Bodum Cold Brew Coffee Maker: Is Cold Brew Now Easier To Make?

There are few better ways to cool down in the hot summer than with a delicious and smooth glass of not hot coffee. But it can get expensive and time-consuming to head down to your local coffee shop for a daily cold coffee.

So, why not make a cold brew at home? Luckily for you, there’s the Bodum Cold Brew Coffee Maker. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? The short answer is that it certainly might be, depending on what you’re looking for in a cold brew coffee maker.

In this article, we’ll dive into this Bodum maker and decide if it’s the right machine for you.

Summary: The Bodum Cold Brew Coffee Maker

• Comes with two lids: one for brewing and keeping your brew fresh, and one for plunging your brew once it’s finished brewing
  
• Super easy to use, there aren’t many ways you can mess up the brewing process
  
• Has a big capacity for brewing big batches of cold brew at once

I love this thing. It’s easy to use and clean, and it saves me so much to make my own cold brew at home.

– Customer Review

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The Full Bodum Bean Cold Brew Coffee Maker Review

Bodum added a cold brew dedicated brewer to its BEAN lineup. But is another French-press-style Bodum brewer really worth it?

Let’s dive into the details to find out.

Bodum Cold Brew Coffee Maker

• Ease Of Use
• Quality Of Brew
• Capacity
• Cleaning
• Price

4.6

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Ease Of Use – 5/5

I tend to get a little finicky when I think of a cold brew maker. That’s because it should be easy to make. After all, you only need room temperature, water, and coffee. There isn’t much in terms of fancy extraction or pouring technique.

So, I’m usually skeptical of these kinds of makers. They tend to overcomplicate the brewing process. But not this Bodum! You just have to follow the simple brewing instructions. Spoiler alert: it’s just adding grounds, then filtered water, and then waiting 12-24 hours. But you should test it every few hours to dial in your preferred taste (1).

I think this cold brew system is easy enough to use and warrants a recommendation. The best part is that it doesn’t overcomplicate the brewing process. You simply have to add coffee grounds and water, place the lid on it in the fridge, and wait.

If that’s not enough to convince you, one aspect of French-press-style cold-brew makers annoys me. It’s the plunger. In other makers, the plunger lid generally sticks up and prevents you from easily fitting the whole thing into the refrigerator. But this Bodum actually comes with a dedicated brewing lid without a plunger. That means it fits easily into the fridge, and you only have to swap lids when ready to press. Not only does it fit in the fridge, but all the pieces are dishwasher-safe.

Quality Of Brew – 4/5

Fancy machines are only as good as the coffee they produce, right? So it makes sense to scrutinize the quality of the brew you’ll get from the Bodum. The good news is that cold brew is really tasty and potentially even healthier than hot coffee (2).

Cold brew shouldn’t be as bitter as hot coffee. Instead, it should be smooth, chocolatey, and less acidic than hot coffee. It really should have a good flavor that isn’t too bitter and isn’t too bright. And remember, cold brew is very different from iced coffee. Iced coffee is hot coffee that gets poured and served over ice. Cold brew is coffee that is brewed at room temperature or colder. That’s a huge difference. Hot water extracts coffee much faster and actually extracts more than colder water. That’s why you should steep it for hours instead of minutes and why it will be smoother and less acidic.

Brewing cold coffee is maybe the easiest way to brew for home baristas. That’s because extraction happens for hours instead of minutes. The extended extraction time means there’s much more room for error to produce a great-tasting coffee. So, with all that in mind, you should know that the Bodum coffee maker is one the tastiest brews you can get from such a simple brewer. As I mentioned, this apparatus makes brewing easy, so it’s even easier than most others to get a great flavor and consistent results.

The only knock on this coffee maker is that it’s not friendly to finer grind sizes. As in, you need to ensure you’re getting a coarse grind size to get the best results. Even buying pre-ground coffee from the grocery store sometimes leaves particulates in your brew. And that’s never ideal.

Capacity – 5/5

I know from personal experience and working in the coffee industry for so long that people who love frigid coffee tend to consume a lot of it. So, capacity is something that I place a lot of value on when considering a cold brew coffee maker.

The Bodum has a capacity of 51 ounces. That’s huge compared to many other brewers of comparable prices. It’s certainly big enough that you won’t have to make batch after batch and will have some left to share.

There might come a point where these brewers have too much capacity for one person, but this isn’t quite near the limit.

Cleaning – 5/5

A big piece of any coffee brewing equipment is how easy it is to clean. Coffee residue can alter the flavor of your brews if regular cleaning doesn’t happen, or if cleaning is difficult.

The good news is that the cleaning of the Bodum could not really be any easier. Every piece is dishwasher safe. That’s the storage lid, the plunger lid, and the container itself. But if the dishwasher isn’t your thing, or you want to use a gentler soap, you can always hand wash all the parts.

I personally prefer hand washing my coffee brewers to save them from getting jostled in the dishwasher. But it’s up to you.

Price – 4/5

The price of this Bodum doesn’t stand out as either a crazy deal or too expensive. It’s a pretty standard price. But that’s certainly not a bad thing.

Keep in mind that this maker is made of glass and BPA-free plastics. I prefer glass French presses and cold brew makers because they have a weightier and sturdier feel. And they usually taste a little smoother than an all-plastic construction. 

For the materials used, this is a very fair price.

The other question is whether the price makes sense for a specialized coffee maker though. I would say it’s a great deal if you almost exclusively drink the cold stuff. Getting a daily driver coffee brewer for this price is an excellent deal. I’d hate to tell you how much I’ve dropped on middle-of-the-road hot coffee brewers.

For those reasons, I think the price of this brewer is very fair, if not a really good deal. But a better budget-friendly buy might be the Takeya Cold Brew Coffee Maker.

Do Not Buy Bodum Cold Brew Maker If…

• You already have a French Press: A good French press will serve the exact same purpose here. It’s really not worth buying this Bodum cold brewer if you already have a French press. Using your French press to make cold brew will produce similar results. A great alternative is a set-and-forget style brewer like the OXO Good Grips Cold Brew Coffee Maker.
• You want the cleanest cup of coffee: The Bodum uses a plunger to remove coffee grounds, not paper filters. Plungers and metal filters are less effective at filtering out every last coffee ground particle than paper filters (3). If getting the cleanest possible cup of coffee is paramount to your decision, look elsewhere. My recommendation for this problem is the Bodum Travel Mug.
• You only drink a little cold brew at a time: This brewer has a pretty big capacity. You can make up to 51 ounces of brew at a time. So, if you only have a cold brew here and there and don’t want big batches of the stuff taking up room in your refrigerator, you might want to look for a smaller alternative like the Hario Cold Brew Bottle.

The Verdict

The bottom line is that the Bodum Cold Brew Coffee Maker isn’t going to replace your entire coffee setup. But it will become a staple in your cold brewing top lineup for years to come.

It’s simply the best option for someone looking to make big batches of coffee quickly, easily, and without taking up too much room. In fact, I might even go so far as to say that this is one of the best cold brew coffee makers that money can buy.

And speaking of price, it’s a pretty great deal.

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