Others say...

"This is a 1 CUP press"
12 ounces = about the size of a Tall Starbucks coffee.

I'm not sure in what universe Bodum lives that they call a 12 ounce press "3 cups". (in the end it makes about 10 ounces, if you think about the space for the grounds).

I'm doing Bodum a service by making consumers aware of this so you can avoid buying it and they can avoid your complaints, if you're looking for a press that gives you more than 1 cup of coffee.

"Office Coffee Perfection"
I got this for X-mas last year and it has performed really well. Best of all I don't ever have to taste that sludge that the office buys and charges $.25 for.

The office coffee maker has a hot water dispenser on it and that is allows me to make coffee with my french press. I like good coffee but I am by no means a coffee snob, I don't grind my own beans but I buy good coffee on sale at Kroger and since I have drank more bad coffee over the last thirty years than I care to remember, a good cup of joe means a lot to me.

Honestly, this is as easy as instant coffee---hot water, teaspoon of coffee, stir, wait 4 minutes, plunge and drink. It doesn't take long, but I kind of like the ritual. The coffee is great. Rich, smooth and often one mug is enough- even for a 250lb caffiene addict.

Where else are you going to find an eleven dollar coffee maker that rocks your world?

"Great for elf-size servings"
First I will say that someone should travel to Bodum corporate headquarters bringing with them a standard 8-ounce measuring cup and 12 oz coffee mug, to demonstrate to Bodum what image is conjured in American minds when the word 'cup' is used. If this pot makes 3 cups, then I must ask, are the cups for people or for elves? Only a minuscule creature would be satisfied with the amount of coffee that comes from this pot. I am not certain why Bodum thought this size pot is necessary at all.

I bought the pot because it was said to make "3 cups". I had already bought the Chambord model, which is also labeled "3 cups" and makes enough coffee for one 15 oz mug, so I was stunned when I opened the package and saw the tiny vessel that is the Brazil pot. The amount of coffee I would get from this pot would be enough for my first sip. Taking clean-up into consideration, it is absolutely not worth the trouble or the money.

Since returning it would cost about 50% of what I paid for it, I will keep it, for those rare occasions when I want to brew a small cup of tea. Finally, a general comment on Bodum: French press coffee pots have been said to make the best possible coffee, which is probably true. But this morning, when I dropped and broke the glass container of my new Chambord, I had to resort to a porcelain Melitta filter cone to make my first cup of the day, and the coffee I got from that was excellent. Plus there was no clean-up. So, if you have about 20 minutes in the morning to spend fussing around making coffee, and you don't break the glass container, then Bodum is the way to go.

"All good except for one fatal flaw"
This is a perfectly good budget french press coffee maker in every way except one. Unfortunately that one flaw is a deal-breaker and I'm going to buy a new one after owning this for a few months.

The mesh and wire strainers are held in place by a little plastic nob that slides down the shaft. You can see the piece in the photo. This piece does not screw on and is made of plastic. It does a bad job of holding the strainer in place, in fact a very bad job. The result is that the whole coffee maker is basically useless. Too bad, and such a bizarre design choice. Why not just have it screw down?

"Wow! "
For the past year of so my fiance and I have used the Starbucks Barista Aroma Solo machine for our coffee. It worked great for the first month or so but I've had so many clogging problems and even with frequent cleaning, I end up mopping up a coffee mess almost every time I make it. Needless to say, I've been keeping an eye out for a great but affordable coffee machine but It seems like the affordable ones aren't anything special and I'm not shelling out $1,000 or so for a serious machine. So.. after doing a little research I snatched up one of these at my local Target for the same price it sells here on Amazon to try it just for fun. To be honest I wasn't expecting much but now all I can say is WOW! So far I've used it only twice and I cannot imagine going back to a drip machine. The first thing I noticed after making my coffee is the small layer of brown foamy coffee oil on top, after my first sip I noticed that it had such a smooth, mellow taste with none of the bitterness or acidity found in my usual coffee. I now realize that the reason why I usually dump so much sugar in my coffee is to cut the acidity/bitterness, I could probably drink this coffee black if I wanted to. Since I've had it only a few days, I really can't say how durable it is, but honestly, for $11.99 who cares. I found it to be simple to make and a snap to clean. As other reviewers have pointed out, it IS very small. I knew this and it's what I wanted but if you (like most Americans) prefer to drink a giant supersize mug of coffee, then this is not for you, get the larger one! Also, you will be using very hot water to make your coffee so caution is needed. If you force the plunger down, the water is obviously going to splash out at you so please follow the instructions and leave at least an inch free a the top and use a smooth, fluid motion to gently press down. I'm a total klutz so if I can do it, anyone can! If you're contemplating purchasing one of these, I say just do it! The only problem I'm having now is I have to fight the urge to make more coffee throughout the day since it's so delish I can't wait to have more!