn’t get to test if the carafe was dishwasher-safe because it was too large to fit in our small dishwasher. However, it was easy enough to clean by hand with warm, soapy water. The filter was easy to clean as well. The only concern with cleaning is if you don’t wash it right away (or at least fill it with water to let it soak), it can be difficult to clean out any coffee that dries in the bottom section of the carafe.
The sheer size of this pour-over coffee maker gives it an edge. You can make up to eight 4-ounce cups at a time. It’s durable and easy to use. The cork band does an excellent job insulating your hand from the heat. We like the eco-friendly design of the reusable filter. But the most important aspect of this coffee maker is it lives up to its promise. When used as directed, you get barista-quality coffee with robust flavor notes that shine.
This is a fairly basic product. We didn't have many complaints when using it. Besides remembering to clean the carafe after use, the only other issue we noticed was that finely ground coffee tends to slip through the metal filter. The fix for this is to use coarse ground beans and grind them fresh before using, which makes the coffee taste better, anyway.
If you’re a casual coffee drinker, the Bodum Pour-Over Coffee Maker will turn you into a coffee lover. If you’re already a coffee lover, this product is a must. It’s priced to be a great value, simple to use and only takes about 15 minutes of your morning to get richer, bolder coffee with a full body and smooth taste.
Chemex Pour-Over Glass Coffee Maker
This high-end 40-ounce pour-over coffee maker is made with nonporous borosilicate glass for durability. It requires Chemex-bonded filters for brewing.
Sold by Amazon
Melitta Filter Single-Cup Pour-Over Coffee Brewer
For the budget brewer, this entry-level option lets you brew robustly flavored pour-over coffee directly in your mug. It’s space-saving and efficient.
Sold by Amazon
This 22-ounce option has a reusable stainless steel mesh filter and a bamboo handle to keep your hand safe from the heat. There are water levels marked on the carafe to ensure a precise coffee-to-water ratio with every brewing.
Sold by Amazon
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Allen Foster writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
