The Ratio Four Coffee Machine is the Portland-based brand’s latest brewer. Photo by Howard Bryman.

Over the past 10 years, Portland, Oregon-based Ratio has gone a long way in broadening the niche of beautiful, well-wrought, simple-to-use automatic home drip coffeemakers.

The company’s first two machines, the Eight and the Six, have both earned accolades not only for their good looks and serene user experiences but also, importantly, their effective delivery and dispersal of hot water at a steady temperature over an entire bed of grounds for an even and delicious batch of brew.

Both excel at filling every cup around the Sunday brunch table, but neither is optimized for the average weekday morning or afternoon pick-me-up when just one quick cup is in order. Both also tend to be too tall for use beneath the lower kitchen cabinets found in older homes, and though their value becomes clear as soon as one experiences the build quality and performance, neither is inexpensive.

The Ratio Four evenly wets the bed of ground coffee to replicate a pour-over-style brewing method. Photo by Howard Bryman.

Ratio heard the call. About a year ago the company revealed the Four, a lower-profile Ratio machine built specifically to brew batches ranging from 5 to 20 ounces. It’s also Ratio’s most affordable machine to date, priced at $259 and on sale for a limited-time pre-order price of $225.

As a longtime lover of the Ratio Six, I have been watching and waiting for the Four to touch down. I was fortunate enough to spend a week testing one, and now I’m even more excited.

The Four Scores

I tried every which way to get a single-cup brew out of my Ratio Six. The height of the brewer and its larger-batch-oriented bloom phase ultimately drove me back to manually pouring my single cups every morning. With the Four, I feel taken care of, at last.

Sleek, low-profile and minimalist in design, the Four is Ratio’s first machine to include a mechanical pump, which very quietly drives water through a nimble 1200-watt flow-through aluminum water heater. Together these complete a brew within about four minutes, which is swift enough that to run it twice in order to serve a whole table is actually not out of the question.

Like all Ratio brewers, the Four is dead simple to use. No screen, dials, apps or timers — just add coffee, water, push one button and enjoy. One can easily recommend this machine to any casual coffee drinker seeking a no-brainer, high-quality cup.

The Ratio Four is extremely simple to operate. Photo by Howard Bryman.

Adjusting the brew temperature is also possible by refreshingly analog means. With the basket docked up closer to the 18-hole stainless steel showerhead (which consistently spread water to every inch of the brew bed), Ratio says the brew temperature is a steady 201F.

With the basket on the carafe, allowing a couple inches of open air between the spout and the grounds, the brew temperature lands closer to 195F, according to Ratio.

Another feature new to the brand is the Four’s dual built-in brew profiles. For larger brews, a single light press of the brew button enacts the main profile that delivers a 100-gram bloom pour, pauses for 30 seconds, pulse-pours to the 2-minute mark and shifts into “continuous flow” until all the water is gone.

Smaller brews benefit from pressing and holding the brew button for three seconds to start the brew, triggering a bloom pour of only 60 grams followed by the same rest of the cycle.

The machine accepts standard 8-12-cup basket-shaped paper filters — a common grocery store item. It plays just as nicely with Kalita 185 (the larger size) paper filters, which is an item often found in the cupboards of manual brewing fans, and Ratio is working on releasing its own “faster flow” paper filters that are optimized for the Four.

Fun for Geeks, Too

As a manual pour-over devotee who’s also a chronic over-thinker, I quickly learned to relish the handoff of water-pouring duties to the Four. A vast selection of brewers will fit between the Four’s base and showerhead, either on a mug or on a carafe, which encouraged me to revisit some older conical brewers that I’d gravitated away from in favor of more forgiving basket-shaped brewers.

The Ratio Four comes with a hand-blown, smoke-tinted glass carafe. Photo by Howard Bryman.

My Phoenix 70 conical brewer, for example, had become more of an art piece than a brewer as it languished on a shelf over the years. The Four brought it right back to high esteem for the juicy cup it yielded, as well as its fun look on the machine. My daily driver — an Origami brewer with Kalita paper filter — also delivered excellent cups via the Four.

Key to this joy is the Four’s flexible reservoir system. The attractive crystal-clear standalone cylinder is light enough to detach one-handedly from its weighted base; it’s easy to shuttle to the sink to fill up; and best of all, it’s an excellent size and shape for setting on a scale to weigh out exactly the volume of water for a specific pour-over recipe.

The Ratio Four includes a new reservoir system that attaches to the brewer. Photo by Howard Bryman.

You can also be confident that every drop will be delivered to the coffee for that recipe, as the pump revs up at the end of each brew to purge the line free of standing water between brews. When not in use the whole system is empty and dry.

Small Compromises

There’s a lot of plastic on the Four, including the case, basket and reservoir. This may be off-putting for some, in principle, although in practice, I found the materials to be a worthwhile compromise for the price, given that in all cases there are also benefits.

The matte-black sheen of its case is almost indistinguishable from metal at a glance. The reservoir is made of the same stuff as Nalgene water bottles, therefore certainly safe enough for its short stints in contact with water, plus it won’t break if you drop it. The brew basket, while lightweight, benefits from the material’s effective heat-trapping properties. Ratio also has a ceramic brewer for the Four in development, and I’ll be excited to try that out when it’s ready.

Meanwhile, one might think that a brewer of smaller cups would be smaller than its larger-batch forebears in every way, but the Four is not. If cabinets were the main obstacle to your ownership of a Ratio machine, you can comfortably now join the club. However, for cramped corners where surface area is what counts, the Four may not fit everywhere that the Six does, as its footprint is ¾-inch wider.

The Ratio Four Coffee Machine has a small footprint and will work in most kitchens. Photo by Howard Bryman.

Users willing to forgo the Four’s lovely hand-blown smoke-tinted glass carafe in favor of brewing straight into a mug (one less item to clean) will need a leg up. The distance from the spout to the brew bed in some setups may result in undue turbulence and potentially water cooling. I use a tiny bean storage tin as a stepstool for brewing directly into an Origami brewer atop my standard mug, though my hope is that Ratio will develop a matching brew pedestal to free me from this kludge.

