Oxo Good Grips Cold Brew Coffee Maker Reviews
The research
- Why you lot should trust u.s.
- Who this is for
- How we picked and tested
- Our pick: OXO Proficient Grips Common cold Brew Coffee Maker
- Runner-upward: Filtron Common cold Water Java Concentrate Brewer
- Also great: OXO Compact Cold Brew Coffee Maker
- What about using a French press or other DIY methods?
- The competition
- Sources
Why you should trust the states
Just as we did for our guides to coffee makers and cascade-over coffee gear, we looked at both grooming and the last product to determine the all-time common cold-brew coffee maker. In our 2016 testing, 2 Wirecutter writers, both coffee lovers, experimented with the makers and other DIY methods for almost a month. They also hosted a tasting console with four enthusiasts plus two experienced and opinionated baristas.
During some other circular of testing in 2017, nosotros took our coffee on the route, visiting iii coffee professionals (Clinton Hodnett and Sam Scarcello, then of Public Espresso + Coffee and Jesse Crouse of Tipico Coffee) in their ain shops and roasters for taste tests.
In 2020, Wirecutter kitchen writer Anna Perling conducted taste tests at home, merely because of the pandemic, we weren't able to get together a tasting panel.
Who this is for
If you similar the flavor of cold brew and drinkable it often, y'all may notice that a dedicated machine produces the best-tasting results in bigger batches and is easier to use and make clean up after than any other method.
You might be wondering whether a common cold-brew setup is worth the money—or the space in your kitchen—if you already have tools for brewing hot coffee. The brusque answer is yes. There are existent reasons cold brew has gained popularity in contempo years; brewing with slow, cold exposure results in a sweeter, milder-tasting coffee, low on bitterness and acidity. Too, the method generally produces a concentrate that, with the addition of some combination of h2o, ice, milk and/or cream, nonetheless provides a very flavorful cup compared with hot coffee, which dilutes considerably once you lot add ice. Drinking hot-brewed java iced tin can also bring out bitter flavors that are less noticeable when the java is hot.
Every cold-mash coffee method works the same way: Start with a lot of ground coffee (more than you'd typically use to brew baste coffee), add together water, let the mixture sit between viii and 24 hours, and then filter it. The resulting liquid is usually a concentrate that you should dilute with water or milk (common ratios are two or iii parts water or milk to one part concentrate).
Yous can also make cold-mash concentrate with a French printing or other tools yous may already ain, such equally a Mason jar plus a strainer, cheesecloth, or nut-milk pocketbook. But well-nigh of those methods require a lot more work for less satisfying results (more on that beneath).
How we picked and tested
Over the years, we've streamlined and simplified our testing to focus on what matters most: the flavour of the coffee and how easy each machine is to utilise. Originally, in 2016, we conducted several rounds of testing. First, to get a feel for the setup of each machine, nosotros brewed a basic medium-roast coffee from Trader Joe'south and followed the provided instructions for each system, noting how easy or annoying each model was to utilize and clean. Next, we switched to an upscale bean—a single-origin roast from Joe Bean, Mexico Chiapas (now discontinued)—again brewed using the water-to-java ratio suggested for each model. And we invited coffee professionals, coffee enthusiasts, and casual common cold-brew drinkers to rank each sample on a 1-to-10 scale for gustatory modality, acidity, and torso. Finally, we retested our superlative models, this time brewing medium-roast grocery-store beans using a consistent water-to-coffee ratio (4.5:1, averaged from all three brewers' instructions) for 24 hours each, and diluting the concentrates 3:i. Blind tastings closely matched our original testing console's findings, confirming that information technology's the brewers themselves, not their recipes, that make dissimilar cold-brewed java.
Given that determination, in subsequent tests (in 2018, 2019, and 2020) we've just brewed co-ordinate to the recipe included with each coffee maker. We recollect that's what most people are likely to exercise anyway, and information technology also gives usa a run a risk to see how easy it is to follow the instructions included with each machine. The only affair nosotros've kept consequent across the lath is brew time: Most models have a suggested range, so for convenience every bit much every bit anything, we've brewed our java for the same amount of time in every model—unremarkably 24 hours.
