Bodum Coffee Grinder Review – Entry-Level Grinder For Reasonable Price

The Bodum coffee grinder is a burr grinder that is perfect for basic entry-level. It’s ideal for coffee lovers who want to ground coffee for manual coffee brewing like a French press or Pour Over.

Bodum, the manufacturer, is a family-run company and is internationally respected. The company makes affordable, high-quality tea and coffee products alongside other kitchen wares. The company was established in 1944 in Copenhagen Denmark, their headquarters but later moved to Switzerland. 

Last update on 2023-11-10 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

In this coffee grinder review, we will look at everything from its design, and other basic details to help you determine its performance. Read on to determine whether the Bodum Bistro is the right burr grinder for your needs.

Bodum Coffee Grinder Review

Last update on 2023-12-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Ease Of Use

This grinder has contrasting buttons that give it an intuitive system to suit your daily grinding needs. When using this grinder, you simply add your coffee beans into its hopper; and when you twist the hopper, you can change the grind size.

Next; switch on its power button; set a timer dial (can be set between 1 to 20 seconds). Then, switch the device’s on/off button found next to its timer.

This may seem rather simple and convenient, however, there’s one issue in its simplicity: you only get to grind for 20 seconds maximum at a time. Also, if you’d like to grind more coffee beans, Bodum suggests that you allow a 5-minutes break between grinding to prevent its motor from overheating.

Design

The Bistro Bodum coffee grinder comes in different colors besides black and it’s sleek-looking. It comes in a minimalist, yet modern design plus it’s a small, lightweight grinder. That means it doesn’t occupy much room on your kitchen counter. Also, it can be stored easily when you’re not using it. This grinder uses a plastic hopper of 7.8oz capacity.

However, its hopper is made of clear plastic thus it exposes the coffee beans to light. Furthermore, it’s not air-tight. To prevent this, we suggest that you avoid storing the beans in the hopper. But this is a minor negative.

The Bodum grinder also has a borosilicate glass container with an 11oz capacity for catching and storing the ground coffee. That leaves your counter tidy by preventing spillage after grinding.

Motor and Burr Design

This grinder uses a 160-watt motor to steadily drive its 35 mm steel burrs at a 720 RPM speed. It may not be the quietest motor, however, it’ll give you a consistent grind. These conical burrs might not be the best out there, but they’ll offer great consistency.

The Bodum bistro grinder includes a friction clutch. And that means when a stone gets into the burrs, it’ll produce a rattling noise to alert you of the stone’s presence. So, immediately switch off the grinder. Again, this makes a nice feature for a budget grinder.

Also, this machine has a push button on top that initiates grinding works independently from the on/off switch at the base. This then helps you remain safe when you’re adjusting and filling the hopper or even wiping down the grinder between uses. As mentioned, it comes in five colors with a contrasting color for switches.

Portability

This Bodum coffee grinder has a 4.71 lbs weight which makes it a compact lightweight machine. It’s easy to use when you want to refill the hopper or even store it in the cabinet after use.

Grinding Capability

The Bistro comes with 12 grind settings, which range from fine grind for espresso to coarse grind for French Press. What’s more, the steel burrs guarantee a precise grind for each setting. Although it isn’t as consistent as the more expensive ones, this machine will keep up with the needs of coffee lovers who are starting with manual brewing.

Note that, since this grinder offers more grind settings, it then means that you’ll have more options to experiment with different grind sizes. More so, if you plan to use your grinder for multiple brewing methods. Also even though this machine has an espresso icon, we would recommend that you don’t use it for espresso.

Generally, the Bistro is well-known for performing better for coarse grinds like you’d need for instance, in brewing French Press and Cold Brew. As concerns grind consistency, when the Bistro is compared to the more expensive grinders it will work as you would expect it to.

 It is basically as reliable and decent as you’d expect a beginner level grinder. The Bistro Bodum coffee grinder will particularly work perfectly for producing grinds for AeroPress, Pour Over, and French Press.

Price

The Bodum coffee grinder is an affordable beginner-level model. This machine is available at an excellent price tag considering that it’s a burr grinder instead of a blade.  Overall this grinder is great value for money.  

As such, the quality this grinder offers at this price point is well worth it. Any beginner will find this Bodum coffee grinder a great deal, even after extended use.

Durability

This grinder’s stainless steel burrs are of pretty good quality plus they seem to be made to last. The Bodum coffee grinder’s design has lots of plastic, which some users report that it can crack.

The manufacturer boasts that their Bodum coffee grinder has an inbuilt friction clutch that helps protect the machine. And this means that when stones enter into the burrs, your grinder will make a noisy rattling noise alerting you to turn off your machine to remove the stones.

Warning: Since the grounds bin is made of glass, it may be dishwasher-safe and static-free, but be sure to handle it with care.

Bodum Coffee Grinder Pros and Cons

Who Is The Bodum Coffee Grinder For?