And finally, one of the hallmarks of both the Eight and the Six designs is the wondrous and calming thermodynamic spectacle of water gurgling up a vertical glass tube on its way to the coffee. The Four looks great, sounds nice, brews fantastically, but offers no such theater.

Four For Sure

That said, the space I cleared on the brew bar to accommodate the Four will remain clear until the company has machines fully in stock and I can pick one up for keeps. I’m excited for this to become my new daily brewer, and I can offer no higher praise than that.

Pros:

• Visually appealing
• Simple, fun and flexible use
• Excellent brewing performance
• Two built-in brew profiles
• Fair price

Cons:

• Lightweight materials
• Slightly wide footprint
• Could use a pedestal for mugs

The Ratio Four Coffee Machine can be purchased on the Ratio Website.  Coffee Review does not receive commissions or referral fees for any sales that may be generated from our equipment reviews. However, in some cases, products were reviewed as part of our fee-based service offerings.

The post Equipment Review: Ratio Four Coffee Machine appeared first on Coffee Review.

The OXO Rapid Brewer is designed to quickly and easily brew both hot and cold coffee concentrate. Photo by Howard Bryman

Whether for cocktails, frappes, baked goods or speedy mornings, coffee-as-ingredient is big business these days. The number of bottled concentrated coffee products is on the rise in stores and online, and with the Rapid Brewer, housewares brand OXO delivers a simple means for anyone to create their own fresh hot or cold concentrate using any coffee at home, in minutes.

For aficionados who prioritize quality over convenience, the Rapid Brewer is also a fine choice, capable of producing a nuanced presentation of any bean or blend dialed in on the device.

It easily achieves OXO’s stated goal of brewing in a hurry. And for those willing to explore beyond the bounds of OXO’s instructions, there’s also remarkable potential for excellent longer-style brews through an innovative method using the Rapid Brewer. At $39.99, with all these options plus its lightweight, durable and portable construction, there’s almost no reason not to give it a try.

The OXO Rapid Brewer is lightweight, durable and portable. Photo by Howard Bryman

It’s not without its faults, though these are easily overcome — chief among them being that not only will OXO not tell you how to do the longer brews, but elements of the Rapid Brewer’s design are actually a hindrance to this potential.

We’ll dive more deeply into the brewer’s strengths — and its secret superpowers — in a minute. First, I reached out to OXO to learn more about the brewer as it stands, including where it came from and why.

OXO Then & Now

A classic American story of ingenuity and success, OXO was founded in New York in 1990 by the father and son team of Sam and John Farber, whose goal was to create easy-to-use and ergonomically pleasant kitchen tools.

The Farber family eventually sold OXO to the General Housewares Corporation, which, in 2004, sold it again to Helen of Troy, another family-founded American company born in 1968 in El Paso, Texas, where its operations headquarters remain to this day.

Via email, OXO told me the Rapid Brewer was developed over a recent period of 18 months through a collaborative inter-departmental process involving product engineers, marketing staff, industrial designers, coffee consultants, and others. The leader of the dedicated team overseeing the project was Associate Engineering Director Chris Diskin.

Diskin, a New York-based engineer, has been rising in the ranks at OXO for more than eight years. The company said he “has been instrumental in the creation of many of our coffee products,” adding, “We also collaborated with expert baristas to ensure the brewer meets the highest standards of coffee brewing.”

Indeed, OXO has proven that it takes coffee seriously. Its electric coffee makers are certified by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), and the company makes both manual and electric grinders; its Cold Brew Coffee Maker is beloved by critics and customers alike, and the company also makes the Pour-Over Coffee Maker with Water Tank, a dead simple tool for effective manual brewing at home. Why make another manual brewer?

“We wanted to create a new manual brewer that could deliver an even more versatile and rapid brewing experience,” OXO told me. “The Rapid Brewer offers more versatility since it can be used to make cold brew and hot brew — and it can brew concentrate, which can be used to make lattes, cocktails, or other specialty drinks.”

Quick And Sweet, Right Out Of The Box

Intuitive and forgiving, the brewer is easy to use, clean and store. With coffee ground a bit coarser than espresso-fine and a good tamp with the included tamper, a 5-minute cold brew in the Rapid Brewer is a smooth and aromatic treat. More time might be better, but five minutes gets it done.

The water chamber (and its carafe) is small but allows you to achieve a reasonably latte-esque experience. Photo by Howard Bryman

The concentrated hot brew it produces stands up well as a “bypass brew,” i.e., something akin to an Americano with additional hot or cold water added after brewing.

Instant gratification fans will also love how a splash of cool water on top of the hot brew not only fleshes out the drink to fill a mug but also immediately drops the temperature into the optimal sipping zone — no need to wait for that first morning cup to cool.

Adding hot or cold plant-based or animal milk yields a reasonably latte-esque experience, and there’s certainly no harm in quaffing the Rapid Brewer’s straight shot. It’s less intense and less demanding than espresso, and I had multiple coffees glow in this preparation with a vibrant punch of flavor and the full body typical of brews through metal filters.

Great In A Sprint, But Not Without Hurdles

Of the five-piece system comprising the pump, water chamber, filter chamber, tamper and carafe, one piece — the pump — cannot be submerged. As it is threaded onto the top while brewing, it takes some mindfulness to remember to remove it and not simply place the entire apparatus in the sink after brewing.

The OXO Rapid Brewer’s pump cannot be submerged in water. Photo by Howard Bryman

Meanwhile, the only piece that does not thread or otherwise attach to the system is the carafe, and woe be to the user who misplaces it. OXO designed the Rapid Brewer to rest securely on its included carafe — and only this carafe.

I’ve tried positioning the brewer atop a wide variety of mugs, tumblers and cups, and it’s somehow either wobbly or too big or small for almost all of them. (Tune into Coffee Review’s Instagram for a simple hack that helps fit the Rapid Brewer onto more mugs!)

