Bodum is a highly prestigious manufacturer in the coffee sector, and like many other brands, has focused its activity on several specific segments. In this case, Bodum markets mainly grinders (e.g. the Bodum Bistro grinder) and French presses.
Regarding the coffee makers, Bodum has more experience, to the point of becoming an authentic reference and taking a vast majority of the most sold models.
A brief history of Bodum coffee machines: Origin and qualities
The person responsible for this giant of the coffee industry was Peter Bodum, who founded the company in Copenhagen in 1944. It continues to be a family business, as his children currently run the company’s operations.
The Bodum range of piston coffee machines is extensive, and in this article, we present them all. In many cases, it is difficult to distinguish between them. The differences lie simply in the type of design (more traditional or modern), the manufacturing materials, or the age of the model in question.
As common points of these Bodum coffee machines, we can highlight the borosilicate glass of the containers or jugs. This glass is of the highest quality and considerable thickness, so in this respect, you can rest assured of whichever model of Bodum French press you choose. Let’s get started:
Bodum coffee machines: Prices and models
Bodum is the definitive reference in the French press and piston coffee machine sector. There is no other manufacturer on the market that offers such a wide range of models in all sizes, designs, materials and prices.
Here is an updated list of all of them (or most of them, we can always miss some) with the current prices:
As you will see, in its catalogue, we can also find coffee machines with other brewing methods (almost always manual, such as the vacuum coffee machines or the Bodum Pour Over coffee machine). Still, the piston machines are the key to this brand’s success.
Bodum piston coffee machines: Reviews
And finally, let’s take a closer look at each model and their differences concerning the rest of the range, almost always stylistic or in terms of size. The three best-selling and best-known Bodum piston coffee machines on the market are the Chambord, Kenya and Brazil models, but there are many others:
Bodum 1918-913
It is Bodum’s best-selling piston coffee maker. The 1918 model is an elementary French press, with hardly any decorations, and is sold in different colours, some of which are classic (black and white) but others are more casual, such as red or lime green. However, the coffee maker is quite sober, and the coloured elements are reduced to the handle and the lid. This Bodum 1918 weighs 600 grams, its handle is rounded, and the container is made of borosilicate glass.
Bodum Brazil
The Brazil model is perhaps, together with the Kenya model, one of the most representative of Bodum’s range of piston coffee machines. It has a robust casing both in its base and in the lid. Still, unlike Kenya, it has no decorations in the common area (that is, we can see from outside 100% of the glass container surface, which is, therefore, somewhat more exposed to shocks or mishaps).
Bodum Kenya
Kenya is a piston coffee machine with a colonial design (as it could not be otherwise, given its name) and shares characteristics and forms with the previously commented Bodum Brazil. There are no differences between the two, beyond the design and the exterior decorations, so when you decide to buy a coffee maker, choose the one you like best. The price is also around 20.
Bodum Chambord
The Bodum Chambord range represents a more sophisticated line than previous coffee makers. The handle is round but much more extensive (in our opinion, more comfortable), and the housing design gives more importance to steel than to the inner glass container.
The Bodum Chambord is also available in a beautiful range of colours, including the coppery orange in the photograph. It is more expensive than the average Bodum: the 8-cup size is around 40.
Bodum Pebo
Pebo is an alembic coffee machine, very different from the other coffee makers presented in this article. You only have to look at the picture to see for yourself. The Pebo model (formerly known as Santos) has a capacity of 1 litre. The extraction process is completely sealed, so a single aroma can’t escape. You can easily imagine the purity and intensity of the resulting coffee, can’t you?
Both brewing time and temperature can be perfectly calibrated, ensuring a perfect cup of coffee with every brew. Depending on the amount of water you’ve used, the Bodum Pebo will take between 5 and 11 minutes to get the coffee ready. It is entirely dishwasher safe.
If you have any doubts about its use, you can also read the Bodum Pebo instruction manual.