So who’s the Bodum coffee grinder meant for? We suggest this grinder for anyone who’s just venturing into the world of coffee and aren’t sure if you’re into coffee drinking or how much you’d like to invest.

Using this coffee grinder is a huge step up from using pre-ground beans or a blade grinder. This is an easy-to-use coffee grinder and a huge way to enjoy the aroma and process of grinding your coffee beans.  

The Bistro Bodum coffee grinder line works best for beginner-level and even casual home-baristas working on a budget. Also, this grinder can grind pretty well more so for coarser grind size suitable for French press and pour over.

The good thing is that when you decide to dive deeper into the world of coffee you’re likely to upgrade your gear later on. This way, you’ll reduce the risk of making any mistake when brewing your cup of joe. 

However, as a caution, we wouldn’t recommend this Bodum coffee grinder to experienced home baristas. This coffee grinder is more of a beginner level grinder. That’s more so with the range of small grind as it would be limiting for coffee lovers who are well versed with the coffee brewing processes. 

Who these Machines are NOT for 

Note that this coffee grinder is not perfect for everyone. As such, an experienced barista will find its grind choice to be underwhelming. This is considering that other models might have about 40 preset options.

This Bodum coffee grinder’s 12 grind settings can work well for someone who’s venturing into the coffee world. However, it’s certainly not for someone seeking to seriously experiment on different grinds or who frequently uses different brewing methods.

Moreover, more thorough coffee lovers tend to prefer using ceramic burr grinders since they won’t wear out the same way steel grinders do.

Therefore, if you’re looking for something that can last you more than several years without needing to upgrade or replace different parts, then this grinder is not for you. 

How to Clean Your Bodum coffee Grinder 

Since this coffee grinder uses a simple design, it means cleaning your Bodum burr grinder is pretty straightforward.

Even though this may be an additional step that many won’t have time for, we think it’s important that you brush out the machine’s burr assembly after each grinding session. This is crucial when it concerns this small grinder.

Start by cleaning the glass canister, plastic hopper, and their lids. 

You can wash these pieces using warm, soapy water. Alternatively, you can put them in the dishwasher for cleaning. These pieces often come into contact with coffee beans and grounds.

Fortunately, the ease of detaching the hopper and putting it back on, means that you can easily clean them after each use. Even then, always ensure that they’re both completely dry before you reattach them in your grinder. 

Detach the upper burr from the assembly seat 

This machine’s burr assembly may be among the easier pieces to clean when compared to others on the same market. All you have to do is lift it by its plastic casing so you can clean it thoroughly as well as access the interior component.

Also, since moisture might get trapped between the stainless steel and plastic, it’s advisable that you wipe dry the burr rather than use water to clean it. 

Brush the chute and interior burr assembly 

a narrow brushing can benefit the deeper recesses of the inner burrs, but old toothbrushes or pipe cleaners that have firm bristles can work pretty well to reach in there and remove the last coffee grounds. 

These can be handy in case the grinder’s friction clutch stops due to a stone that you can’t find between the upper burr’s teeth. 

Place back the upper burr into the inner assembly 

This grinder’s two tabs found on both sides of its plastic casing will line up with the holes located in the inner housing of the burr assembly. 

When these don’t match properly, your upper burr will tend to turn freely thus it won’t grind. However, even after it clicks into place, the burr will still move a little, though that’s normal. 

Is The Bodum Coffee Grinder Right For You – How You Can Tell

The Bistro Bodum coffee grinder is the ideal introductory tool for coffee enthusiasts who are looking for a good start each morning with freshly ground beans. It can also work for the more experienced brewer who wants an affordable way of getting different grind settings from the comfort of their home.

While this grinder provides a limited variety of grind settings, the grind quality compensates for this since the quality is far more critical when brewing the perfect cup of java.

Also, the consistency allows for experimentation and allows for two brewing methods. Again, this coffee grinder offers you both being cheap, yet giving you the great quality that’s enough for some coffee lovers to never have to upgrade it. As such, this burr grinder will give you a reliable grind for less effort.

Summary of the entry-level Bistro Bodum Coffee Grinder

	Detail
Ease Of Use	contrasting buttons that give it an intuitive system;  twist the hopper to change the grind size.a push button that initiates grinding and works independently from the on/off switch at the base
Design	Sleek-looking and comes in different colors a small, lightweight grinder hopper is made of clear plastic has an 11 oz borosilicate glass containerincludes a 7.8oz capacity plastic hopper
Motor and Burr Design	uses a 160-watt motor to steadily drive its 35 mm steel burrs at a 720 RPM speed
Portability	weighs 4.71 lbs and occupies a small space on your counter
Grinding Capability	12 grind settings; reliable and decent; has steel burrs that guarantee precise grind for all settings; grind size ranges from fine grind for making espresso to coarse grind for brewing French Press.
Price	affordable beginner-level model quality of this grinder is worth the price
Durability	stainless steel burrs made to lastinbuilt friction clutch that protects the machine