Sized specifically to accommodate OXO’s concentrated recipes, the carafe is also quite small and, therefore, prevents experimentation with larger recipes.

The Rapid Brewer’s Secret Superpower

As luck would have it, the brewer happens to sit securely enough atop my favorite red porcelain mug. With this higher-capacity receptacle, the brewer’s real superpower reveals itself to be neither its speed nor its cold capabilities.

It’s actually leagues more versatile than even OXO would have you believe: It’s a zero-bypass pour-over press!

Beyond the confines of OXO’s instructions and the Rapid Brewer’s tiny carafe, my favorite way to use it shifts the baseline recipe up to a coarser grind (in the mid-to-larger end of typical single-cup manual pour-over range) and a pour-over-style coffee-to-water ratio of 1:16, or thereabouts.

It starts with a bloom pour, a swirl, and then the rest of the water is added and drips until the time feels right to secure the pump and bring a fast and gently pressurized end to the brew. (Tune into Coffee Review’s YouTube channel for the recipe and a demo of the Rapid Brewer as a combination zero-bypass percolation brewer with a uniquely pressurized finale.)

Pressed For Success

Particularly in these long-form brews, but also right out of the box, I’m finding that bright, juicy, vividly aromatic and full-bodied brews are easy to achieve with the OXO Rapid Brewer, a tool I’m genuinely excited to continue exploring.

Pros:

• Great for hot or cold brew
• Highly versatile
• Easy to use, clean and store
• Affordable

Cons:

• Pump is not waterproof (cannot be submerged)
• Carafe is small and risks being lost
• Lacks compatibility with other mugs/receptacles

The OXO Rapid Brewer can be purchased on the OXO website.  Coffee Review does not receive commissions or referral fees for any sales that may be generated from our equipment reviews. However, in some cases, products were reviewed as part of our fee-based service offerings.

See our hands-on video of the OXO Rapid Brewer.

The post Equipment Review: OXO Rapid Brewer appeared first on Coffee Review.

The Outin Nano portable espresso maker. Photo by Howard Bryman.

In the competitive market of portable espresso brewers, the Outin Nano, a lighthouse-shaped device with a built-in pump and onboard heat, aims to be a beacon of both convenience and consistency.

Most gadgets designed for brewing espresso on the go are manually pumped and cannot heat water. In smaller handheld formats, especially, this tends to mean a herky-jerky flow as brew pressure drops between manual compressions. The need to heat water externally further sinks the prospect of a few special sips in the wild to an undertaking just too cumbersome and potentially wasteful to be worth it.

With its ability not only to bring a small and precise amount of water up to a consistent and brew-worthy temperature but also to automatically deliver that water at high, even pressure through a bed of finely ground coffee (or a capsule) at the single press of one button and in a package that fits in a backpack water bottle sleeve, the Nano blazes a new trail.

Espresso mise en place: The Outin Nano setup. Photo by Howard Bryman.

Meanwhile, at home, any espresso machine worth its salt rarely costs less than several hundred dollars. Outin sells the Nano for $149.99 and the important Basket Plus accessory for $39.90 — a compelling bottom line for a point of entry to espresso no matter where one intends to brew it.

A Growing Startup

An independent startup founded in 2021, Outin’s mission is to make fresh espresso easier to enjoy in the great outdoors.

Currently headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Outin launched the Nano in January 2023 and has fine-tuned it over several iterations since then. A full team dedicated to the Nano’s continued development and support now rounds out the ranks at Outin, which has also brought in dozens of baristas and coffee professionals for feedback and ideas.

Outin representatives are also showing up in person with booths at trade shows, including the 2024 SCA Expo in Chicago this past April. In June, at the World of Coffee event in Copenhagen, Denmark, Outin was a sponsor of the World Latte Art Championship. Clearly, the company is making every effort not only to appeal to the backpacker set but also to build a brand and products that earn the respect of specialty coffee aficionados and professionals.

The Nano Experience

The appreciably sturdy and waterproof plastic fuselage of the Nano instilled confidence from the moment I unboxed it and gave it an initial rinse. Brewing with grounds rather than capsules brings a couple of the Nano’s included additional bits and bobs into play that are somewhat fiddly at first, and could be confusing for novices, but as the workflow grows familiar, it’s really pretty simple.

Outin provided the Basket Plus accessory for my tests, and for the more experienced or ambitious espresso lover, this is a must-have. The Plus bumps capacity up to a maximum of 18 grams of ground coffee, and as an erstwhile user of traditional espresso equipment, I can scarcely see myself falling in love with anything that holds less.

The steel basket on the right is the “Basket Plus” a must-have accessory, compared with the stock basket on the left. Photo by Howard Bryman.

At the base of the steel Plus basket spreads a traditional array of filter holes, after which, like a spouted portafilter, another layer of steel directs the stream through a single wide hole toward the cup. The quality of espresso and crema are largely dependent on the bean, dose and grind, although Outin asserts that the slight resistance of this constrained exit flow provides some additional stability to the brewing pressure.

Another worthwhile accessory (sold separately for $49.90) is the Nano Dual Stand, a handsome, lightweight walnut holder that transforms the Nano from backcountry brew baton to an attractive stationary brew station. Particularly in my crowded coffee corner where space is limited, I enjoy its look and functionality — it doubles as a pour-over station, holding a pour-over brewer over a mug for drip coffee brewing.

The Nano brewer itself performed flawlessly, and yet the Nano isn’t necessarily for everyone. Its settings can’t be adjusted, nor can a user know exactly what pressure or temperature it’s applying or when. Dialing in a coffee on a black box like the Nano is consequently more about the Nano than the coffee.

The Outin Nano portable espresso maker performs exceptionally well for its price category. Photo by Howard Bryman.

The standard procedure (with the Basket Plus) will be familiar to anyone who’s prepared espresso before. A gram scale is helpful for dosing consistency and precision, and a good grinder is also critical for getting the best results.

