Bodum - Bistro Electric Coffee Grinder

This grinder is perfect for making french roaster thick chunky grinds, or espresso grinds very fine. You control that more than other non manual machines. It is compact and the charging cord wraps around in the base. I've had it going on about 10 years strong now. The only downside is you can only grind for about 3 cups of espresso at a time. Upside is that your grind is always fresh. Love this machine!

Bodum Bistro Electric Coffee Grinder Review

The good: This Bodum Bistro coffee grinder is very easy to use and maintain, and grinds beans to a constantly high standard. The grinding mechanism is burr type and is very easy to access for cleaning, etc. As it uses a burr mechanism, and not blades, the beans are ground at a much cooler temperature which retains more of the flavour and does not burn off any oils which may be present, offering the best possible results when brewing. From very fine grinds for espresso coffee makers to more course grinds for French press cafetires, and everything in between, this grinder is very well suited for all coffee brewing methods at home. It's not too large so will fit nicely into most available free spaces in the kitchen and takes up around the same space as a 1 litre ... MoreThe good: This Bodum Bistro coffee grinder is very easy to use and maintain, and grinds beans to a constantly high standard. The grinding mechanism is burr type and is very easy to access for cleaning, etc. As it uses a burr mechanism, and not blades, the beans are ground at a much cooler temperature which retains more of the flavour and does not burn off any oils which may be present, offering the best possible results when brewing. From very fine grinds for espresso coffee makers to more course grinds for French press cafetires, and everything in between, this grinder is very well suited for all coffee brewing methods at home. It's not too large so will fit nicely into most available free spaces in the kitchen and takes up around the same space as a 1 litre kettle. Under operation it makes very little noise and the cracking of the beans as they are ground is actually louder than the grind motor. This coffee bean grinder seems best suited for those who 'grind as they go', requiring only the amount of ground coffee they need for brewing. For personal use I cannot rate this coffee bean grinder highly enough. It does a truly outstanding job in every respect. As with all things, a little trial and error is required in order to find that perfect grind for best results and your own personal preferences. No matter what the variety of bean, the roast level or oil content, this grinder can handle them all. The grinding mechanism also features a safety cut-out function which incorporates a friction-clutch in case any small stones have found their way into your batch of coffee beans. The not so good: Bodum recommends that this grinder should only be used for a period 20 seconds maximum with a 5 minute wait between grinds. This is to let the motor cool down and prevent overheating. So, it's not really suited for those who have a large amount of beans to grind within a short period of time. Another niggle is that the instructions on how to use this grinder are mainly illustrated so it might not be very clear to first time coffee bean grindees (sic) on how to operate it for best results right out of the box. However, you can't really go wrong or break anything but needless to say, reading the instruction manual thoroughly is recommended before using it. The bean container lid is not as simple as it could be but after a few successful attempts you'll find there's a knack to it.

DO NOT BUY

I’m sorry but this was a huge waste of money. After about 3 uses there was coffee grounds falling out of this thing like crazy!! I tried to clean it but they didn’t stop. I kept using for maybe 3 more times and eventually it was starting to feel like it was overheating. I could feel all the coffee ground inside so I decided to unscrew it to see what was going on. TELL ME WHY IT LOOKED LIKE A HALF A CUP OF GROUNDS FELL OUT…. I was shook! The motor was COVERED in grounds. I just through the thing away, I am not going to open up the motor to clean it every time. You can’t take the plate out to clean either even after unscrewing without taking apart the whole thing. Not worth it, I am extremely disappointed, this is the first coffee grinder i’ve ever bought, now i’m lost.

Garbage

Stop working after only 1 month. I’ve only used it roughly 8 times. I was using it to grind up oatmeal for my baby and right when I was about to make another batch it wouldn’t spin and overheated. It even smells like the engine blew. Like burnt plastic. OMG. My baby can’t have her nightly oatmeal bottle because it dosent work. Next time I’m not going to over look reviews from previous customers. I will be returning first thing in the morning.

Inconsistent and very hard to clean

If you’re serious about coffee, don’t buy this. Pulsed a bunch of times and ran on full blast for a good two minutes. Does not consistently or evenly grind beans; impossible to get a fine grind. Results are very very coarse. Additionally (and I didn’t see this in the description or any reviews I read) there’s no way to clean it. The unit doesn’t disassemble in any way and the instructions basically say “you can use a brush if you want.” Which I did, and whatever material the top of the unit is made out of retains the oils from the beans so the grounds just stick to it. If you don’t care about your beans and aren’t a particularly clean person then this is a great value. Me? I will be returning this grinder.

Increase the versaility of your coffee maker!