Bodum Eileen
The Bodum Eileen coffee maker offers us the most avant-garde and modern design of the entire Bodum range. Not only because of its striking colours, which it shares with other models from the firm, but also because of its external casing with horizontal and vertical lines, which covers the whole container like a grill, generating a beautiful border and an elegant optical effect. It’s a piston coffee maker that goes beyond the traditional.
Bodum Jesper
Jesper is one of Bodum’s most sober plunger coffee makers. Its design is elegantly simple, with the steel frame just surrounding the inner glass container. It does not have a base itself, but rather the housing itself ends in four sharp angles that act like legs on which the whole unit rests.
The Bodum Jesper has less presence of plastic than other Bodum coffee makers and barely weighs 300 grams. The handle and the top handle (the one used to raise or lower the filter) are temperature-insulating materials.
Bodum Bean
The Bean is another piston coffee maker designed by Bodum with functionality and practicality. It’s a French press that’s spill-proof (even if we tip it over). It includes a silicone seal that connects the lid and the glass carafe and ensures that the temperature of the coffee is maintained once it’s been brewed for longer.
When serving, all you have to do is press a tab to make the coffee flow into the cup perfectly manageable with just one hand. Super comfortable and ergonomic. As if all this were not enough, the Bodum Bean has a beautiful range of colours, full of bright and cheerful tones.
Bodum Crema
The Crema is a coffee maker built with plastic, which proves that an attractive design is not incompatible with great functionality. Both the handle and the Bodum Crema coffee maker base are designed to protect the user from high temperatures. Also, the outer casing protects the inner borosilicate glass container from knocks and scratches, and the lid safety system prevents liquid from spilling out of the carafe.
Bodum Sereno
We leave for the end of one of Bodum’s newest plunger coffee makers: the Sereno. Bodum wanted to make this Sereno a coffee maker with an overwhelming personality, where the steel frame takes all the attention. It is a continuation of the groundbreaking line that began with the previous Eileen, which we have already reviewed above.
The Bodum Sereno coffee maker weighs approximately 700 grams and comes in a small box with two free glasses. Its price, in this version with a 1000 ml capacity and the cost is slightly below 60.
Bodum Columbia
We finish our review of the Bodum press coffee machines with this Columbia model, perhaps one of the best in the catalogue, as its body is made of 100% stainless steel. It’s a bit expensive but very robust, and you certainly won’t run the risk of dropping your glass or accidentally knocking it and breaking it.
Spare parts for Bodum coffee machines
When you buy a Bodum piston coffee machine, you have an additional advantage: their range of spare parts is very extensive, and you will have no problem finding any part you need.
As the main focus of their catalogue is on plunger coffee machines, Bodum coffee machine spare parts are mainly glass cups for the various models and mesh filters for the plungers. If you need a glass for your Bodum coffee machine, remember that each has its specific shape and size, so pay attention if you need to buy one.
Bodum coffee machine filters are more standard and can fit different models.
Below you can find a sample of all the Bodum French press coffee machine parts available on Amazon:
How do I use a Bodum piston coffee machine?
To make coffee in a Bodum piston coffee machine, all you have to do is follow the same guidelines for traditional coffee preparation in a French press.
However, it is worth remembering this if you have never heard of this method of preparation, and when you see one of these Bodum coffee machines in your usual shop, you are left wondering how to use them. In the previous paragraph, we have linked you to the page that contains all the information about it.
It is especially important to respect the times and use a coffee grind of the correct thickness (not too fine, in this case). As always, with practice, you will gain more experience, and you will adapt the resulting coffee to your taste.
Why buy a Bodum coffee maker?
If you like this method of making coffee by infusion, no doubt, Bodum is the benchmark manufacturer for piston coffee machines. In this sector, the Danish firm sets the industry standards in terms of quality, design, and various models available.
Bodum’s French presses stand out for their attractive designs, in many cases in colours, and because they offer solutions for all needs. For small coffee makers, large coffee makers, cheap or high-end, made of plastic, aluminium or steel, there is always a Bodum coffee maker to match what you are looking for.
It is worth opting for them if you are a real fan of this preparation method. Bodum is a leading firm and a great reference in the French press sector, both for the quality of its products and the enormous variety of designs and sizes available.
