Bodum 350ml Kenya French Press Coffee Maker - Black

Bodum is not quite as great as what I remember. The filters on the stem are harder to loosen to clean than I remember. Just not as happy as I thought I would be. I have been using other brands of French Press for a few years and decided to treat myself to a new Bodum. A bit sorry I spent the money.

Can't beat it for 20 bucks

for the money it is an excellent little french press. Looks decent, put together well enough, and does the job properly. No loose grounds ever make it through the screen. It also comes apart and cleans very easily.

Filter not up to the task

I broke my favorite French Press and needed a replacement ASAP I didn't want to go back to my drip coffee maker even just for a few days.Right out of the box the quality was really lacking. The little black ball on the end of the plunger is crooked. I tried adjusting it it but it won't. Normally I don't complain about that, not everything come out of the factory perfect.... (and it's a back up one anyway) however...I admit, I use a finer ground coffee (Gevalia) and I admit I am an absolute snob about coffee. But I noticed a significant amount of coffee grounds in my cup.Now it's not unusual to get a few grounds stray from a French Press. And I actually don't mind grounds in my coffee, But this is more than a few. And frequently. Maybe it's because of the fine ... MoreI broke my favorite French Press and needed a replacement ASAP I didn't want to go back to my drip coffee maker even just for a few days.Right out of the box the quality was really lacking. The little black ball on the end of the plunger is crooked. I tried adjusting it it but it won't. Normally I don't complain about that, not everything come out of the factory perfect.... (and it's a back up one anyway) however...I admit, I use a finer ground coffee (Gevalia) and I admit I am an absolute snob about coffee. But I noticed a significant amount of coffee grounds in my cup.Now it's not unusual to get a few grounds stray from a French Press. And I actually don't mind grounds in my coffee, But this is more than a few. And frequently. Maybe it's because of the fine ground and coarser grounds don't slip through, but Bodum is supposed to be *the* brand for French Press. My off brand Press did a better job. I still have the plunger, I'm thinking of swapping it out.From a design standpoint (despite the funky ball) it's a nice design. The top feels a bit flimsy but considering the price, it's not a complaint. But it looks nice and besides the coffee grounds, no problems in operation.

Great coffee, poor design

I was given this french press as a gift because I continually complained about having to buy new coffee makers. I had stayed at my daughters and used a Mr Coffee french press and marveled at how good pressed coffee tasted and the fact that nothing can go wrong, no parts to break, simply made. She could not find the same one as hers so got the Bodum Kenya instead. Seemed to be made the same, coffee tasted wonderful, no grounds even with regular ground coffee that I had on hand, I was impressed! But, after just THREE uses, the carafe came loose, turning in the metal framework when I was cleaning it. Within a week it was so loose I now have to hold the top when I pour so the carafe doesn't slide out. I went so far as to try Super Glue but that did not work, not enough ... MoreI was given this french press as a gift because I continually complained about having to buy new coffee makers. I had stayed at my daughters and used a Mr Coffee french press and marveled at how good pressed coffee tasted and the fact that nothing can go wrong, no parts to break, simply made. She could not find the same one as hers so got the Bodum Kenya instead. Seemed to be made the same, coffee tasted wonderful, no grounds even with regular ground coffee that I had on hand, I was impressed! But, after just THREE uses, the carafe came loose, turning in the metal framework when I was cleaning it. Within a week it was so loose I now have to hold the top when I pour so the carafe doesn't slide out. I went so far as to try Super Glue but that did not work, not enough glass surface touching the frame. I do not own a dishwasher so was always hand washed. I will continue to use it carefully as it makes great coffee but feel my coffee maker nightmare is not over yet.

Great cup of coffee!

Neither my husband nor myself have ever used a French press before, so this was a new experience for us. I am not a big coffee drinker, but I was pleasantly surprised by this little gadget. The instructions were easy to follow and the press itself feels very sturdy. We followed the directions exactly and used a Keurig to put 10 ounces of water into the carafe of the press. The top fits on very tightly, which is great as you are dealing with very hot water. Cleanup was pretty easy too. We took the press out, dumped the grounds into the garbage and rinsed everything off.The cup of coffee was not nearly as bitter as I was expecting. It was very smooth, which I found odd as we used the same type of grounds we use for our normal 12 cup coffee pot.While this press ... MoreNeither my husband nor myself have ever used a French press before, so this was a new experience for us. I am not a big coffee drinker, but I was pleasantly surprised by this little gadget. The instructions were easy to follow and the press itself feels very sturdy. We followed the directions exactly and used a Keurig to put 10 ounces of water into the carafe of the press. The top fits on very tightly, which is great as you are dealing with very hot water. Cleanup was pretty easy too. We took the press out, dumped the grounds into the garbage and rinsed everything off.The cup of coffee was not nearly as bitter as I was expecting. It was very smooth, which I found odd as we used the same type of grounds we use for our normal 12 cup coffee pot.While this press made a great cup of coffee (my hubby actually drank it without any sugar or cream!) we will use it sparingly as it uses a TON of coffee. For 10oz of water we used 2.5 Tablespoons of coffee. In comparison, for a normal pot of coffee, which for us is 10 cups, we use a total of 6 Tablespoons of coffee.

