Review: Is a Gorgeous Pour-Over Coffee Maker Worth $500? by Stephen Pulvirent
... read the full review here.Coffee is important. And when you make it in the morning, two elements are key: flavor and simplicity.
The Ratio Eight coffee machine makes delicious pour-over coffee with as little complication or fussing as the one-button plastic thingy you find in moderately priced hotel rooms. On top of that, it looks beautiful and has an elegant approach to brewing. But is it worth $480?
Automatic Pour-Over
The Ratio Eight looks pretty familiar if you’ve ever used a basic drip coffee brewer. It’s not reinventing the wheel, but rather trying to improve on the no-fuss ritual of cranking out a daily pot of hot coffee to get you going. Technically it’s making pour-over-style coffee instead of traditional drip, which yields clearer coffee without as much grit or oil.
As you can see, it will look nice on your counter. The body is all aluminum and has been blasted to a slightly rough-textured finish that feels really nice in your hands, and the two supporting arms are wrapped in carved black walnut. Both the carafe and the water tank are borosilicate glass (the generic name for Pyrex), and the former has a built-in cork bottom, so you don’t need a trivet to put under it when you rest it somewhere. From top to bottom, the Ratio Eight is a thing of beauty and looks every bit the part of a $480 coffee machine. I was giddy as I set it up.
The whole thing is the brainchild of Mark Hellweg, who’s probably best known as the founder of online coffee retailer Clive Coffee. The operation is based in Portland, Ore., (of course it is) and the Ratio Eight is actually made there, too. Hellweg has definitely succeeded in creating a coffee maker that you won’t want to shove in a cabinet when you’re done with it, but the real test is the liquid that ends up in your cup.
Until the brewing actually began, I was nothing but impressed with the Ratio Eight. The blooming goes smoothy enough, but once that spout starts firing off at full steam, a ton of condensation builds up on the metal body and drips everywhere. Occasionally, water would hit so hard that actual coffee grounds splashed out around the machine. I want to drink coffee with my feet up on my couch, not sling it back as I wipe up my countertops.
But that coffee—boy, is it great. If you’re used to drinking normal drip or French press coffee, you’ll immediately notice how clear the liquid is and how little grit or oil settles around the edges of your cup. Plus, it’s much easier drinking than anything espresso-based. It’s pretty much exactly what I want when I think of a basic cup of coffee. The only problem is that the hour-glass-shaped carafe has no insulation, so by the time I’ve finished my first cup, the rest of the pot is cold. Microwaving my craft-brewed cup of joe just doesn’t feel right.
... read the full review here.
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