Customer Reviews Bodum Bistro Pour Over Electric Coffee Maker

After reading all the reviews of this product since last fall, I knew it would be a great machine. Buying it sight unseen made me a little nervous, so I called Bodum many times asking them lots of questions. It's a perfect blend of form and function. I didn't want a big giant beast loaded with buttons and large flaps to lift/fill. I wanted something practical, well designed, easy to use, and that produces what I want: great coffee quickly that can be poured. First off, despite the tall size, it works perfectly under the cabinet because the water container only needs to be raised up about an inch to be removed. So no need to slide it out if the cabinets are low. (Note - many of the other machines I looked at were equally as tall, but had large lids that need to be lifted.) The coffee filter slides out easily. Needs to be held in one hand while filling since it's not a perfect flat bottom, but not a problem at all. It slides back in smoothly. The carafe makes a clicking sound when it's placed correctly - another nice feature. I like the two kinds of measurements on the water container (cups and ounces and liters). Easy to figure out if you want to make a mug size cup, versus a whole pot. When making my usual morning 'mug', I fill it up to 10 oz and it's done in about a minute. Perhaps one of the nicest features for me is the auto off - when the water tank is empty, it shuts off immediately. And if the tank hasn't been filled, you can't turn it on, which is a nice safety feature with dogs and kids who can reach...probably common on many machines, but this one is so simple with the one button (illuminates green when on). I've also filled it with water and coffee the night before, and come down in the morning and simply pushed the button. Love it. The carafe keeps the coffee hot for a very long time. Not burning hot, but perfect for drinking immediately. The carafe is solid and has a nice feel when pouring. And the lid screws on, aligning perfectly when to stop. Since it's an insulated carafe, and not a pot on a heating element, you can bring the carafe to the table for serving. Lid has a lever to push with your thumb when ready to pour. Cleaning is easy: rinse. I haven't put it in the dishwasher, and haven't felt the need to. Haven't needed to run vinegar through the pipes yet. Bottom line: I waited since last fall to order this machine, and without sounding too cheesy, I love it. It makes a beautiful quiet brewing sound, slight aroma to the air, and a great way to start the morning. I rated it 4 stars since I've only had it for a little over a month and hopefully it will last to make it worth the hefty price. I couldn't see spending a little less on something that's ugly, too complicated, or too bulky.

I have gone through many different brands of coffeemakers, some wear out others I just didn't like the quality of the coffee it brewed. I prefer strong and hot coffee. This Bodum Pour Over delivers a very good cup of coffee. I was able to use enough grounds to make a full pot of strong coffee, other makers didn't extract as much flavor from same amount of fresh grounds. The temperature of the fresh brewed coffee is hot and it stays reasonably hot in the thermal carafe for about 30 to 45 minutes. The temp drops after that time, but remains warm enough for most people. It feels sturdy and solid. Pieces of the machine fit well. Good quality of permanent gold filter. East to operate pour-thru lid...just press with thumb, no twisting required to line up pour spout. Simple, one button operation: on/off. I highly recommend this coffee maker, it's an investment, but you receive good quality for the price.

After waiting months to be able to purchase this machine I was disappointed immediately upon removing it from the box. After reading many reviews I immediately noticed all the flaws mentioned by my fellow reviewers. I originally dismissed them assuming Bodum would not release something this expensive so poorly constructed. Pros * This truly does change the taste of your coffee I was impressed I actually noticed the difference on my first cup. * Coffee is hot very hot * Carafe keeps coffee hot for a 2 hours or longer if you prime it for 10 minutes with boiling water first. * Looks cool when brewing as the water climbs the pipe * The reservoir removes so you can pour fresh water directly rather than using coffee pot to fill. * Easy to clean all parts that touch your coffee and water * Brews hot coffee very fast (about 6 minutes) which makes up for the small 10 cup brew size Cons * Terrible quality construction * Feels cheap to the touch * The top cover is always flopping around and never stays locked in place. * Beneath the top cover the housing itself is warped making a large gap in the assembly * The shower head sometimes sprays water at a high pressure scattering the grinds into impossible to clean areas * Speaking of impossible to clean areas if your filter ever gets clogged (guest accidentally used espresso grind) or you spill a little coffee on the base it works its way into the seams and permanently (unless you disassemble) stains the inside. 1 good clog and that nice see through plastic becomes not so pretty... * The Carafe lid (red version) was permanently stained within 1 week (2 brews per day) does not look very nice * The Carafe lid and body when cleaning with water only and drying with a soft cloth the red coloring is transferring to the towel. Is this stuff going into my coffee??? I was excited about this machine so I dealt with it for 8 months, now to me, I am riddled with buyers remorse. This is the first of many Bodum products that somehow must have skipped their quality control team. By the way good luck calling Bodum USA Support. I chose the option for customer support "0" and let it ring for over 25 minutes before I hung up.

