Brewing Coffee with the Bodum Pour Over Coffee Maker

So last week was a rough one and filled with misfortune. First, my beloved Hario V60 Range Server met its untimely demise. I’m not quite sure how this happened, but I was able to improvise with a mason jar. However, tragedy struck again a few days later with the shattering of my Hario Cercamic Drip Cone.

Suddenly, I had no means to make coffee. Well, that’s not entirely true. But my preferred means of making coffee had disappeared.

Fortunately, I had recently ordered a 17-ounce (500 ml) Bodum Pour Over Coffee Maker, and it arrived on my doorstep in a very timely fashion. I immediately unpacked it and put it to its intended use.

Bodum Pour Over Coffee Maker Appearance

The Bodum, made from mouth-blown (glad they clarified that) borosilicate glass, borrows heavily from Peter Schlumbohm’s Chemex Coffee Maker. However, instead of a classy wooden collar and leather tie, the Bodum comes with either a two-piece plastic-and-rubber sleeve or a cork-and-leather band.

Also, the Bodum uses uses a fine mesh filter made of stainless steel and plastic (included with the carafe) instead of the traditional paper filter for the Chemex .

Brewing with the Bodum Pour Over Coffee Maker

The method for making coffee with the Bodum is pretty much the same as with any pour-over set-up. Boil some water, put freshly ground coffee in the mesh filter, then slowly add some water. I used the same ratio as I did with my Hario pour over equipment (15 grams of water to 1 gram of ground coffee).

The Results

The Bodum makes a pretty decent cup of coffee, perhaps slightly stronger than what I’m used to getting from the same technique using the Hario set-up with a paper filter — and that’s the key difference here. I like not having to worry about paper filters, but the Bodum’s mesh filter, as fine as it is, still allows a fair amount of grounds to slip through into the brew. This makes finishing the cup a somewhat gritty experience.

Overall, though, for less than $20, the Bodum Pour Over Coffee Maker is a pretty nice addition to anyone’s coffee-making arsenal.