In the world of coffee makers that brew a plain cup of black coffee, Balmuda’s coffee maker, “The Brew,” is exorbitant. It’s essential to address the $700 price tag right away, because for many people that will (understandably) be off-putting. But Balmuda’s “The Brew” is the only push-button coffee maker I’ve ever used that brews coffee that tastes like the $9.00 price tag at my local Blue Bottle store. All it takes is for me to walk twenty feet from my bed to Fellow grinder OdeGrind the coffee beans, throw them into the Balmuda dripper and press the button.
In the five years since I started down the murky path of making specialty coffee at home, I’ve had all sorts of drip coffee maker from the classics Harry’s V60 down Aeropress to the chic Le Creuset ceramic situation. I bought it with controlled temperature gooseneck electric kettles and those with built-in analog thermometers that are heated on the stove. Grinders, Librafilters, insulated carafes — it adds up. And that’s before we get to my $25-a-bag bean habit.
Did all that fancy equipment make a cup of coffee as good as the ones I got at my favorite specialty coffee shops? Sometimes! And sometimes I got sour, watery coffee that would immediately curdle if I put a jug of milk near it. And of course, if I wanted to make even two diminutive cups of coffee at once, I needed two drippers, two scales, etc., etc.
At the end of the day, I was spending a lot of time, money, and mental energy on coffee that was very inconsistent. Because despite my passion for coffee, I am not a barista. I am a novelist with a nine-to-five job who wakes up at six in the morning to churn out two thousand words of high fantasy before shifting gears to edit reviews of kitchen products. For that to work, I need a cup of coffee that ignites joy in my original soul to be on my desk within ten minutes of rolling out of bed.
The machine makes a pleasant ticking sound, emitting dramatic little bursts of steam. I can walk away, brush my teeth, and organize my pens and notebooks. When the brewing time is up, the machine plays a lovely song and I know it’s time to pour some coffee and get to writing.
Brew combines the ritualistic elements of a pour-over with the ease of a drip coffee maker. It doesn’t matter if I press the start button, if my husband does, if I slept for five, six, or ten hours the night before: my coffee tastes exactly how I want it, every day, without fail. The 17-ounce carafe makes exactly the amount of coffee my husband and I can have from a sensible 8.5-ounce cup. All my cleanup involves throwing the dripper and carafe in the dishwasher and composting the leftover grounds. And at 5.5 x 11.7 inches, it’s slim enough that I don’t sacrifice valuable counter space to have it at home.
