Great Straight Forward Coffee

Author's Rating:

Pros: Great Coffee, Easy to use, Looks Cool, Made in Germany.

Cons: Does not heat coffee long enough. Can not put all parts in dishwasher.

The Bottom Line: 
I would recommend the Bodum. It is not a regular coffee maker and should not be compared to one.

Author's Review
I have had the Bodum Santos Vacuum Coffee Maker for awhile and have to say I am satisfied with it. I am someone who makes coffee almost everyday of the year so when I have a coffee maker I really get a lot of use out of it. I have owned a Braun coffee maker for about 5 years and have been quite happy with it but I felt it was time to try something new. After using the Bodum for sometime, I do not find it any harder to use or clean then a regular coffee maker, just different. I actually can taste a difference in the coffee, to me the Bodum makes a stronger, richer tasting coffee then the Braun. It has made me more interested in searching out different coffees because I know that I will be able to receive the full range of taste.

The water is heated in the bottom pot and the heat or steam forces water into the upper container (where the coffee is) through a tube. After a period of time (around 10 minutes or less) the bottom cools down thus releasing the coffee from the top container back into the pot where it stays heated for two hours. Kind of fun to watch. I am not really familiar with percolators but I assume it is the same principle.

When cleaning, I just dump the grounds out of the upper container into the garbage and rinse it out. The bottom pot does have a lip around the lid which makes it bit harder to reach into and clean. You can not put the pot into the dishwasher because of the heating element in the bottom. I just run water in the pot and rinse it out. It is not any harder or more complicated then cleaning a regular coffee maker as far as I am concerned.

I guess my only major complaint about the Bodum is that I can not heat the coffee for longer then 2 hours. I work from home and it is nice to have the coffee heated for longer periods of time. The Braun can heat up to 4 hours.

I would recommend the Bodum if for no other reason then just making good coffee. I do not find it complicated to use, in fact it is rather simple and other then not keeping the coffee heated for longer periods of time any other complaint is minor. No coffee maker I have seen so far is perfect. I have only had it a few weeks so only time will tell.