We too learned in our original tests that none of our adept tasters actually liked cold mash very much. They all told us they didn't ordinarily drink it. So in most of our subsequent tests, nosotros called in a group of Wirecutter java enthusiasts for our tasting panel—nosotros call back it's more important to hear from people who might really desire to make cold brew themselves. In those rounds we continued to brew and sense of taste two batches of coffee with each model, one using medium-roast grocery-store beans (since cold brewing tends to mellow harsh flavors, we wanted to run into how each brewer did with a middle-of-the-route java) and ane using more upscale medium-roast beans (to see how well each brewer highlighted the nuanced flavors of nicer coffee). For each round, every taster noted the strength of the mash, any present flavor notes, and whether they really enjoyed drinking their cup.
Our pick: OXO Expert Grips Common cold Brew Coffee Maker
Our option
The OXO Good Grips Common cold Mash Coffee Maker brings out more flavors from beans than other brewers we tried and has the almost thoughtful features for brewing and storing your coffee with ease. The OXO, on rest, produced the most consistent results of all the models nosotros tried, with the least amount of hassle. Some panelists weren't fond of certain flavors it brought out, but others named the OXO's brew their favorite.
Over multiple rounds of testing, the OXO consistently produced the most flavorful loving cup of cold-brew coffee of any model nosotros tested. This was the case both when we used OXO's suggested recipe and dilution ratio (40 ounces of water to 10 ounces of grounds—or four parts water to 1 role grounds by weight—watered down 2.5:ane) and when we used a standard recipe (4.5 parts water to 1 function grounds past weight, watered down iii:1). Using just the metal-mesh filter seems to bring forth a bigger season than using one of the optional paper filters that come with the OXO.
In each of our taste tests, panelists generally agreed that the OXO brew's flavor was the strongest. One noted that it had a "bigger body" than other brews, while others described it equally "punchy" and "kinda potent for a hot day," as well equally "vegetal and earthy." And in our near recent rounds of tasting with Wirecutter staffers, the majority of tasters gave the OXO coffee their highest marks. That said, non everyone loved the strong flavour—some of the coffee professionals who participated in our original tests were unimpressed, although they also told u.s. they didn't particularly similar cold brew in full general. If you call back yous'd adopt a smoother, mellower brew with less acerbity and punch, consider getting the Filtron brewer, our runner-upward, instead.
The OXO was the easiest cold-mash maker to use and clean. To brew, yous fill the upper reservoir with coffee grounds and and then pour h2o into the reservoir's perforated hat. This ensures that your grounds are evenly saturated and allows the coffee to "flower" if it'south freshly ground. Instead of resting directly on peak of the carafe, as in the Filtron maker, in the OXO the reservoir sits on a defended, wide stand. And then when it's time to drain the concentrate, you simply place the glass carafe beneath the brewer and flip a switch to drain your coffee through the OXO's mesh filter, avoiding the messiness of pulling a cork, as on other models. You can even flip the switch back up midstream to pause and cascade yourself some concentrate before it fully drains. When it's time to clean out the machine, you can hands unscrew the base. You can pop out the mesh filter and rinse it off, too. The OXO's carafe is made from thermal-shock-resistant borosilicate glass and has a spout for easy pouring. It looks nicer than a plastic carafe (such as the one that comes with the Filtron brewer) and fits improve on a refrigerator shelf than the alpine jug provided with many competing models. It'south also more helpful than other coffee vessels nosotros tested, thanks to extensive volume markings that permit you hands measure out water for brewing.
Used according to the instructions, the OXO should produce near 24 to 28 ounces of coffee concentrate (although we've sometimes gotten closer to 33 ounces), which OXO suggests diluting using two ounces of coffee concentrate with iv to half dozen ounces of water or milk. By this measure, it yields virtually 12 to 16 servings of cold brew, enough to become you through the week. (If you desire to be able to brew a little more, our runner-up, the Filtron brewer, makes almost 32 ounces of concentrate.)