Don't buy this coffeemaker. It's a piece of junk, really! It's great for the first few days or weeks, months if you're lucky! I loved it at first, but then it broke after less than a week. I wouldn't buy this coffeemaker again, not at any price. Save yourself the hassle of returning it, just don't buy it. (I know, it's tempting...but please don't. You'll be sorry you did!). I love Bodum and the great quality of their other products. I can't believe this coffeemaker passed through the quality control!

We really wanted to love this coffee maker, and it's great when it works, but we've gone through 2 of these in a year and therefore have to give it a low rating for reliability. The first one we had for only 4 months before it just stopped working. Zappos was great (as always) and shipped us a new one without question. The second one worked for about 8 months before we started noticing a strong burning rubber smell when it was brewing. The back of the machine is transparent, so we were able to see a plastic connector was melting and burning. Definite fire hazard. We called Zappos, and they're giving us a refund. Too bad. We love Bodum thermal glassware. Guess they need to stay away from electronics.

This coffeemaker was great- for the two or three weeks it worked. Customer service was initially helpful, sending me a replacement machine promptly, etc. When that replacement machine stopped working after 5 weeks, I couldn't get a response from Bodum's customer service department; they literally will not respond to emails, which doesn't bode well for getting money back or a machine that works. Horrible machine, horrible customer service- not exactly what you'd expect for something this expensive. I'd give NO stars down the line if possible.

Okay...I gave this machine a really 'nice' review a couple of days ago. That was when it was still working...that is not the case now. It simply stopped working after 4 days! What a piece of junk! This coffee maker is by far the worst coffee maker I've ever owned. It did make wonderful tasting coffee, until it quit on me after a 4 days! This is ridiculous!

Coffee maker is a piece of junk, completely quit working in less than a month. Now does nothing. Sending back tomorrow.

This coffee maker is compact, functional, innovative in its simplicity, and, very nice looking. It also makes a great cup of coffee.

We bought this about a month ago and love it! My husband says the coffee tastes much better with the way this coffee maker is designed. Hopefully it will last us a long time!

I bought this coffee maker to replace one I had recently bought and was really disappointed in the coffee it made. I read all the reviews of this Bodum and watched the video and decided that I had nothing to lose. I have not been disappointed at all. It makes delicious coffee really fast. The coffee stays hot and remains flavorful in the theral carafe. It is easy to use, easy to clean and I love the sleek design. I have not had any trouble with the machine and would highly recommend it.

We have only owned this coffeemaker for 2 days...but it's working great so far! The coffee tastes great also! The taste of the coffee is similar to the taste you get when using a french press. It took a few tries to figure out how to make the perfect cup of coffee with this machine, but the coffee tasted wonderful once we did figure it out! I do not think that the Bodum Bistro Pour Over looks cheap, like some reviewer said. It's definitely worth the price we paid for it! I do think that it's a little bit too big, that's my only "complaint". It will look huge on small kitchen counters, but who cares! It makes great coffee in no time. I would recommend this product to my friends and family. It's a great buy!

I love this coffee maker! Coffee brews fast and it tastes perfect. I have tried so many coffee makers over the years, and honestly, this one is the best!

Love it. I have owned this machine for about six months now, and it is great! Coffee tastes perfect and stays warm in the carafe for a few hours. Also, it looks awesome and is easy to use and maintain. I love that there isn't a deep inner chamber that I can't get to for cleaning. Also, I love that it doesn't have a heating element to worry me. The non-glass carafe is a bonus cause it looks clean all the time (well, not the lid, but that doesn't show). A few people have complained about having defective machines -- if that's the case, make use of the warranty through Bodum!

This was everything previous reviewers said it would be! It's gorgeous red! It makes a robust cup of coffee because the basket lets all the goodness of the fresh ground beans through. It even cleans up better than the gold baskets you can get to replace the filters in your regular coffee makers. It's fast and keeps the coffee warm, no cooking it on an element for 2 hours. Can pick up the water reservoir out of its mooring without any problem. It doesn't hit the cabinets above so you don't have to move the whole unit out to make the next pot! I love this, pricey, who cares, does the job!

