If there was a recurring coffee theme at the 2017 International Home and Housewares Show, it was cold brew. The process is long but worth waiting for if you like a mellower cup of coffee. You don’t actually need a fancy machine to make it at home: The New York Times recommends a mason jar and coffee filter, sieve, or cheesecloth. Still, there was no shortage of appliances ready to help out on display at the show.
In addition to cold brew, there were other gadgets to help make your kitchen into your own personal Starbucks, and here is our roundup:
Buy Now ($80)
A Kickstarter project from back in the day (2013), the Bruer is designed to make a non-concentrated version of cold brew. Like other cold brew methods, it takes 12 to 24 hours for the water to drip through the grounds, and the resulting liquid can stay in your fridge for two weeks. Its glass and silicone parts are dishwasher safe, though there are quite a few of them. The whole process isn’t necessarily complicated, and it may take some getting used to. A Milo Ventimiglia-esque gentleman guides you through the steps in this video.
Buy Now ($150)
Another coffee product from Kickstarter, Fellow’s EKG is an electric pour-over kettle for enthusiasts in search of the perfect bloom. It’s an electric take on the company’s earlier kettle, which has a spout and handle made for more precise pouring. The EKG comes with a base that heats the water to a desired temperature, a feature both tea and coffee lovers will enjoy. (Green tea is better suited to lower temperatures and shorter brewing times than black tea, for example.) You’ll have to wait a while for this one, though, as it’s not expected to ship until October 2017.
KitchenAid KCM4212 Cold Brew Coffee Maker ($130)
Yep, KitchenAid is getting in on the cold-brew trend. Made to fit into your fridge — thanks to its cube shape — the glass-and-steel device makes 28 ounces of concentrate at a time, using coarsely ground coffee, in 12 to 24 hours. It has a spout for easy pouring and a handle for carrying. KitchenAid says its reusable stainless steel steeper is easy to clean. It’s available now in retailers such as Target.
Arzum Okka Turkish Coffee Machine ($250)
Talk about concentrated: The Okka doesn’t make cold brew, but it does make potent little cups of Turkish coffee. Usually made in a special pot called a cezve, Turkish coffee is thick and strong. With the Okka, you dump the grounds and sugar (if you like) in, and press a button. Within a minute or so, you have a cup of delicious coffee, prepared much more quickly than the traditional preparation. You can currently find the machine on Amazon, and Arzum is currently looking for distribution in U.S. stores.
Capresso Froth Control ($80)
There are lots of frothers on the market, but Capresso says its Froth Control is the first that lets you use chips or chunks of chocolate for hot cocoa. The device has four settings, for cold froth, hot froth, hot milk, or hot chocolate. You can dump your chips in along with the milk and make a 14-ounce cup of cocoa. (It can handle 10 ounces of milk if you’re going to froth.) It takes several minutes to make the hot chocolate, but the result is foamier than in the microwave or on the stovetop.
De’Longhi Dinamica Fully Automatic Espresso Machine ($900)
One of the more versatile (and expensive) coffee makers at the IHHS was De’Longhi’s Dinamica. It’s an espresso machine that also lets users make iced coffee. Though the coffee comes out hot, its “Brew Over Ice” preset makes a double shot of extra-strength espresso so it doesn’t get overly diluted when you add ice. The machine also has a frother and integrated stainless steel burr grinder, so it can make practically any kind of espresso drink you can think of. The Dinamica will be available in September 2017.
Dash Rapid Cold Brew Coffee Maker (TBD)
Still in a prototype phase, the Dash Rapid Cold Brew Coffee Maker promises to take the 12- to 24-hour process down to six minutes. The idea is backed by Storebound, which is behind devices such as the PancakeBot. Using something called “cold boil” and lots of filtration, the Dash would deliver the same low-acid, smooth coffee as some of the slower devices above, according to Storebound. Pricing and availability have yet to be determined.