Since yous'll go out your cold-brew maker out for hours at a time while your coffee grounds steep, information technology's worth because both how the appliance looks and how high it stands. The OXO is sleek, with rounded edges, and nosotros notice it more bonny than the utilitarian-looking Filtron. And at about 15 inches tall when fully set up, it volition fit on the counter nether almost cabinets. The brewer is as well covered by OXO's Improve Guarantee, so if you have any bug with it under normal household use, OXO will supervene upon it or refund yous.
Flaws but not dealbreakers
The OXO Good Grips Cold Brew Coffee Maker is sold with a handful of optional paper filters, which you can use in addition to the reusable mesh filter. The company says these filters aren't required but can help to create a smoother brew with less silt at the bottom. In our 2020 tests with the paper filter in place, nosotros didn't notice any problems with draining, and we haven't heard any concerns about blockage from our long-term testers. But when we used the paper filters in our 2016 tests, the OXO didn't drain properly: It well-nigh immediately slowed to a drip, and we got but a few ounces of concentrate because a silty mudflat of grounds covering the newspaper blocked its menstruation. An OXO representative had confirmed a slower drain fourth dimension with the paper filter in place, but he said he'd never seen the stream completely finish, as information technology did in our original tests. The transmission does recommend using coarse grinds, and so following that instruction (and using a burr grinder instead of a blade grinder) may prevent these issues.
Also, the OXO'southward drinking glass carafe is admittedly less durable than the Filtron'southward plastic one. But if yours breaks, you tin can buy a replacement for $20.
Runner-upwardly: Filtron Cold Water Coffee Concentrate Brewer
Runner-upwardly
The Filtron Common cold Water Coffee Concentrate Brewer consistently produced great-tasting coffee concentrate in our tests, with about gustation testers ranking its brew first or second. It'southward not quite as easy to set upwardly and drain as the OXO, just it's still simple compared with nearly every other model we tested. The resulting concentrate costs less per loving cup than that of any other maker nosotros tried (if yous use the default recipe). Information technology'southward endorsed by Stumptown in their respective java-brewing guide, and it's frequently available for auction in craft-minded coffee shops. Although the Filtron doesn't look as stylish or pack abroad as neatly as our other picks, its blackness plastic is less likely to show coffee stains over time than clear or white models.
In our tests, the Filtron produced a smooth, mellow loving cup of coffee every time, regardless of the beans we used. In our 2019 tests, information technology was the runner-upwardly for sense of taste, while five of the six tasters on our beginning-year panel gave the Filtron cup their highest rating for flavor and iii named it their favorite overall. More than ane barista on our panel at the time noted the Filtron java'south "mild body." I also remarked on its "well-counterbalanced sweet and acidity," and two others detected caramel flavors. We idea it fabricated slightly flat-tasting java compared with the brighter, more exciting brews of the OXO, but some people might appreciate the mellower brew.
The Filtron system is far easier to set upwardly and empty out compared with the popular Toddy system, which calls for timed additions of weighted water and coffee, or compared with the CoffeeSock or French press methods. (Nosotros still found the OXO even easier, though.) A felt filter and a safety stopper fit into the bottom of a black plastic bucket with a handle, and an optional (only recommended) paper filter holds the grounds and water. Y'all permit your mixture sit for 12 to 24 hours (nosotros brewed for a full twenty-four hour period) in the reservoir, after which you put the included carafe underneath it and pull the stopper, leaving it to bleed for about 30 minutes. Cleaning information technology means either plucking out a filter total of grounds or scooping and rinsing the saucepan. After rinsing the felt filter, you store it in water in an included container in the fridge to forbid mold.
That potential for mold is i of the Filtron system's biggest drawbacks; you can easily forget to shop the filter properly. As well, the Filtron'southward big paper filters make its brews smoother, but they are difficult to observe—they're not commonly stocked at stores and are held in limited supply on Amazon.
The Filtron arrangement makes about 32 ounces of concentrate, which you then dilute with water. Filtron suggests a dilution ratio of vi parts h2o to 1 part concentrate, which is plenty for about 32 7-ounce servings of common cold mash. Only we institute that ratio to exist a lilliputian weak. Using a ratio closer to what OXO suggests (2 ounces of concentrate to 4 to vi ounces of water), y'all get at least xvi servings—a lilliputian more than than you can normally brand with the full-size OXO brewer. Filtron also says you lot can resteep the grounds, something OXO doesn't explicitly recommend (though we're sure you could). The concentrate holds for ii weeks in the fridge.
