Bodum Santos Vacuum Coffee Maker with Timer, 12 cup, 1.5 l, 51 oz, Europen model

Comment: I have just read all of the reviews of the Bodum electric Santos.Most of the reviewers agree that it makes a great cup of coffee but I swear that several reviewers must be all time KLUTZES. This machine does not break.It does not have catastrophes if you make sure that you have a tight vacuum seal before you begin.It is easy to clean and setup once you read the instructions.The best tip was to grind the coffee ultra fine to keep the water in contact with the grinds.The timer is superfluous but and I don't use it. I don't want to leave the grounds sitting in the brewing chamber overnight. I want everything fresh.

Reliability? My machine is 10 years old. John.

Comment: I bought this machine over a year ago and it started breaking almost immediately. The plastic top to the pot was the first to go and there's no replacement parts available at all except for the strainer. The dangerous part of the machine was that after owning it a couple of months, one day I brewed the coffee and suddenly it started boiling again and rebrewing on its own. If you left one of these unattended, it could be potentially dangerous. I love the coffee, we still use the pot, broken lid, electrical problems, and all, but I'm not surprised I can't find it on the market anymore. We developed a habit of immediately turning the pot off after brewing to avoid the reboiling defect and I was actually going to try and buy another one, hoping that the electrical problems were just a fluke, but they seem to be gone. I contacted Bodum about the electrical issue and was never responded to.

Comment: I purchased the Bodum Santos two years ago after researching all types of coffee makers. The other reviews are right - the coffee taste amazing and it is a really cool coffee making process to watch. However, the coffee pot is nearly impossible to clean thoroughly and the odd shaped top portion was hard to store when not in use.

Ours mysteriously quit working about six months ago and since we purchased it online, there isn't any way to repair it.

I'd say save your money and just buy the old fashioned Bodum French Press - its about a quarter of the price with all of the flavor.

Comment: I LOVE the coffee from the Bodum Santos.
I would give it five stars if it were halfway reliable. I have had FIVE of these within 6 years.
Don't buy this expecting it to last a lifetime.

The coffee is wonderful from these units.
Clean with denture tabs and you will extend the life of the unit. Put it on a NICE surge protector, maybe that will help.

In 6 years we have owned...
(1) Starbucks Utopia label of the Santos (after 6 months developed a leak in gasket, which dripped into electronics and fried the unit)
(2) Replacement version from Starbucks (after 6 monthsdeveloped a leak in gasket...starbucks gave us a full refund and said they no longer carry the unit because it is problematic)
(3) Bodum Santos 'newer' revision (after 1 yr, electronics stopped turning 'off' the burner. Oh yes...small leak in gasket)
(4) Bodum Santos 'mini' version for fewer cups (after 6 months...electronics failure)
(5) Replacement Bodum Santos 'mini' version (lasted over a year! Now...it doesn't turn on. At all.)

Comment: I've owned this coffee maker for over a year. There's no question that it makes excellent coffee, once you get the hang of it, but it uses an insane amount of coffee. So be prepared to spend an awful lot of money on coffee beans with this one. For me, I'm willing to put up with that for a really good brew. But my real problem with this machine (and my reason for writing this review) is that while it is an excellent design, the manufacturing seems to be second rate. After about 6 months the electrical unit on the machine burned out. I called Bodum and they said the replacement part was back ordered. After waiting about 6 weeks I called them again and they finally sent me a whole new coffee maker. Now, 6 months later, another electronics malfunction is causing the thing to boil over about one in four times that we use it. Frankly, I'm fed up and I'm going to buy anther machine altogether.

Bottom line - great design, great coffee, very poorly made.