Love my Bodum French Press

I got this French press because I was curious about the French press and how they worked. This 17 oz Bodum Kenya is the perfect size for a single person. I love making my Rasa and teas in this; brews perfect cups every time and is really easy to use. Great purchase and well made.

Not Willing to See if 3rd Time's a Charm

My wife and I were really optimistic that this French press would be even better than the one we bought at IKEA (at half the price...) after that one finally gave up the ghost. The first one we bought had a portion of the coiled spring that was overlapped at the ends and created a mild bulge in the diameter of the spring, thus allowing coffee grinds to come up through the small region that wasn't making solid contact with the inside of the glass. I returned it to the store to do an even exchange and went and opened up the other boxed French presses that were on the shelf and they all had that same overlapping portion of coiled spring (the one from IKEA didn't have that), so presumably those would have performed the same. I finally picked one that seemed to have the ... MoreMy wife and I were really optimistic that this French press would be even better than the one we bought at IKEA (at half the price...) after that one finally gave up the ghost. The first one we bought had a portion of the coiled spring that was overlapped at the ends and created a mild bulge in the diameter of the spring, thus allowing coffee grinds to come up through the small region that wasn't making solid contact with the inside of the glass. I returned it to the store to do an even exchange and went and opened up the other boxed French presses that were on the shelf and they all had that same overlapping portion of coiled spring (the one from IKEA didn't have that), so presumably those would have performed the same. I finally picked one that seemed to have the least amount of doubled spring, and it was better at keeping out the grinds. Unfortunately, after having it less than month, I noticed that the glass was cracked down near the base, so we had to throw it out. We were very careful not to drop, bump or jar the glass, and it was washed in the washing machine after each use. Not sure if we just got random bad units, or if it's indicative of the average quality of this make/model of French press. I don't think it would be right to leave 1 star, it was more or less a nice unit, but I think we're done with lower-cost glass ones - we ended up buying a stainless steel model somewhere else online.

Well made

I don't like candy or TOFFEE //But what I like is COFFEE //I poured me a CUP, then ran out of LUCK //Just like Muammar KHADAFI!OK, not a very good rhyme. Although there is no rhyme or reasons for it, I am definitely more of a reasoner than a rhymer, and my reason for buying this little device was because I wanted to get some real coffee beans and grind them in my real coffee grinder. It is very well-built, I find it sufficient for enough coffee for one person, but when I put on the cap sometimes I put it on backwards and then the coffee does not come out. You have to put it on so that the little holes are in front. But otherwise it is very nice and I am very happy with it.It is easily one of those devices that looks like - if you take reasonable care of it - ... MoreI don't like candy or TOFFEE //But what I like is COFFEE //I poured me a CUP, then ran out of LUCK //Just like Muammar KHADAFI!OK, not a very good rhyme. Although there is no rhyme or reasons for it, I am definitely more of a reasoner than a rhymer, and my reason for buying this little device was because I wanted to get some real coffee beans and grind them in my real coffee grinder. It is very well-built, I find it sufficient for enough coffee for one person, but when I put on the cap sometimes I put it on backwards and then the coffee does not come out. You have to put it on so that the little holes are in front. But otherwise it is very nice and I am very happy with it.It is easily one of those devices that looks like - if you take reasonable care of it - it will last for many years.

Works great with certain types of coffee grounds..

Works really well with Starbucks ground coffee. You got to be very careful to make sure the water is not too hot or the glass beaker will bust all over the place.I recommend buying a Stainless Steel unit that can handle the heat of a wood stove and or boiling water.Cleaning any of these units can be a chore because they have small parts that can get very easily lost and then the mesh filter is useless...With all that said it presses out a great cup of Starbucks coffee.

You've Tried the Rest, Now French Press Coffee

This French Press is ready for use as it comes out of the box. It has a permanent filter, measuring spoon and instructions included. I used it to brew from espresso to Americano and the coffee is more robust than my Keurig or drip method. One thing though. you need a course grind of coffee, a finer grind allows some grounds to escape to the liquid coffee.