EXTRACTION

There are a lot of variables that go into brewing good coffee. From the quantity and ratios of water and coffee grounds, to grind size, water temperature and water chemistry, each plays an integral role in how the coffee will taste.

If you’ve ever visited a third-wave coffee shop, the term extraction may sound familiar to you; it’s defined as “the action of removing something”. If you think of coffee brewing in terms of extraction, the goal is to bring out all of the good flavors, and not too many of the bad. When water comes into contact with coffee grounds, fats and acids are always extracted first, followed by sugars and, finally, plant fibers.

How does this translate to your cup of coffee? Under-extracted coffee will taste sour or salty, with a quick finish or aftertaste. Over-extracted coffee will taste bitter, dry and hollow. Coffee that reaches ideal extraction will have sweetness, complex acidity, and a long pleasant finish. This may sound like a lot to swallow, but once you wrap your head around your target extraction, brewing will be a breeze.

BRIM 8 CUP POUR OVER COFFEE MAKER

Many people are interested in learning how to make the perfectly extracted cup of coffee I just described, but have no time to fuss with making pour overs by hand. I savor every moment spent lying in bed each morning and, as a result, don’t have much time before I have to head in to work. Here’s where the Brim 8 Cup Pour Over Coffee Maker comes into play: not only is it designed to make you a pot of coffee quickly, but also to brew it the way you would if you were pouring by hand.

A machine that makes consistently extracted coffee with the press of a button, brewing in the time it takes you to quickly shower – in my years of experience as a barista in third-wave coffee shops, I can confidently say this type of at-home machine is a rare find. There are undoubtedly far more coffee-making devices that make over-extracted, bland coffee on the market than there are coffee makers that create well-brewed, balanced coffee.

Brim is the exception to the rule – its products are approachable, efficient and meticulously designed. Brim’s 8 Cup Pour Over Coffee Maker isn’t messing around: inside is a copper coil heating system that heats the water, and a pump that pushes water through the large shower head at the top. These two elements allow for consistent temperature and water flow rate throughout the brewing process.

Temperature is particularly important, and this coffee maker pumps out water between 197-204°F from the first drop to the last, giving the brew temperature more consistency than any of the coffee makers you grew up with.

The pump is designed to mimic the pulses of a pour over, starting with a small amount of water followed by a break to allow the coffee to ‘bloom’, or de-gas. Next, you’ll see the water spray evenly and gently across the top of the brew bed. The carefully regulated distribution of water avoids flooding the coffee and “choking up” the flow, while preventing the bed from drying up and losing heat. This continues for the rest of the brew cycle – which finishes in around 8 minutes (most competing coffee makers you’ve seen brew in 12-14 minutes, giving you over-extracted coffee). Finally, the warming plate on the bottom keeps the coffee warm for 30 minutes, and then shuts off automatically.

Besides being mechanically impressive, this coffee maker is super sleek and designed with ergonomics in mind. The carafe has a rubber jacket to ensure a good grip for easy pouring, in addition to being easy to remove before washing. The coffee maker comes with recipes and cup measurement markers on both the carafe and the water chamber, allowing you to pour the correct amount of water associated with the number of cups you want without the guesswork.

Brim’s reusable stainless-steel filter has small holes that will allow more of the coffee oils to pass through, giving you a more textured cup with a heavier body, similar to a French press. The 8 Cup Pour Over Coffee Maker also comes with paper filters, which provides a cleaner cup with a texture resembling tea.