Summer is fast approaching, how about trying the “cold brew”? For those who don't know what that means, it's simply cold-pressed coffee! A good idea to cool off this summer , right? Well, that's good because an Italian start-up, called Essence, has just launched its cold-brew coffee maker , named BRRREWER ! And be careful, hold on tight, this is not a classic cold extraction coffee maker! This original coffee maker has been designed to bring out all the aromas and flavors of coffee! We will see all this through this article!
What is Cold Brew?
Cold-Brew is simply the fact of extracting your coffee cold . We therefore do not use hot water but water at room temperature, fresh or with a few ice cubes! There are two different ways to perform this extraction .
The first is simply to let the coffee (usually coarsely ground) steep freely in the water. This is called free infusion (or full immersion). The coffee is thus left for 24 hours (or even more!) before being served. There are no accessories required to make this type of infusion. All you need is a carafe and a filter. Of course, if you want to use fresh coffee and therefore grind your coffee, you will need a coffee grinder that allows you to obtain a rather coarse grind.
The second way to make a cold-brew is to use the drip (or cold drip). For this there are cold-drip coffee makers designed expressly to obtain a perfect extraction, ready drip! This second type of cold extraction generally takes less time than the previous one. It takes between 4 and 6 hours on average.
The principle is simple, just fill a water tank above a small container containing ground coffee. Below these two elements, you will have to place a carafe that will receive the long-awaited drink! The water tank should release a drop every 2-3 seconds. The extraction is therefore done thanks to weightlessness and it is often necessary to check the flow frequency. And yes, the more the quantity of water drops, the less the pressure exerted is strong. Consequently, the drops of water are rarer!
What are the advantages of cold extraction?
Cold extraction is becoming more and more widespread. Here are a few reasons that may explain this enthusiasm.
The first thing to know is that a cold extracted coffee will always be sweeter than a coffee extracted with hot water. Indeed, coffee beans contain oils that give coffee its bitterness. When the water used to extract the coffee is hot, it soaks up these oils more easily. On the other hand, if the water is at room temperature or cool, the oils tend to remain in the grind.
A coffee made with cold extraction is therefore much softer and more pleasant to taste.
Coffee is also less acidic for the stomach . This extraction can therefore be suitable for more fragile people, to whom coffee seems to give stomach cramps. On the other hand, as the extraction is slow, the water has plenty of time to fully soak up the caffeine. Your cold-brew coffee will therefore be more concentrated in caffeine than an espresso coffee or even a filter coffee!
Brrrewer, an original coffee maker?
Today I want to talk to you about a novelty in the world of coffee. The cold-brew coffee maker named “ BRRREWER ”!
Differences made to the BRRREWER coffee maker
Born from the Italian start-up Essence , this original coffee maker has been studied and designed to make exceptional coffees. In 4 hours, it is possible to obtain a perfect extraction which increases the aromas tenfold and deploys flavors hitherto little represented during a more classic extraction.
Made with avant-garde materials and an elegant design , BRRREWER will charm the greatest coffee lovers!
Normally, a cold-brew coffee maker requires two small disposable filters above and below the grind. BRRREWER will be delivered to you with two small reusable filters . It is these particular filters that make BRRREWER a very interesting innovation. They are indeed micro-filters and have a key role in the good extraction of coffee.
The first micro-filtering membrane, which is placed on the grind, allows the water to be distributed evenly over it. As a result, there is no risk that the water will only make one or two paths through the grind and therefore that the resulting extraction will be poor in aroma and taste. .
The second membrane must be placed before grinding, at the bottom of the small basket. It filters the coffee perfectly and prevents any particles from ending up in the carafe.
In addition to being technically efficient, for a perfect in-cup result, these two membranes are environmentally friendly and avoid the purchase and use of many disposable paper filter membranes.
Our test
Nomad Barista had the chance to receive this innovation in preview! We have therefore tested this original coffee maker and now present our impressions to you.
First impression
First of all, the appearance of the BRRREWER coffee maker is faithful to the photographs and videos that can be seen on the Kickstarter site and platform. The first impression was conclusive , it is a very beautiful object, sober and elegant. A cold-brew coffee maker that embellishes the room in which it is placed and that will amaze your guests!
The wooden base is amazing since the glass pitcher absolutely does not slip when placed on it. A very practical non-slip surface to avoid any risk of breakage!
Now let's move on to using this original coffee maker!
When you are not used to this type of coffee maker, you can imagine a complex operation that leaves no room for error. Still, we didn't encounter any difficulties when making our coffee. On the contrary, it is very easy to use !
Just follow the few instructions that come with the BRRREWER and making your coffee is child's play!
The first step is to grind your coffee coarsely. The grind size should be close to that used for a French press extraction . It is therefore necessary to grind about 25 grams of coffee and place the ground coffee in the small basket, between the two filter membranes.
You must then place the basket on top of the carafe and place it on the wooden base.
Once that is done, all that remains is to pour 450ml of water into the tank, previously placed on its support.
The last step is to adjust the flow of water (one drop every 2-3 seconds) using the screw that protrudes from the tank cover.
And There you go ! Let's go for 4 hours of extraction!
And the taste in all this?
Our first test, we did it with a coffee from the Legal brand that we had already consumed in espresso and in the French press coffee maker. This coffee is a blend of organic Arabica coffees from Mexico and Peru. It is an aromatic and fruity coffee, already slightly bitter.
In espresso, it is true that this coffee is rather sweet but we still noted a touch of bitterness present and a lack of the fruity side (I remind you that it is all a question of taste of course!).
So we used it for our first try. To be honest, we preferred it cold-brew! With the extraction of BRRREWER, we were able to observe an almost total absence of bitterness . The coffee was really pleasant to drink and the fruity side that we expected was there, very present!
We first consumed it directly, without ice cubes. It was already very good and to our taste! By adding ice cubes, the drink was even more pleasant to taste!
For our second try, we wanted to taste one of the best espresso blends we know: Ethiopia H³ Bio from the Terres de Café brand (Elected Best Espresso Blend in 2015).
We therefore proceeded in the same way and after the 4 hours of infusion, we were able to taste it. We expected a more tangy note compared to the result that we usually drink with espresso extraction. There was less length in the mouth compared to the first coffee but overall it was also a good experience.
To conclude, I would say that the original BRRREWER coffee maker is ideal if you like to taste sweet coffees . Similarly, if you like to experiment, you will have plenty of time to make many recipes based on this coffee (lattes, cocktails, infusion with fruit, etc.).
How to participate in the launch of the original BRRREWER coffee maker?
If you read these few lines between June 18 and July 18, 2019, there is still time for you to participate in the Kickstarter launch campaign ! As a bonus, you will be able to get this pretty innovation almost twice as much as the price displayed soon! If you're interested, go for it!
If you arrive on this article a little too late, you can always get it by going directly to the Essence company website .