The Filtron doesn't look stylish, but it doesn't await bad, either. It stands xix inches tall when yous've gear up information technology up to drip into the carafe. Only while information technology's brewing, it'due south much shorter and should fit fine on a kitchen counter. Information technology stows compactly, taking up the space of a medium-size mixing bowl in a closet, but it doesn't fit together equally well as the OXO. You don't have to care for the plastic Filtron carafe as gently every bit the glass containers of other brewers, and the black plastic won't discolor with long-term coffee exposure. The Filtron is susceptible to being knocked over while draining because of the narrow carafe it rests on, but that's relatively unlikely.
Also great: OXO Compact Cold Mash Coffee Maker
Too swell
The OXO Compact Cold Mash Coffee Maker is a smaller version of our summit pick. Coffee from the OXO Meaty was stronger than what we brewed with the regular-size OXO just withal well balanced and not overly bitter. We establish the OXO Compact even easier to use than our other picks because information technology has fewer parts and a streamlined design. Information technology takes upwards less space on a counter but of grade makes less coffee.
Coffee from the OXO Compact was concentrated and chocolatey without being overly biting or acidic. It didn't taste as balanced or floral as java brewed with the regular OXO, but nosotros still enjoyed drinking information technology, and overall we didn't discover a huge difference betwixt coffee from the OXO Meaty versus the regular OXO. And, as with all concentrate, you can dilute the coffee to your preference.
Of all the makers we've tested, the OXO Compact is the simplest to use. The reservoir has a fill up line for grounds, and a dot on the borosilicate glass carafe allows yous to measure out 12 ounces of water (24 ounces of water is required for brewing). A perforated lid just like the one on the larger OXO distributes water evenly over the grounds. Afterwards the coffee has steeped, you identify the reservoir on the carafe, depressing a mechanism that opens a valve and allows the java to kickoff draining. OXO calls this the "auto baste role." Equally with the larger OXO, with the Meaty you lot can unscrew the base of operations, dump the grounds, and launder the mesh filter and various parts. The carafe is made from borosilicate glass, simply like the one in the regular OXO.
The OXO Compact calls for vi.five ounces of coffee and 24 ounces of water, whereas the regular OXO calls for 10 ounces of coffee grounds and 40 ounces of water. The Compact should yield effectually 16 ounces of concentrate (we got xix ounces), or about eight servings of coffee, once diluted according to OXO's suggestion of two ounces of concentrate to 4 to six ounces of h2o. Meanwhile, the regular OXO makes at to the lowest degree 24 ounces of concentrate (and we've gotten as much as 33 ounces), yielding about 12 to 16 servings. Each makes nearly the same amount of cold brew per ounce of grounds.
The Compact is 11 inches tall when fully assembled (reservoir on top of carafe), in contrast to the xv-inch regular OXO. It's less imposing on a counter, and the parts likewise nest for like shooting fish in a barrel storage. The Compact's carafe as well has a cork hat lined with silicone, a fashionable touch on compared with the plastic stopper on the regular model. It might be nice if the carafe had more measurement markings like the larger version does, which would be useful if you lot wanted to tinker with your brewing recipe. But we recollect the suggested recipe works well enough that you shouldn't need to do that. You can also always use a measuring cup.
Unlike the larger OXO, the Compact Cold Brew Coffee Maker doesn't include (or work with) newspaper filters. But we didn't miss them, especially since we've had trouble with the newspaper filters clogging the larger OXO in the past.
What most using a French press or other DIY methods?
If you already own a French printing, using it to make common cold brew is relatively simple. And there'due south no reason you can't endeavour a few test batches: Kickoff with a 4.v:ane ratio of h2o to coffee, by weight, and let your grounds steep in the carafe for 12 to 24 hours before plunging. We recommend filtering the liquid one more time through paper or cheesecloth. And then dilute to taste.
The method has its drawbacks, though. The ratios we suggest are a good starting point, just you lot'll take to effigy out the right recipe for your particular press, since information technology probably didn't come with a recommended cold-brew recipe. We've besides establish the resulting brew to be muddier than what you can produce with a cold-brew auto. And the mesh filters aren't the easiest to make clean upward.