This coffee grinder is great! The directions were a little unclear, but the on/off button is on the side of the lid, which you have to pull off and put back on to add the coffee beans for grinding and dump them out after they're ground. We have a k-pod coffee maker that I love, but I've always felt a little disappointed that we could not easily use our k-pod coffee maker to enjoy the delicious-smelling coffee beans of all the fantastically exotic flavors that abound. Now we can! All is required is a k-pod converter which is available separately. My converter came with a scoop. This grinder doesn't look like it'll be that easy to clean but the good thing is that you can grind all your beans from one bag in succession and not have to use it for a while. There is a ... MoreThis coffee grinder is great! The directions were a little unclear, but the on/off button is on the side of the lid, which you have to pull off and put back on to add the coffee beans for grinding and dump them out after they're ground. We have a k-pod coffee maker that I love, but I've always felt a little disappointed that we could not easily use our k-pod coffee maker to enjoy the delicious-smelling coffee beans of all the fantastically exotic flavors that abound. Now we can! All is required is a k-pod converter which is available separately. My converter came with a scoop. This grinder doesn't look like it'll be that easy to clean but the good thing is that you can grind all your beans from one bag in succession and not have to use it for a while. There is a fill line in the grinder to show you the maximum amount of beans to put in. I put in less than the max to make sure the apparatus was not overwhelmed. It's easier to grind the beans in smaller segments than shove them into fewer batches and risk breaking the equipment. Had zero problems with operation once I figured out these nuances. Coffee is ground, scooped nicely into my k-pod converter, and delicious coffee was brewed! Great way to start the day!!!

Lasted less than 2 months

I bought this grinder to replace my Mr. Coffee™ blade grinder that I'd had for over 15 years, which finally stopped working reliably. I was cautiously considering a big upgrade: a burr-grinder. I figured, though, that since the simple version of a grinder had lasted me SO long, and been perfectly servicable, it might be silly to put so much money into something much more complicated, with more potential points of failure. I thought, with the Bodum™ name on it, surely this grinder would be more than sufficient, and maybe I'd save up towards a burr grinder over time. The build feels cheap - the 'button' slider feels like it's designed to fall off as soon as the warranty expires. The housing of the grinder feels thin, and the bumps on it are uncomfortable. A little ... MoreI bought this grinder to replace my Mr. Coffee™ blade grinder that I'd had for over 15 years, which finally stopped working reliably. I was cautiously considering a big upgrade: a burr-grinder. I figured, though, that since the simple version of a grinder had lasted me SO long, and been perfectly servicable, it might be silly to put so much money into something much more complicated, with more potential points of failure. I thought, with the Bodum™ name on it, surely this grinder would be more than sufficient, and maybe I'd save up towards a burr grinder over time. The build feels cheap - the 'button' slider feels like it's designed to fall off as soon as the warranty expires. The housing of the grinder feels thin, and the bumps on it are uncomfortable. A little after a month of owning it, the switch or the motor started glitching out. You slide the button down into place, and nothing happens unless you shake it, turn it upside-down, tap it a few times, and keep trying. When it does kick in, it turns a third of the coffee beans to powder, leaves a third barely ground, and provides about one-third ground the way I want them. I should have invested in a better grinder.

Poor quality

Bought one of these 5 years ago and was excited to be able replace it for the same price. That is until I opened the box and realized this is far from the same product. The quality of the materials is noticeably lower and the metal dish that holds the beans immediately bent completely out of shape on the first use. My old one had no problems except a (presumably) burnt out motor after years of daily use. Avoid.

The worst grinder I have ever used

It will be a happy day when I am finally able to return this terrible terrible grinder. That red tab you see is what turns on the grinder and it ends in a very small point that has to be perfectly inserted into the hole or the grinder wont turn on. That same hole that instantly fills with grounds. Whoever designed this, never had to use it. If they did, I bet they stopped designing things, because wow, what a terrible experience it was using this thing. I think Im going to need therapy now. :)

Very durable... just make sure and CLEAN IT!!!

This grinder is fantastic! My fiancée had a cuisinart grinder actually had a motor burnout on it under 1 month… I smelled! It caught on fire. I typically hand grind but I went on a limb here… we drink a lot of dark roast coffee! This little thing gets used 2-3 day completely full!!!!! Don’t be confused by it cutting off here and there. I’ve been able to leave it dirty for up to a week but I tend to clean it (unplugged obviously) after every grind. Dark roasts are very oily and will definitely eventually break any electronic grinder if you don’t clean it regularly. I clean this with dish soap, hot water and then use canned air to get any other bits or oils out. You have to be careful to not let the motor get nasty or it will fry itself! It does stop it self from ... MoreThis grinder is fantastic! My fiancée had a cuisinart grinder actually had a motor burnout on it under 1 month… I smelled! It caught on fire. I typically hand grind but I went on a limb here… we drink a lot of dark roast coffee! This little thing gets used 2-3 day completely full!!!!! Don’t be confused by it cutting off here and there. I’ve been able to leave it dirty for up to a week but I tend to clean it (unplugged obviously) after every grind. Dark roasts are very oily and will definitely eventually break any electronic grinder if you don’t clean it regularly. I clean this with dish soap, hot water and then use canned air to get any other bits or oils out. You have to be careful to not let the motor get nasty or it will fry itself! It does stop it self from running when it feels oils, water or too much stress on the motor / electrical components in it. We have had this one for over a year! For an electric grinder of this size I would say that merits 5 stars.