I weigh out 18 grams of whole beans, grind finely and load the grounds into the basket through the included dosing funnel. I stir with a WDT (Weiss Distribution Technique) tool to evenly distribute the grounds and break up any clumps, tap the basket on the counter to settle the fluffed-up grounds, press it with the tamper, seal the basket with its cap, thread it onto the Nano, pour some water in the top and press the button.

Outin also sells extra baskets, so the option is there to handle all these steps in advance and carry a few additional prepped-and-ready baskets for brewing on the go.

Cleanup is simple as the coffee is fully isolated within the basket, so the body of the Nano needs only a slight rinse after each brew. One can use the bottom of the included plastic cup for knocking the spent coffee puck loose from the basket, making it easy to toss into a compost bin, and all the other brewing pieces rinse clean in seconds. The Nano’s accessories, meanwhile, do not entirely escape some kvetching. The stand, which isn’t required for brewing but is a nice option, is potentially delicate; a replacement shipped promptly by Outin has held up nicely, but the first one I tested broke during normal use. (The company says it’s developing a sturdier version.)

The Basket Plus’s included single-wire WDT tool is rather anemic; it works, but multi-needle tools work much better. The metal funnel and self-leveling tamper included with the Plus are thoughtful and well-made essentials, but because the tamper is a fixed-depth device, the dose and grind remain the only variables affecting puck density. And the multilayer construction of the filter basket tends to hold a tiny bit of water after rinsing, which leads one to wonder whether it’s ever fully clean or dry.

An Overall Winner

These minor quibbles aside, when paired with a fitting coffee, grind and dose, the Nano undeniably cranks out quality espresso shots.

For beginners and for capsule fans, the Nano is a slam dunk. The basic kit is fun, durable, easy to learn and as packable as a flashlight. The Basket Plus can later provide an educational platform to delve deeper into the craft and yield even more satisfying results.

Pros

● Portable and convenient
● Also appropriate for home use
● Capable of producing very good espresso
● Affordable
● Self-heating
● Compatible with standard-size Nespresso capsules in addition to ground coffee

Cons

● Settings can’t be adjusted
● Requires the Basket Plus for best experience
● Minor quibbles with extras and add-ons

The Outin Nano Portable Espresso Maker can be purchased at the Outin website.  Coffee Review does not receive commissions or referral fees for any sales that may be generated from our equipment reviews. However, in some cases, products were reviewed as part of our fee-based service offerings.

The post Equipment Review: Outin Nano Portable Espresso Maker appeared first on Coffee Review.

Overall Rating: 8.5

Pros: A smart design, simple operation and excellent serviceability make this machine both a reassuring long-term investment and a pleasure to use.

Cons: Beans tend to popcorn around as the hopper empties, and its once class-leading grind consistency has been overtaken by competitors.

MSRP: $269.00

How to Interpret Equipment Ratings    |   Read complete report: Four Mid-Range Burr Coffee Grinders Tested & Reviewed

Reviewer’s Take:

The Baratza Virtuoso+ is an unassuming workhorse you can trust to break your beans with reasonable precision and with refreshing attention to detail and design.

Build, Static and Serviceability. The sharp corners of its sturdy plastic grounds bin make it easier to pour grounds directly into smaller single-cup brewers or filters, an appreciable bump in convenience over the wide-mouthed grounds containers of many other machines, from which users are expected to scoop rather than pour.

The bin also nests snugly and completely enough into the body of the grinder beneath the output chute to keep any swirling bit of static-charged coffee neatly contained. No other machine in our report lineup controlled staticky bits as effectively. The nonessential but fun LED that illuminates the pile of ground coffee as it accumulates is also a nice touch.

The Virtuoso+’s smoke-tinted plastic hopper and mostly plastic exterior may not be to everyone’s liking, yet behind its modest facade hides an internal design that’s as efficient as it is impressively user-serviceable. The grinder’s efficiency is confirmed by exceedingly low grinds retention. The short grind path from the hopper through to the bin and the compact design of the burr chamber nets a grounds retention of only 1.5 grams when emptied for a cleaning — far less than average.

Its excellent serviceability is confirmed by its easy disassembly, the comprehensive selection of spare parts for sale on the company’s website, the many step-by-step repair guides also available online, and Baratza’s reputation for excellent customer service.

Particle-Size Consistency. Baratza introduced the original design of the Virtuoso in 2005, offering grind consistency that at that time was significantly ahead of the competition. Because Baratza machines are built so solidly and are so easy to repair and maintain, the Virtuoso’s reputation continued to grow, even as other manufacturers started catching up in terms of burr and motor quality, and therefore in grind consistency.

Today the Virtuoso+ remains a solid performer in regard to grind, although our tests revealed that in relative terms, it’s no longer leading the pack. Interpreting the laser particle analysis data provided by our friends at Horiba Instruments, we found that the Virtuoso+ came in a very close third in particle-size consistency among the four machines we tested for this report, about 6% less consistent than the top performer, the Breville Smart Grinder Pro. For detailed test results, see the bar chart at the end of this review.

Yet with results from three different grinders in the same class coming within surprisingly close range of one another, what the particle size analysis also revealed is the importance of details beyond grind consistency alone that point to a product worth owning, and the promise of a quality experience in the kitchen.

The Virtuoso+’s low grinds retention and well-designed bin are examples of such details, as are the generous and smooth forty clicks of adjustability for finding the sweet spot in an immersion or drip brew. For dialing in a finicky espresso, these clicks are relatively broad and can be limiting, but the Virtuoso+ is certainly capable of grinding finely and consistently enough to at least get you started down the espresso rabbit hole, if that’s where you’re headed.

Popcorning, Single-Dose Grinding, and Noise. Our only other real complaint regards single-dose grinding, which we recognize is a task for which the Virtuoso+ is not specifically designed. Nevertheless, its low grounds retention, respectable grind consistency and accessible, no-frills approach make the Virtuoso+ an attractive choice for aficionados who enjoy switching among a variety of coffees frequently enough to want to grind only a single dose of beans at a time.

