How I managed to get mine
When I was managing an upscale coffee store for a fair sized, growing chain, I had a woman come in frantically searching for the Bodum Travel press. I had seen them on a couple occasions, but knew we had never carried them. Despite my telling her this, she was adamant that she had previously purchased one in my store. Funny, I did all the ordering for the last two years there and never had one to sell.

Well, despite my urge to point her down the street to Starbucks thinking she was a little loopy, I phoned our purchasing director. I figured he might be able to special order me one since we did carry a number of other Bodum products. He did even better, telling me that he had a sample of the product on his desk. It would be in my store the next day. Further, he told me to just give it to the woman since he never paid for it, didn’t plan on carrying it, and the price didn’t justify the effort of putting it into the computer for inventory.

Well, the woman never came back, no doubt she remembered that she did see it in Starbucks. I guess I should have mentioned that I was going to give it to her for free, but I wanted the ace in hand in case our absentminded purchasing director forgot to get it to me. Much better to say, “Sorry it’s a week late, here it’s on me.” than, “Yeah, I know I said it would be here and free today, sorry.” Anyway, her loss, my gain. I claimed the Bodum Travel Press for myself.

Incidentally, the reason my company decided not to carry the product was the Starbucks logo on the bottom along with the words “Made in Switzerland exclusively for Starbucks Coffee.” Not the best thing or a competitor to have on the bottom of their mugs.

How does it work?
French Press Basics
French pressing is the best way to make a cup of plain coffee. It is simple, fairly quick and it brings out the full flavor of the coffee. To make coffee in a French Press, you simply put a tablespoon of coarse ground beans in the press for every cup of water you will use. Add water that is about 200º. Wait four minutes and push down the press.

The coffee will have a much better texture than drip coffee, most brews will be almost buttery in richness and slide pleasantly off your tongue. French pressing also allows all of the more subtle layers of flavor to be perfectly extracted from the beans. A coffee that is bland in a drip coffee maker might simply not be reaching its potential and taste amazing in a French press.

The high points of the Bodum Travel Press
On the brighter side of the spectrum, the cup itself is a double plastic shell with an air barrier between the layers. This makes it possible to hold onto a the cup that might otherwise be too hot to handle. It also has some insulating qualities that not only save your hand, but keep your java warm a little longer.

The fact that it is a French press is another nice thing. For people in a hurry, you can walk out the door with a travel mug of coffee 4 minutes earlier than you would with a traditional French press. It is the only coffee maker I know of that you can use in the car . . . well kind of anyway.

Cleaning it is fairly easy, the press screen can be unscrewed without any small part to lose and the entire thing does just fine in the dishwasher even if you don’t disassemble it.

The not so good points
The biggest complaint I have about the Bodum Travel Press is that the press itself seals poorly. I originally thought that this was the beveled cup, which appears bigger at the top than the bottom, however this proved to be an optical illusion. The seal does contact the sides of the cup from top to bottom when pushing down the press, it just doesn’t seal very well. As much as I love French pressed coffee, grounds in my teeth are simply unacceptable, and the seal on mine is bad enough that it is a certainty. The coffee is often simply undrinkable. Chunky peanut butter is alright; chunky coffee is not.

The lid is so-so. It doesn’t have any kind of gasket at the top so it does dribble a bit sometimes. It is designed well enough that you don’t have hot, chunky coffee pouring on your chin, but there is a little leakage that will pool in your cup holder.


Bottom Line
Bodum practically owns the market in French presses. This product, however, falls seriously short of their usual marks. The Bodum Travel French press is a very disappointing item.

If you can get one as cheaply as I did (free), it might be worth the price. But even at that price, I only used mine a few times.

© Scott Noble – Unauthorized use prohibited

A few of my other reviews that you might find helpful:
Nissan Insulated French Press
Capresso MT 500 Coffee Maker

Recommended: No