You can also find enough of recipes for steeping common cold-brew concentrate in a Bricklayer jar. To filter out the grounds, you lot can apply a strainer, sieve, cheesecloth, or nut-milk bag, often in conjunction with a paper filter. Only again, the process tends to be messier, and the results are typically less consistently succulent than what you tin get from i of our cold-mash picks.
If you already ain a cascade-over setup, you might be interested in the Japanese iced coffee method: Prepare cascade-over using hot water and more java grounds than usual, and baste information technology directly into a glass or carafe full of water ice to cool it immediately. This is a bang-up common cold-mash culling if you don't have fourth dimension to steep your grounds for eight hours or longer. Simply you should know that it produces a more delicately flavored cup, which may or may not arrange your tastes. And information technology doesn't produce a batch of concentrate that y'all tin swallow over time.
The competition
The Espro Cold Mash Maker is a handsome brewer with a functional blueprint—including a cool marble stopper. Unfortunately, the coffee it produced scored at the lesser of our taste tests. Staffers thought the Espro produced coffee with a lot of off-putting flavors—i described the result as tasting "musty." The brewer also requires using Espro'southward big proprietary paper filters, simply information technology comes with just 5, and they're expensive to replace.
The Brim Smart Valve Cold Brew Coffee Maker deposited almost all of its contents onto our counter the starting time fourth dimension nosotros attempted to apply it, creating a dreadful mess. Nosotros were able to brew a malfunction-gratis batch with it later, only to observe that the results tasted weak and flavorless. And when nosotros tried to clean the carafe, which is made from notably thin glass, a piece broke off from the lesser.
In our tests, we found the KitchenAid Cold Brew Coffee Maker harder to utilise than our picks. Its brewing instructions require you lot to lift out the metal basket full of grounds and unfiltered concentrate and balance it at an bending on the top while it drains. We also plant that the coffee from this KitchenAid model was a bit less flavorful and more gritty in texture than nosotros'd like.
The Toddy Cold Brew System is like to the Filtron in appearance, functioning, and resulting coffee, but not as proficient on every front end. The white plastic bucket will take on coffee stains over time, the Toddy system'due south instructions are more complicated than the Filtron's, and the coffee that it made in our tests was not every bit flavorful or full-bodied as the coffee from our main picks.
A CoffeeSock seems to offer an like shooting fish in a barrel way to brand iced coffee, but the cleanup is messier than yous might anticipate, and the coffee in our tests was unimpressive. The mediocre results are non worth the effort of emptying the sock of grounds and then turning it inside out and rinsing off the stickiest granules.
The Common cold Bruer Drip Coffee Maker B1 is the about expensive system we researched, and it makes only 20 ounces of drinkable cold mash (not concentrate) at a time. We found it hard to fix, and information technology didn't drain properly.
The Hario Mizudashi Cold Mash Coffee Pot uses a alpine, cylindrical brew basket that'southward hard to fix and decumbent to messes, and in our tests its common cold-mash coffee was on the watery side.
Sources
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Natalie Wolchover, Why Does Room-Temperature Coffee Taste So Bad?, Alive Science , March 26, 2012
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Tony Naylor, Coffee: how cold-brew became the hot new thing, The Guardian , September 9, 2014
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Common cold Mash Coffee Makers (subscription required), Cook's Illustrated , July 1, 2015
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Anjali Athavaley, Why Making Iced Coffee at Habitation Is Such a Grind (subscription required), The Wall Street Journal , August 11, 2010
-
Laura Moser, Iced-Coffee Makers (subscription required), The Wall Street Journal , September xviii, 2012
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Cold Brewer Round-Upwards, Stumptown Java Roasters , August 24, 2015
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Jeremy Glass, The 9 Best Trader Joe'southward Coffees, Ranked, Thrillist , May 29, 2015
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Cold Brew Preparation Guide, Bluish Canteen Coffee
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Filtron, Stumptown Coffee Roasters
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Jesse Crouse, owner of Tipico Coffee, interview
pickettstrajamoned.blogspot.com
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-cold-brew-coffee-maker/
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