The problem is that the Virtuoso+’s burrs and hopper together allow the final beans of a dose to bounce or “popcorn” around for some seconds before finally feeding down into the burrs. A few pulses at the end of a dose are sometimes needed to snag those final bouncy stragglers, which stretches out the grind time as well as the duration of the 90-95dB racket the machine makes in the morning (no louder than average, but still loud enough to penetrate a later sleeper’s last wisp of dream).

The Bottom Line. Judged by grind consistency alone, the Baratza Virtuoso+ may no longer be the superstar it once was, yet it remains one of the better options in its class, designed and engineered by a small, Bellevue, Washington-based company that makes nothing but coffee grinders and stands by its products. This single-minded pursuit of quality in one particular species of appliance is unique among the manufacturers whose products we’ve reviewed for this report, a dedication that radiates beyond the respectable grind consistency to other thoughtful features, making it an easy machine to recommend without hesitation.

Key Specifications:

Hopper Capacity: 8 ounces
Dimensions: H 13.8″, W 4.7″, x D 6.3″
Weight: 8 pounds
Burrs: 40mm stainless steel conical
Burr Speed: 550 RPM
Grind Settings: 40
MSRP: $269.00

Manufacturer website: Baratza.com

Grind consistency test results for the Baratza Virtuoso+ grinder based on laser particle size distribution analysis by Horiba Instruments. Six samples were tested from each grinder representing various grind settings (coarse, medium, fine) and two degrees of roast (light and medium-dark). Like other grinders we tested, the Virtuoso+ was at its best producing fine grinds. For an explanation of how we determined our optimal range of particle sizes click here.

The post Equipment Review: Baratza Virtuoso+ Coffee Grinder appeared first on Coffee Review.

Overall Rating: 9.0

Pros: The Smart Grinder Pro’s grind consistency is best among the four grinders we review for this report. It is also relatively quiet, and its capacity for supporting espresso brewing is particularly impressive for a machine offered at so reasonable a price.

Cons: The stubbornly convoluted user interface takes either patience or a workaround to overcome.

MSRP: $199.95

How to Interpret Equipment Ratings    |   Read complete report: Four Mid-Range Burr Coffee Grinders Tested & Reviewed

Reviewer’s Take:

Excellent performance and many clever details contribute to the brainy design of the Breville Smart Grinder Pro, although there are moments when the device might just be a little too smart for its own good.

User Interface. The digital LCD screen is helpful for choosing and returning to one of the Breville’s generous 60 grind adjustments (many of which are fine enough for espresso brewing). Beans feed smoothly, and the burrs stop promptly enough so that setting the timer results in a reliably consistent dose. Yet Breville, ever the hand-holder when it comes to all things coffee, also baked in a prescribed time-per-cup dosing system that is both confusing and persistent.

The machine encourages you to grind by the number of cups or shots you intend to brew, which is useful if you agree with Breville on how much ground coffee is best per cup or shot. Press the center button on the interface to add a serving and the machine sets a corresponding grind-time. But if you enjoy a variety of coffees at different roast levels brewed different ways, the stubborn persistence of this system becomes a nuisance in a hurry.

You can change the time setting by increments of 0.2 seconds, but using these impressively fine increments are tedious when you are trying to move the timer forward or back a few whole seconds at a time. It’s also possible to reprogram individual cup settings, though that may not be worth the effort given how the many differences from one coffee to the next, including time off the roast, affect grind requirements.

Breville seems to go out of its way here to try to accommodate neophytes, which is a quality some will appreciate and others, like us, can still work around. We opted out of the befuddlement by always setting the timer to grind more than we needed and simply starting and stopping the grind action manually. This strategy freed us to enjoy the otherwise outstanding grind consistency and quiet operation of Breville’s impressively versatile and well-engineered hardware.

Noise and Static. With the Breville’s generous hopper full and a medium grind setting, our decibel meter registered an amazingly low 80dB during grinding, which is a full 15dB quieter than other machines we reviewed for this report. Under somewhat different conditions this rose to an average 85dB and a wavering, higher-pitch whine emerged in the espresso range, but in general the machine remains easier on the ears than most, and provides comfort in knowing the racket most likely won’t disturb a napping toddler while you prepare that critical afternoon cup.

The machine also mitigates static well enough to allow the user to run the machine without using the problematic lid that fits atop its wide-mouthed catch cup. Vibration during longer grinds causes the cup to shift out of place beneath the chute, resulting in misalignment of the opening of the lid beneath the flow of grounds. Coffee then piles up on the closed portion of the lid, potentially high enough to cause the grinder to fail due to clogging, which it did once in our tests. Skipping that lid altogether and stowing it in a drawer solved the problem.

Particle-Size Uniformity and Grounds Retention. Laser diffraction particle size analysis performed by our friends at Horiba Instruments confirmed that of the four grinders we tested for this report, the Smart Grinder Pro, at a variety of settings, generates the highest percentage of grounds within an optimal range of particle size. Its best performance was at a fine grind of a light roast, where it landed 58.1% inside a range of 400 microns. That may not sound like much, but it’s the best we saw among the four well-respected grinders we tested for this report. For detailed test results see the bar graph at the end of this review.

Yet of the relatively few fine particles Smart Grinder Pro does create, plenty have a tendency to stick around. Cleaning out the grinder revealed roughly 3 grams of retained grounds, the majority of which was very fine powder caked beneath the cone burr at the bottom of the chamber. This isn’t the worst grounds retention we’ve seen, but it’s also not the best.

The Bottom Line. There’s much more to like than dislike about this squat and clever machine that grinds more consistently at $25-$70 cheaper than any of the other three grinders reviewed in this report. The Breville brand’s rounded and contoured design language may not blend with every kitchen aesthetic, but for the relatively low price you would be hard pressed to find a machine as all-around ready to contribute to any morning coffee ritual.

