Lowest New Price: USD $99.95
Features :
- 12 Ounce capacity.
- Stainless steel 6 Cup stovetop espresso maker.
- Dishwasher safe.
- Retro handle is made of black bakelite.
- Retro handle is heat resistant and durable.
Do it like the Italians - with the BODUM stove top Expresso Maker CHAMBORD you can brew a delicious espresso in a practical, stylish way and without paying the price of an expensive espresso machine. Have breakfast or that well deserve coffee break with t
Customer Reviews
Handle Problems (2010-06-10)
Beautiful style. Problems with the handle may be caused by heat or flame coming up the side of the pot while brewing. The bottom diameter of the base is very short and the stove or range eye circumference may be much larger than the bottom of the maker causing heat, or even flame with gas eyes, to travel up the side of the maker damaging the handle. This is a disadvantage particularly for gas burning eyes. Nice looking and well threaded piece of equiptment.
Excellent alternative to Bialetti (2009-05-01)
I must get something out of the way first:
The reviewers who griped about the handle breaking must not have read the instructions, which clearly state to NOT tighten the top using the handle. The handle on both my coffee pots (I own both the small and large versions) have worked perfectly well for the six or more months I've owned them. There is nothing wrong with either the design or use of these pots that a little common sense wouldn't have fixed, and it's a shame to see such a wonderful product unfairly reviewed.
Okay, with the air cleared, I'll move on to the review:
I have owned and used a Bialetti aluminum stovetop "Moka" pot for years. Bialetti's pots are just fine, but the untreated aluminum discolors and stains easily.
Keep in mind, a stovetop espresso pot will give you percolated espresso (if you use espresso roast coffee) which is not the same as a traditional espresso shot, like what you'd get from Starbucks. Frankly, I think it tastes better, but it is different, and there's little or no "crema" with a percolated espresso.
If you move to Bodum's pots from Bialetti, as I did, you will immediately notice how the fit and finish of these pots is clean and precise. Screwing the top to the bottom is silky smooth (unlike the Bialetti that can squeak and chatter). The gasket that forms the seal between top and bottom appears to be made of black silicone, and remains springy and supple even after all the months of daily use I've given it. (Bodum includes a replacement gasket in the box, but I can't imagine when I'll need to replace it.) The gasket with the Bialetti is white, and appears to be made of rubber, and will discolor the first time you use it, and goes on to form tiny cracks fairly quickly.
When you make a pot of percolated espresso, "low and slow" is the general rule. Fill the stainless steel filter basket, but do not overfill and DO NOT pack the grains down. You will want to use only a percolated grind, which is a grind roughly the size of "Sugar in the Raw" granules. To use anything finer will result in clogging of the filters, grains of coffee in the top pot (and in your cup) as well as down into the water reservoir.
Fill the bottom reservoir with water up to the max fill line. Make sure there are no grains of coffee on the lip of the basket. Sit the basket down into the reservoir, and screw the top on to the bottom (ahem... and do not use the handle to tighten, per my opening rant!) Tighten it fairly tight - you want a good solid seal - but don't over-tighten. Too loose, and the pressure of the boiling water cannot come up and into the top carafe.
Set you heat fairly low. The coffee will start to flow silently and slowly at first. The trick seems to be to immediately turn off the heat once water is exhausted and the perc head is hissing and bubbling a bit; the coffee will be about 1/4 inch from the bottom opening of the perc head.
Cleanup is a breeze. Disassemble your pot when it's cool. Use something plastic (a bic pen cap works perfectly) to remove the silicone gasket. Clean everything with warm sudsy water and dry. Or put it in the dishwasher. (Something you can't do with Bialetti.)
Keep in mind...
If you have your coffee ground at Starbucks or Peet's, remember to make a point of explaining that you need a Percolator (or "Moka Pot") grind. You definitely do NOT want the typical espresso dust type of grind, or you will not enjoy your Chambord!
I have zero regrets with either of my Bodum Chambord espresso pots, and highly recommend them to everyone. I hope some of this was useful to you. ENJOY!
Careful use rewards (2008-12-13)
Works great. Don't even think about trying to screw or unscrew it using the handle. The handle will break.
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