Well packed and fast delivery of this visually interesting, and more importantly, good coffee maker. It is a physically robust piece where the brewing process really brings out the subtlety in the grind. Also, the carafe keeps the brew hot for several hours without heat underneath. No burnt coffee/smell. Being a confirmed geek, I love seeing the internals make the coffee. The only slight caveat I would mention is the real estate it takes up. It only allows a couple of inches headroom for normal height cabinets. I have flat under-the-counter halogens that warm the top more than I'd like but not dangerously so. More an observation than a criticism.

Amazing! Coffee stays hot longer than any coffee maker I've used, and trust me, I've used many. My husband is something of a coffee fanatic (he even roasts his own beans) and this is our preferred coffee maker by far.

This coffeemaker doesn't just look great--it makes great coffee. Easy to operate and easy to clean, as well. Found I used much less coffee than with the previous Capresso. 500g bag used to last 8 days, but now it's 20 days.

Best coffee maker ever for taste and the carafe keeps the coffee hot for a long time. Problem is that the on/off button is defective in many of the units. Even though you can take the water container out to fill, don't, it messes with the on/off. I hope Bodum works on this.

Coffee is truly like french press. Makes steaming hot coffee in 5 minutes. Carafe should be for 12 cup and coffee grinds are messy.

I read a review of this coffee maker in BusinessWeek, kept looking for it and finally found it here on Zappos. Great maker, Simple to use, keep clean and it keeps coffee hot. Makes a great cup of coffee. One thing to note, when you pull the pot out, sometimes the basket comes with it. Still give it top rating for taste and easy of use.

Really excellent design, but feels cheap. I also thought that the water pipe on the back (transparent view) was made of copper, but the photo really deceives you. It is also tooooo speedy (I am wondering if coffee essential oils are absorbed well, since water passes very fast), that the water entering the filter chamber cannot be drained through the metal mesh filter. Finally, there is always coffee residue in the coffee mugs (though I grinded the coffee coarser). I really expected more for the price of 250 bucks !!! No value for money at all.

Product looks good, operates easily. The fill tank is nice in that you can remove it to fill it. Construction is not worth the price. Everything is plastic (Except for the gold filter). The top of the unit does not stay in place properly, it just lays on top and stays loose. Most annoying is that if you want to interrupt the brewing cycle and pour some coffee, the filter part start dripping onto the bottom of the unit making a mess on the platform. This also happens when brewing is finished. You have to wait for over 30 minutes to insure that it will not drip down. This unit has form but no good function. If I could would return it.

This coffee maker certainly looks good, like other Bodum products. The coffee is well-made too: brewed at the right temperature with properly saturated grounds. However, the Bodum Bistro Pour Over Electric Coffee Maker is very poorly made: the plastic parts do not fit securely together, resulting in regular leaks of coffee from the outside of the device to the inner part that houses the electronics. Also, cracks have developed around the point where the handle attaches to the filter cup. Finally, the screwed-on base of the pot too easily dislodges (and it isn't supposed to come off at all). One expects an ordinary coffee maker constructed out of plastic to have some structural problems but for this very high price the Bodum should be much better made. It won't last longer, I expect than any ordinary $75.00 coffeemaker.

I read the reviews and I bought it anyway...silly girl. It's a lovely machine (when you get past the fact that it's not white...more of a putty color...and the seams of the case don't quite meet each other) but unfortunately, form just isn't able to outdo function in this case. My first pot of coffee was fantastic - the thermal carafe kept it nice and hot, and the filter was easy to clean. My second pot, however, was a bit of a disaster because the water spraying into the filter forced the grounds up and out of the machine and all over my backsplash and counters (which are white and brand new - I just finished remodeling my kitchen). I assumed I used too much coffee so for the third pot, I didn't go all the way to capacity. This time, there was a coffee grounds EXPLOSION, and I'm still finding coffee in cracks and crevices in my kitchen. Worse, though, is that the grounds were ejected from the filter so forcefully that they are smashed up into the loose seams of the machine, and there is no way I can get them out without submersing the whole unit in water, which of course I can't do. This also means, of course, that I can't return the unit because it could not possibly be resold. So, I now have a very expensive thermal carafe (which is actually quite good-looking and works well, but I'm sure I could have gotten one for less).