Key Specifications:

Hopper Capacity: 18 ounces
Dimensions: 6.3″ x 8.5″ x 15.5″
Weight: 6.4 pounds
Burrs: 40mm stainless steel conical
Burr Speed: 450 RPM
Grind Settings: 60
MSRP: $199.95

Manufacturer’s Website: www.breville.com

Grind consistency test results for the Breville Smart Grinder Pro based on laser particle size distribution analysis by Horiba Instruments. Six samples were tested from each grinder representing various grind settings (coarse, medium, fine) and two degrees of roast (light and medium-dark). Like other grinders we tested, the Breville was at its best producing fine grinds. For an explanation of how we determined our optimal range of particle sizes click here. 

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Overall Rating: 8.5

Pros: The Oxo offers admirable grind consistency and conveniently controls how much coffee is ground by weight rather than by time.

Cons: The weight of the actual dose always slightly misses the target. The unit’s high-pitched noise is on the louder side and its lightweight materials raise longevity concerns.

MSRP: $224.99

How to Interpret Equipment Ratings    |   Read complete report: Four Mid-Range Burr Coffee Grinders Tested & Reviewed

Reviewer’s Take:

Controlling grinding by weight is an exceptional feat for a grinder in this price bracket, and offers a major step up in precision for anyone whose coffee routine has to this point depended on scoops and eyeball estimates. Although the Oxo Brew’s automation of this feature results in doses less precise than they would be if weighed out by hand, the inaccuracy is not great and is relatively predictable.

Dose Accuracy. Tested using calibration weights, the Oxo scale itself proved perfectly accurate. It’s the grinder’s ability to slam on the brakes at a targeted weight of ground coffee that is consistently a few revolutions off the mark. After the system cuts power to the motor, momentum keeps the burrs in motion just long enough to allow an extra bit of ground coffee through to the bin.

Perhaps more troubling than the inaccuracy, though, is that the Oxo Brew’s screen does not reflect it. The screen shows the upward count from zero to the target in real time as grounds accumulate, then stops at the target even though more grounds almost always wind up on the scale. Unless you’re weighing the grounds again as you load them into a filter for brewing, you might never know the Oxo Brew’s doses typically land at least a gram heavier in most cases. In coarser grinds, the result is sometimes more than a gram beyond what you requested, and yet, in larger batches, it might actually land a gram shy.

While in principle this fuzziness is regrettable, in practice we grew to accept the +/-1g grey area pretty quickly in exchange for the mighty convenience of bypassing far less accurate systems that are controlled by a timer.  Because weight, as opposed to volume, is always the more precise way to approach dosing coffee, the Oxo’s scale should attract folks who seek precision. Ironically, though, while the Oxo encourages meticulousness among people who may never have bothered to weigh their coffee before, Oxo’s slightly fuzzy measurements actually encourage already committed precision-minded users to relax and let a gram slide here and there, whether they know it or not.

Noise, Static and Build. Other aspects of the Oxo we found ourselves willing to let slide are its thin exterior materials and the loud, high-pitched whine of its motor in action, which we measured at roughly 92-97dB. Also, while it’s not the messiest grinder we tested, the Oxo, particularly when grinding darker and more static-prone roasts, will allow a dusting of grounds to escape the bin through the small space between its lid and the output chute.

Other observations: It’s not easy to pour from the wide-mouthed bin directly into single-cup or other small filters, and although Oxo seems to think its grinder can perform adequately for espresso brewing, our experience suggests it struggles to grind fine enough, and does not offer the kind of minute adjustability needed for espresso anyway, therefore making it better suited for brewed coffee (drip, French Press, etc.). When emptied out for cleaning, we found a little over 3 grams of coffee built up inside the machine; not the best, but not a bad performance as far as grounds retention goes.

Particle-Size Consistency. When balanced by budget-friendly access to a decent-enough grind-by-weight feature, none of these peccadillos really dragged the experience down. We draw a harder line at compromising where grind quality is concerned, but the Oxo largely stays on the better side of that line. We sent samples of two roasts ground at three different settings to our friends at Horiba Instruments for laser diffraction particle size analysis, and the Oxo Brew landed the second-best performance among the four grinders we review for this report. For detailed test results see the bar graph at the end of this review.

Of course the Oxo Brew’s grind consistency is nowhere near perfect, but no grinder is perfect in regard to uniformity. We’ve certainly seen more expensive grinders do worse. We’ve also seen grinders a little cheaper than the Oxo Brew do a bit better, like the Breville Smart Grinder Pro, also reviewed this month. Yet, so far as we can determine, no other machine in the Oxo Brew’s price class grinds by weight, and we didn’t realize just how seductive that built-in scale would be until we lived with it for a while.

The Bottom Line. Often when it comes to matters of convenience, the question is, do you want something done easily, or do you want it done right? While not a slam dunk, we find the Oxo Brew Conical Burr Grinder With Integrated Scale comes appreciably close to both.

Key Specifications:

Hopper Capacity: 16 ounces
Dimensions: H 16.4″, D 11.1″, W 7.3″
Weight: 7.4 pounds
Burrs: 40mm stainless steel conical
Burr Speed: 400 RPM
Grind Settings: 45
MSRP: $224.99

Manufacturer Website: www.oxo.com

Grind consistency test results for the Oxo Brew Conical Burr Grinder with Integrated Scale based on laser particle size distribution analysis by Horiba Instruments. Six samples were tested from each grinder representing various grind settings (coarse, medium, fine) and two degrees of roast (light and medium-dark). Like other grinders we tested, the Oxo Brew was at its best producing fine grinds.  For an explanation of how we determined our optimal range of particle sizes click here. 

The post Equipment Review: Oxo Brew Conical Burr Grinder With Integrated Scale appeared first on Coffee Review.

Overall Rating: 7.5

Pros: In keeping with the classic KitchenAid ethos, this coffee grinder’s strong and handsome construction paired with its simple operation makes for a compelling combination.

