Brewing coffee is complicated, or it can be anyway. Even two brewing devices that look strikingly similar, for a variety of reasons, may come with completely different brew recipes. Take the v60 and the Chemex for instance. Both are conical brewers but thatโs about where the similarities end. Thatโs not to say you canโt wing it with either and make a tasty cup of coffee, but if youโre trying to maximize the flavor potential in your brew, you may have to be a bit more particular.
Thereโs a new brewer, though, that was designed around entirely around simplicity and ease of use. Itโs called, appropriately enough, the Simplify Brewer (stylized SIMPLIFY) and itโs live on Kickstarter now.
When I say simple, I mean sim-ple. The brew recipe for the latest pour-over device is: pour water in the center for 30 seconds and then wait 60 seconds for it to drain. Voila! No bloom, no stirring, no concentric circles, nothing.
The making of the Simplify Brewer, on the other hand, is anything but. Designed by Ryo John Ito, the founder of Japanโs Bathtub Coffee, the Simplify brewer took a year and a half to fine-tune. Making a simple brewer, it turns out, isnโt so easy. Similar in style to that of a flat-bottom brewer a la Kalita Wave (and in fact the suggested filters to use with the brewer are Kalita 185s), the Simplify incorporates a few new design elements, per the Kickstarter page, that promote quality, consistency, and ease of use. Simplifyโs squared body has a two-pronged effect: minimizing the contact between the filter and the brewer โ[maximizes] the flow rate,โ thus increases extraction, as well as allowing air to insulate the brew, allow for greater heat retention. The Simplify brewer also feature a 40mm hole at the bottomโ” bigger than any other traditional brewersโโto keep from restricting the flow rate.
With just under four weeks to go in the Kickstarter campaign, the Simplify Brewer has nearly raised half of its $16,800 goal. Assuming that goal is reached, would-be backers can snag a Simplify Brewer of their own for $26 (ยฅ2,720), 15% of the retail price. Or, if you want to split the costs with a friend, you can get two for 30% off, or $42 total (ยฅ4,480).
In a progressively more complicated world, I must say it is quite refreshing to see a brewer built entirely around the idea of and optimized for simplicity. For more information or to fund the campaign, visit the Simplify Brewer Kickstarter page.
Zac Cadwaladerย is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas.ย Read more Zac Cadwaladerย on Sprudge.
