Published on Dec. 18, 2024
New to making coffee at home? The Bodum coffee grinder was the most user-friendly coffee grinder we tried, with a charming appearance and helpful features for brewing your next cup.
Our editors and experts handpick every product we feature. We may earn a commission from your purchases.Learn more.
Life’s too short not to have a great cup of coffee every morning. When you’re making coffee at home, you need a good bag of beans and the proper tools, like a high-performing coffee machine. It also requires a coffee grinder since whole beans will always yield a better cup than pre-ground coffee.
Enter the Bodum coffee grinder, which is cute, powerful and very easy to use—with plenty of features to help beginner coffee makers find their perfect grind. Depending on how you brew your coffee, having a grinder with multiple setting selections helps ensure your coffee will taste as smooth and fragrant as you expect.
We named the Bodum coffee grinder the best user-friendly burr grinder on our list of best coffee grinders. (If you’re new to home-brewing, learn more about how to grind coffee beans.)
The Bodum coffee grinder is an electric burr grinder. Burr grinders, like the Baratza burr grinder, grind coffee beans between two revolving surfaces (the Bodum machine uses stainless steel conical burrs). They’re often considered superior to blade grinders, which use high-speed blades to make coffee grounds and tend to make a more consistent, aromatic cup of coffee.
At 11 inches tall, the grinder’s overall appearance is a bit cutesier than competitors, especially with the raised bumps and the big, bubbly Bodum logo. We thought this didn’t make it look very high-end, but some people might prefer it. You can select from red, black and white.
The hopper has a 7.75-ounce capacity for your favorite coffee brands, and it has 12 settings, from espresso (very fine) to French press (very coarse). It’s pretty simple to use: There’s a hopper adjustment, a timer dial and an on/off button. It’s very lightweight and easy to store, which makes it great if you don’t have a lot of counter space or just like to keep your counters free. You can get a replacement glass container for storing grounds for $25.
If you’re looking for something a little simpler or affordable, the best manual coffee grinders we tested (including our team favorite, the Hamilton Beach coffee grinder) generally have lower price points while still getting the job done.
VIA MERCHANT
Easy to use and efficient, this grinder is ideal for beginner baristas
First things first, we tested how well it ground coffee to a different coarseness. It took 20 seconds to ground 20 grams of coffee to a fine coarseness, but only 8 seconds to grind it to a coarse ground. We found the grinds to be pretty consistent, although the grinding itself was a little loud.
(Prefer espresso? We evaluated the best coffee grinders for espresso to go with the best espresso beans we’ve tried.)
We made a cup of coffee via the pour-over method, and the end result was solid and pretty similar to the others we tried. It was a little more bitter, but not by much. If you prefer something sweeter, try out the best flavored coffee we’ve sampled.
The overall experience was equally solid: It wasn’t very messy, and the grounds stayed in the container well. There was some static on the sides of the container where the grounds got stuck, but fairly minimal compared to its competition.
The Bodum coffee grinder was very intuitive and easy to use. There’s a diagram on top telling you how long to set the timer, depending on how many cups you’re making or ounces you’re grinding. Since figuring that out can take some trial and error, we like how frictionless this diagram makes the process.
Cleaning was just as simple. The hopper and the burr come off easily. You can use a soft-bristle brush to clean the conical burr, and the housing, lid, coffee-bean container and ground cover can be cleaned with a damp cloth. You can pop the coffee ground container and its lid in the dishwasher.
To clean a Bodum coffee grinder, you can wipe the housing, lid, coffee bean container and grinding cover with a damp cloth. The coffee ground container and its lid can go in the dishwasher. Clean the conical burr with a soft-bristle brush.
To use the Bodum Bistro coffee grinder, pour your coffee beans of choice (these are the best organic coffees we’ve tried) into the machine. Select your grind setting based on how you’re brewing, and then press the button.
To find the best coffee grinders, our Product Testing team ground many, many coffee beans in many different coffee grinders. We evaluated them all on the same criteria. First, we analyzed cord length, noise levels and how much space the machine would take up in someone’s kitchen. We tested how uniform the grinds were on the finest, coarsest and medium settings and how long it took the machines to grind the beans on each setting.
With the grounds, we made a cup of coffee to see how strong and smooth the coffee was. Our top performers moved on to grind beans for an espresso shot.
I’ve written numerous product reviews and gift guides, and many of them concern coffee in one way or another, mostly because I’m a passionate coffee drinker myself. I’ve been making coffee at home for years and have experienced firsthand the difference between average coffee-making tools and excellent coffee-making tools. Spoiler: the difference is a cup of coffee good enough that you look forward to your alarm going off.
VIA MERCHANT
Easy to use and efficient, this grinder is ideal for beginner baristas
The Bodum coffee grinder costs around $80. Pick it up on Amazon or Wayfair and enjoy the luxury of freshly ground coffee without breaking the bank.