Cons: Grind consistency, grounds retention, static and noise can all be problematic in various usage scenarios.

MSRP: $249.99

How to Interpret Equipment Ratings    |   Read complete report: Four Mid-Range Burr Coffee Grinders Tested & Reviewed

Reviewer’s Take:

Quality materials, solid construction and straightforward functionality make a brawny case for the KitchenAid Burr Grinder, which cuts a stout and authoritative profile on any coffee lover’s counter. Its wide grind adjustment knob moves in satisfying clicks and there’s a refreshing simplicity to its screenless, analog operation. Clad in diecast metal with a range of glossy finish options, its good looks are further accentuated by the clear glass of its sturdy hopper and more delicate, thinner-walled glass grounds jar.

Particle-Size Consistency. Organized around a vertically oriented set of flat burrs that provide a straight-through grind path from hopper to jar, KitchenAid’s grinder bears some physical resemblance to the iconic professional Mahlkönig EK43 grinder. The similarities end there, however, for unlike the latter’s near-mythic capacity to generate a consistent grind, the output of the KitchenAid Burr Grinder is rather dramatically uneven.

The KitchenAid also offers a paltry 15 total clicks of grind settings compared to the considerably higher number offered by most competing grinders in its class. True, users can shift the KitchenAid’s entire range of grind settings several clicks finer by removing the adjustment knob and turning an exposed interior adjustment wheel clockwise to bring the burrs into actual contact with each other (a.k.a. to find the zero point), then backing off one click and replacing the outer knob. The manufacturer recommends doing this in order to use the machine for espresso. However, we don’t find this grinder to be fit for espresso at either the factory settings or the finer settings, for while it does grind fine enough for espresso brewing at its very finest setting, backing off by even one click from there is already a leap too coarse. The grinder therefore does not offer anywhere near enough settings to achieve the kind of fine-tuning of particle size demanded by the espresso method.

We made the adjustment anyway because it’s easy to do, and because the coarsest end of the machine’s stock range was so wildly inconsistent as to be of no use. Then we sent samples of two different roasts ground at three different fine-ward-shifted settings to our friends at Horiba Instruments for laser diffraction particle size analysis, which confirmed that no matter what brewing method you’re grinding for, the boulders and fines collected by the KitchenAid’s beautiful glass jar will come close to outnumbering the grounds of optimal brewing size. For detailed test results see the bar graph at the end of this review.

Noise and Static Cling. The KitchenAid’s noise level ranges from just shy of 90 up to 95 decibels on average, which is on par with other grinders in its class, yet still loud enough to disrupt a conversation you might want to have with guests about the beauty of your grinder.

While the machine does not produce much static from coffees that are less static-prone to begin with , a fresh or darkly roasted coffee ground on the coarser side by the KitchenAid results in a flurry of staticky bits swirling up onto the thin walls of the catch jar. This is not an uncommon affliction with burr grinders, but  things can get messy when the KitchenAid’s vibrations cause the jar to shift just far enough out of place to allow some charged-up particles to escape onto the counter and cling to the sides of the machine.

And after opening up our unit for cleaning, we removed a whopping 5.5 grams of coffee from the flat burr grind chamber and exit chute, making the KitchenAid the top grounds-retention hog of the four machines we review for this report.

The Bottom Line. If looks are all that matters, this machine is easily a winner. The tactile experience of using it is also a joy. Yet if your foremost concern is a reasonably precise and tidy grind, there are other options in this price range through which the beauty more effectively carries through to the coffee you’re brewing.

Key Specifications:

Hopper Capacity: 7 ounces
Dimensions: H 10.0″, W 5.9″, D 9.8″
Weight: 10 pounds
Burrs: 57mm flat steel
Burr Speed: 450 RPM
Grind Settings: 15
MSRP: $249.99

Manufacturer’s Website: www.kitchenaid.com

Grind consistency test results for the KitchenAid Burr Grinder based on laser particle size distribution analysis by Horiba Instruments. Six samples were tested from each grinder representing various grind settings (coarse, medium, fine) and two degrees of roast (light and medium-dark).  For an explanation of how we determined our optimal range of particle sizes click here. 

The post Equipment Review: KitchenAid Burr Grinder appeared first on Coffee Review.

Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Kettle, Model: EE01AA1A, matte black. Photo by Howard Bryman.

Overall Rating: 9.5

Pros: Not only does this kettle look impressive and pour very comfortably, but its display is the most informative of any that we’ve seen, and it heats up quite quickly. Its interface is refreshingly intuitive and its build quality first-rate, down to the tiniest of details.

Cons: The temperature reported on its display may be anywhere from 1-3 degrees higher than the temperature we measured using our thermocouple.

Price: $149

How to Interpret Equipment Ratings

Reviewer’s Take:

The Fellow Stagg EKG is damn near the perfect kettle. While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, we find the space capsule-shaped kettle body, antler-like handle and turntable-reminiscent base add up to a handsome, if not iconic, addition to the modern coffee station. More importantly, though, its counterweighted handle makes pouring feel natural, and its spout allows for the subtlest of dribbles to remain the stuff of intention.

Its well designed and visually accessible display shows both the target and the current temperature by default and clearly indicates when the temperature control shifts into “hold” mode. When the kettle is lifted from the base and returned, both the timer and the current temperature continue to display, unlike other kettles that stop the timer at the point the kettle is replaced on the base.

Even the EKG’s lid design — wide, slightly concave, secure yet still easy to open — is indicative of the refreshing level of consideration that runs top to bottom through the entire user experience. Another example is a pair of physical switches hidden on one side of the base, each of which performs a simple, seldom-needed task: one toggles the display between Celsius/Fahrenheit and one turns the “Hold” feature on or off, in both cases sparing us what might otherwise be tedious or obscure digital procedures.

The Stagg still loses a half-point for the inaccuracy of its reported temperature (see Cons above), particularly while its heater is active. However, as no kettle we’ve tested actually aces the accuracy test, we forgive the Stagg this shortcoming and consider it best in show. Worth every penny, even at a relatively pricey $149.

