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First, be very careful if you're comparing this product to the one on the Bodum website. After about an hour the temperature of the coffee has dropped to the point you have to reheat it or drink it less than hot. Unfortunately, that's where the happy story ends. The added bonus of double-wall thermal insulation clinched the deal. I have used Bodum french presses for over 20 years. Fortunately, Liquid Planet, the company from whom we purchased this item, will take it back within 30 days for any reason. However, as a double-walled stainless steel press I would have thought it would maintain the temperature at least as well as my travel mug; not even close. We made our coffee as we had before and noticed the wall of the press was considerably cooler than the glass -- that's a good thing.
Not only is it tight (a good thing, I guess), the lid gets so hot you don't dare touch it with your bare hands for more than a split second. Being the older model, it doesn't have the safety lid Bodum touts and it comes with a single piece plastic and rubber mesh instead of the 3-piece stainless mesh. When the glass carafe on our 12-cup Chambord broke we decided to go with the stainless steel (afterall, you shouldn't ever have to buy another one, right). Probably the biggest complaint is after you've brewed your coffee and you're ready to pour, it is extremely difficult to rotate the lid without a hot pad. The model I received is the older Columbia, not the newer model and as a "close-out" (although they don't tell you that) it should have been priced much lower. Because it would cost $12-$15 to send it back we decided to try it out; besides, how bad could it really be. So much for double-wall insulation, all the heat just goes out the lid. As much as I hate to spend $12-$15 and have nothing for it, I'm not willing to live it.
I use this product commercially at the Blue Rooster Bakery in Waterville, WA. Unlike most French presses it's single-piece press strainer is easy to clean, as is the stainless pot. I cannot say enough good about it. Few products are this well designed. After using it many times daily for years it shows absolutely no wear. Most importantly, it makes the best cup of coffee, ever.
I like it well enough and after a few test runs have gotten the amounts down to my taste. I was making a move and needed many new house wares and decided instead of a percolator I would try a french press based on the recommendation of the coffee shop staff I go to daily. I love the way it looks and bought the matching creamer and sugar from another vendor to complete the set. The problem was they were all so small and wouldn't make much coffee. So online I went and found this large one. The only down side is the sediment that's left on the bottom of your coffee cup is a bit more than coffee made with a percolator, but not enough for me not to recommend this product. Clean up is a breeze with warm soapy water.
The Bodum stainless steel thermal press makes rich coffee. We used 48 ounces of hot water and still had an inch clear at the top.We buy dark coffee beans to begin with, and using the recommended 1 rounded table spoon of coarsely ground coffee beans per 4 ounces delivers a very dark, rich, yet smooth and not bitter coffee. As others have noted, those "12 cups" are 4-ounce cups, a measuring cup is 8 and typical drip coffee pots count 6 ounces as a cup. The box says it is 50 ounces capacity and the directions say to leave at least an inch at the top. This is not the kind of coffee one would drink quickly ;-) The directions say that a finer grind will tend to clog the filter (metal screen like some drip coffeemaker filters), we have not tried that yet.The pot appears to be well-made, solid yet not too heavy. The lid is fairly thin sheet metal with a plastic rim inside for pouring (or not).
i became frustrated with electrical coffee makers and decided to brew coffee with a french press. i ordered this large one and love it. it is good looking and makes great coffee. i was concerned at first about the price, but it was totally worth it.
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