In the endless quest to please all of the people all of the time, new coffee systems such as the Aiden drip brewer by Fellow, the xBloom Studio, Meraki espresso system and more made waves this year with equipment offering high precision “easy mode” options, while also leaving their cockpits unlocked for super geeks to take to the skies of advanced brew programming.
In some cases, technological strides were also matched by bold aesthetics. In Germany alone, three startups made the news with advanced and eye-catching espresso systems.
Continuing our 2024 Year in Review, here are some of DCN’s top stories covering home drip, pourover and espresso brewing equipment.
Manual Brewing
Verve Coffee Roasters’ Latest Fixation is the Dwell Dripper
It’s rare for a coffee roasting company to get into equipment development, yet Colby Barr and a team at California’s Verve Coffee Roasters kept ruminating on the concept that a filter can also be the essence of the brewer… read more
An assortment of Dwell Drippers from Verve Coffee Roasters. Courtesy image.
The April Hybrid Brewer Springing Forth This Fall
Designed by roaster, competitive barista and April Coffee Founder Patrik Rolf, the Hybrid manual brewer includes an open/close valve in its base, allowing users to alternate between percolation and immersion at any time within a single brewing routine… read more
The forthcoming April Hybrid brewer. Courtesy photo.
V60 Maker Hario Launches the Suiren Brewer and Polaris Scale
Named for the Japanese word for “water lily,” the Suiren maintains the same fundamental brewing properties of Hario’s classic V60 pourover cone with a more aesthetically striking structural configuration… read more
A Hario Suiren brewer with Polaris scale. Courtesy photo.
From Ukraine, the Pure Pour-Over Set Heats Up
The Pure set includes a conical dripper and drip tray held by a powder-coated steel stand. The dripper, which is compatible with Hario V60-shaped filters, is made from polycarbonate plastic material that was chosen specifically for its heat retention characteristics. It features a system of pronounced fins within an enclosure around the bottom of the cone that From Creator calls HeatShield+… read more
Pure Pour-Over Set includes a stand, a drip tray, a carafe and a conical dripper. Courtesy photo.
Weber Workshops’ Bird Takes Manual Brewing in a Different Direction
Revealed on social media in the final days of 2023, the Bird combines elements of pourover brewing, full-immersion brewing and espresso within a physical format reminiscent of a French press… read more
The Weber Bird brewer. Daily Coffee News photo by Howard Bryman.
AeroPress Gets Steeper with the Premium Model
Made entirely of glass and metal plus a silicone stopper, as opposed to its plastic predecessors, the AeroPress Premium commenced sales last month with a price of $149.95… read more
Courtesy photo.
Home Espresso
Meraki Espresso Machine Finds a Quick $1+ Million on Kickstarter
A Hong Kong-based equipment startup called Meraki has raised more than $1.2 million in the early days of a Kickstarter campaign for a high-tech home espresso machine and grinder combo… read more
The Meraki espresso machine. Courtesy photo.
Ligre Brings a Clean Slate to European Home Espresso Design
The striking designs of the Ligre Youn espresso machine and Ligre Siji grinder do away with the many dials, levers and flashy chrome pieces typical of traditional equipment, with flat, angled front panels aligning almost seamlessly between the two machines… read more
The Ligre Youn espresso machine (right) and matching Siji grinder. Courtesy photo.
From Munich, The Munaco Shotbrewer Stands Alone
Occupying roughly the same amount of countertop space as commercial systems like Modbar or Mavam, the Shotbrewer is designed for either light professional or high-end home use… read more
The Munaco Shotbrewer. Courtesy photo.
From Germany, Nunc Promises Next Level IoT for Home Espresso
German high-tech appliance startup Next Level Coffee GmbH has arguably taken IoT in coffee making to its most advanced level yet with Nunc, a new high-end home grinding and espresso drink system… read more
The Nunc espresso machine and grinder combo with a cartridge loaded to the hopper. Courtesy photo.
A Classic Heads Home with the Faema E61 Cult Espresso Machine
Nearly identical to the professional version that has turned heads in cafes for generations, the E61 Cult is built to run on single-phase domestic power sources, although it still requires direct plumbing… read more
The new Faema E61 Cult machine. Courtesy photo.
Olympia Express On the Move with the Mina Portable Espresso Maker
Manufactured in Switzerland almost entirely from steel, aluminum and brass, the new machine is centered on an open-top version of the direct manual lever group found on the company’s best-known home espresso maker, the Olympia Cremina… read more
The Olympia Express Mina in its carrying case. Courtesy photo.
Flair Espresso Relaunches Neo Flex, Adds ‘Power Tower’ for Manual Grinders
Home espresso equipment company Flair Espresso recently relaunched its entry-level Neo Flex machine with additional features. The company has also rolled out a motorization kit for its Royal hand grinder called the Power Tower… read more
The relaunched Flair Neo Flex manual espresso machine. Courtesy photo.
Automatic Home Brewers
Ratio Coffee Rolls Out the Ratio Six Series 2 Brewer
While maintaining the original Six’s $339 price tag, the Six Series 2 responds to user feedback, with a redesigned carafe and a new system of water level markings on the reservoir… read more
The Ratio Six Series 2 coffee brewer. Courtesy photo.
The xBloom Studio Version Takes Users Beyond The Pod
The new model features a digital scale built into the drip tray, a physical 3-knob interface designed to recall music studio equipment and a wider range of user-controlled settings for grinding and hot water… read more
A new xBloom Studio machine using the included Omni pourover dripper. Courtesy photo.
Fellow Launches Its First Automatic Brewer, the Feature-Rich Aiden
Employing temperature monitoring and control tech from Fellow’s Stagg EKG kettle line, the Aiden is packed with features designed to balance convenience and brew-profiling geekery… read more
The Fellow Aiden brewer at the Specialty Coffee Expo in Chicago. Daily Coffee News photo by Howard Bryman.
Kickstarter Goes Cuckoo for the Kuku Maker Brewer
The Kuku Maker distinguishes itself from existing centrifugal brewers by giving users a wide range of brewing variables. Its compact footprint, minimalist design and all-metal construction further set it apart… read more
The Kuku Maker. Courtesy photo.
Scales
The Acaia Astra Helps Older Scales Keep Their Star Power
One of the Astra’s primary features is a predictive espresso shot timer, in which two horizontal bars graph out the actual weight of an espresso shot output and the predicted weight should the user stop the shot immediately. A second major feature is for precision in manual pourover ratios, accounting for water that might be lost through absorption in the filter or coffee bed… read more
The Acaia Astra remote module. Daily Coffee News photo by Nick Brown.
The WeighMaster Scale Offers Modular Detachable Displays
Created by a Hong Kong-based startup called MantaBrew, the modular system can show the same or different information on each screen, depending on user settings… read more
A MantaBrew WeighMaster coffee scale paired with two detachable screens. Courtesy photo.
The Subscale Pulls Its Weight as a Dosing Cup with Built-In Scale
The matte black plastic cup seems relatively nondescript at first, save for an elongated rim designed for pouring coffee beans into a grinder hopper. Yet one touch of a subtle exterior button conjures a hidden embedded LED display that curves along an interior wall of the cup… read more
The new Subscale dosing cup with integrated scale and LED display from Subminimal. Courtesy photo.
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