Key Specifications:

Capacity: 0.9 Liter
Wattage: 1200W
Dimensions: 11.5″ x 6.75″ x 8″
MSRP: $149

Manufacturer website: www.fellowproducts.com

The post Equipment Review: Fellow Stagg EKG Electric Kettle appeared first on Coffee Review.

OXO Brew Adjustable Temperature Pour Over Kettle – Item Number: 8717100 – Photo by Howard Bryman.

Overall Rating: 8.0

Pros:

This kettle strikes an impressive balance between a generous capacity and a compact footprint while also reaching brewing temperature remarkably quickly. Its display is clear and easy to read without having to slide the whole unit closer on the counter, and its beep is a handy cue for when water has reached the target temperature. Its large and satisfyingly resistant temperature control knob instills confidence in its build quality, and its appearance is pleasantly and unobtrusively modern. Lots of bang for the buck here.

Cons:

The base displays the current water temperature during its initial heat-up but subsequently displays only the targeted temperature, even though the actual temperature drifts down and back up. If the built-in timer is also running, the base displays only the time.

Price: $99.00

How to Interpret Equipment Ratings

Reviewer’s Take:

The OXO kettle is an excellent product with one significant flaw, which is a failure to display water temperature on a continuing basis after reaching its target. One can only speculate that perhaps it was a cost-saving measure on OXO’s part — and indeed, at $99, this kettle is on the budget-friendlier end of the category spectrum. Yet, particularly for a brew method so dependent on precision, it’s a frustrating omission.

In almost all other respects, the OXO kettle performed quite well in our tests. Not only did it bring 600ml of water up to 205°F more than a minute faster than the other three kettles we tested, but it also accurately recognized the targeted 205°F and turned the heater off, shifting automatically into “keep warm” mode. A handy beep alerts you to this first achievement of the target temperature, though after that the exact temperature becomes something of a guessing game — see below.

The OXO allows a roughly three-degree drop before reheating to the target temperature. This fluctuation is well within average compared to other kettles but it only beeps the first time it hits the target. So, you can therefore assume that the temperature inside the kettle is almost exactly the temperature you want either at the moment that it beeps or at the moment the quiet heater ceases its whisper after reheating — though, in the latter case, you’ll have to hover and listen carefully. As for the exact temperature during the cooling and reheating cycle, the unchanging display simply leaves you in the dark.

Finally, there may be a hypothetical caveat raised by the powerful 1500-watt heater responsible for such speedy heat-up: If you should find yourself grinding your beans, toasting your toast and charging your phone all at once in the morning with the radio on, the OXO kettle might just be the straw that flips a sensitive circuit breaker.

Overall, however, this solid and otherwise user-friendly kettle heats like lightning, seems built to last and will blend into a variety of kitchen aesthetics. The kettle’s weight is distributed comfortably and its grippy handle lends itself to steady, spot-on pouring. At $99 (or less on sale), the OXO is a very compelling choice.

Key Specifications:

Capacity: 1 Liter
Wattage: 1500W
Dimensions: 11.4″ x 6.3″ x 8.1″
MSRP: $99

Manufacturer Website: www.oxo.com

The post Equipment Review: OXO Brew Adjustable Temperature Pour Over Kettle appeared first on Coffee Review.

Bonavita Interurban, Matte Black, 1.0L, Variable Temperature Kettle. Photo by Howard Bryman.

Overall Rating: 7.5

Pros:

The Interurban is a successor to Bonavita’s pioneering, long-popular BV382510V kettle. The solid build of the Interurban inspires confidence, and its streamlined appearance cuts a bold yet charming profile on the kitchen counter.

Cons:

The built-in timer presents usability issues, the spout is not “drip-free,” and the kettle brings water to brewing temperature relatively slowly compared to competing kettles.

Price: $129.99

How to Interpret Equipment Ratings

Reviewer’s Take:

In the earliest days of pourover’s trendy presence on modern specialty coffee bars, the original Bonavita digital gooseneck kettle was a ubiquitous tool in the hands of professional baristas. Building upon this legacy in the face of mounting competition from other kettles, the Interurban represents Bonavita’s evolved approach to the format.

What remains unchanged from the older model is its 1,000-watt heater, which brought 600ml of cold tap water up to 205°F rather sluggishly, anywhere from 40 seconds to 2 minutes slower than other kettles with similar or more powerful heaters. Another vestigial design element we noticed is the flat, level spout opening may, depending on how you pour, allow a tiny but distracting dribble down the gooseneck. Using other kettles with more contoured mouths, we couldn’t create a similar dribble no matter how hard we tried.

The design and placement of the digital display, also apparently carried over from the original model, is a bit compromised here because it is more deeply set into the new base’s thicker materials, making it a bit less easy to read. This may diminish for some the convenience of one of the Interurban’s attractive newer features: the built-in timer. And, as helpful as that timer should be, it also automatically cancels when the kettle is returned to the base, discouraging you from putting it back either for tidiness, to check the current temperature or for a heat bump during the bloom phase of the pour.

At $129.99, and with the older model still available for considerably less, these peccadilloes prevent the Interurban from being a slam dunk success, although its improvements over its predecessor are obvious and bold. The Interurban’s beefy metal base and decisively clicking buttons are brawnier by far than those on any other base we’ve seen, and its sleek matte black, matte white and gloss graphite finish options are all worthy of the most stylish of specialty coffee settings.

It’s about as accurate in its temperature readings as other kettles we tested, never off by more than a couple degrees, and although the handle is not designed for even weight distribution, its pronounced finger notch assists with comfort and control. Overall, the Interurban gets the job done, looks quite smart doing it, and seems built to continue doing so for a long time to come.

Key Specifications:

Capacity: 1.0 Liter
Wattage: 1000W
Dimensions: 8.5″ x 11″ x 9.5″
MSRP: $129.99

Manufacturer Website: www.bonavitaworld.com

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