As one of the many office drones condemned to a long day of staring at the computer screen, the only thing that keeps me through the day is the calming aroma of a good cup of coffee.
This Brewover Kickstarter project is perfect for the coffee enthusiast. Two Australian companies came together with an idea to create a 3 in 1 coffee device capable of making pour over coffee, cold drip coffee, and cold brew. The portable multipurpose device took the team a year of prototyping to finally make it to the crowdfunding platform at Kickstarter.
The device is aptly named the Brewover since it combines two different coffee making methods – the “cold brew” and “pour over”. Its simplistic design means that it does not require a twenty page manual to figure out. In fact, the video on the Kickstarter project should be more than enough to get you started!
3 Nationalities, 1 Brewover
While the people behind this product shares the same passion towards coffee, they come from three different countries. Ms. Flora Lau was born and raised in a small unheard of town in Sarikei, Sarawak. The ex-Malaysian now holds a PR in Australia and lives together with her husband and business partner, Mr. Simon Lucas who yields from England. The couple have been in the coffee business since early 2009, and their multi-award-winning company, Manna Beans, boasts more than 100 different Specialty Single origins. 20% of Mannabeans‘ profits is donated to people in need, so head on over and have a look if you’re a coffee lover.
Meanwhile, Brendan from Bean Green, who is also the sole person in the company, originates from Australia, and has been a well-established figure in the specialty coffee industry for 14 years. Bean Green prides itself with supplying specialty green coffees.
Simon, was the man with the idea.
“He (Simon) realized that most domestic users couldn’t afford and wouldn’t want to purchase cold drip coffee makers which often cost hundreds of dollars,” said Flora.
“We decided to try and improve methods that were also very prevalent in the specialty coffee industry (like pour over) and came up with a product capable of combining both “cold brew” and “pour over” methods that is affordable for everyone!”
They then partnered with Brendan from Bean Green and started going through numerous designs and prototypes to get to the product we see on the Kickstarter today.
What It Does
According to Flora, “The idea of Brewover is to bridge the gap on what is not available in the market at the moment. What Brewover can make in one single device, you would normally pay hundreds of dollars to buy 2 different devices for the same functionality. In addition, the 2nd method (control flow pour over) is not even available in the market.”
“This is an innovative new method with which we have already won awards in Australia with (Coffee in Good Spirits Award).”
Cold Brew technique
The Brewover is able to make coffee in three ways. Cold drip coffee is made by slowly filtering the coffee through a period of 2 to 10 hours, which allows the coffee to retain its flavour without the acidic oils being extracted at higher temperatures. This creates coffee with a smoother finish that’s not achievable using espresso machines. The best part? Cold brew can be kept in the fridge for 2 weeks without losing it’s flavour, making it the perfect alternative for an incredible healthier iced coffee. (No more Starbucks?)
Pour Over Technique
The second method is more common among coffee lovers. Pour over technique is arguably the simplest way to draw out the flavour from coffee beans. The control valve in the Brewover is an elegant hour glass design that has not been seen in the market. The filtered coffee highlights the unique flavours of the coffee beans.
Immersion Cold Brew Technique
The Immersion Cold Brew Technique, according to its Kickstarter page, “can be performed by immersing the ground coffee for 12-18 hours in the jug filled with cold water and then filtering back through the funnel with cold water and ground coffee with the valve closed and then releasing through the valve again after 12-18 hours”.
Prototypes and Sleepless Nights
On top of the Brewover project, Brendan, Simon and Flora were all responsible for most (if not all) of the operations of their companies. The entire project, from the initial idea to what we see today, took about 1 year. In the meantime, they had also sourced from 5 different manufacturers and employed marketing and industrial design companies to assist them in various aspects of the project.
“What is available in the market to make cold brew coffee ranged from Aud125 ($120) onwards,” shared Flora. Meanwhile, a normal pour over machine would be more than $50. A three in one product is a first in the market and they are fairly optimistic on the Kickstarter’s success.
“Social media plays an important role as even with a great product you need the exposure, otherwise people don’t even know. This is why we have been organizing press releases and launching parties alongside assistance from many other supporting coffee companies and affiliates within the specialty coffee industry in Australia. We thank everyone for their support.”
If the Kickstarter campaign is successful, they plan to have the products ready by as early as May 2015.
Backup Plans
In the event that the Kickstarter does not manage to reach the required minimal funding, the team still plans to bring Brewover to the market. “However,” Flora told Vulcan Post. “Without the necessary funding aid we hope to gain from this Kickstarter project, it will take significantly longer to achieve.”
“Our current Kickstarter target of $35,000 will allows us to pay for moulds and manufacturing costs as well as all compliance and shipping costs needed to get the Brewover to that market and fulfil all the pledges.” She further added that the price available through the Kickstarter is roughly half the recommended retail.
Personally, I love the idea of cold drip coffee that I can bottle and keep in the fridge to drink throughout the day. Also, imagine doing the immersion cold brew with ground coffee. You’d be able to smell that coffee the entire day.
This collaboration between green coffee supplier Bean Green and coffee roasters Manna Beans have less than two months left to meet their goal of $35,000. At the time of this release, it has had almost half of that goal achieved with over $17,000 of funds pledged.
Have a look and see if you’re willing to invest in a Brewover. I’ll be right here, drinking my coffee.
