First and foremost let's just get something out of the way: Cold brew ain't rocket science. It's water, coffee, and time, then filtration. And there is no secret sauce. No brewer on the market can possibly create "better tasting" cold brew than some other brewer given the same input amount of beans, water, and time.
So why the market for these things? It's all about making life easier. You can achieve the exact same effect as any of these devices if you just put your grounds and water in a large jar, and then pour the results through a coffee filter-lined sieve when you're ready. That's a bit of a pain and you'll probably wind up with grounds everywhere, so the job of one of these brewer products is to improve on the process -- presumably making it less messy and more contained.
All that out of the way, on to this system, which I purchased to replace an OXO cold brew maker that I found to be just one small step above awful. (You can find my review there, if you're interested.)
As compared with the OXO:
- Toddy initial price is a bit lower.
- Toddy total cost of ownership, maybe higher - you have no choice but to buy replacement felt filters. With OXO you can use either just the built-in metal filter (which I usually did) or add paper filters (instant clog in my experience).
- Toddy plastic seems quite a bit less durable (it's far softer and thinner).
- Toddy's glass carafe is a bit larger.
- Toddy's bucket does not come with a lid, which seems weird. Luckily, the OXO lid fits perfectly so I'm happy.
- Toddy's filter area is much larger, which is a huge plus -- the OXO filter regularly clogged for me.
- OXO's awful grommet design means it often leaks and there is nothing you can do about it. Toddy's cork doesn't have that problem, but you do need to make sure to give it a nice twist to tighten it up.
- To release the coffee with OXO, you flip a switch. With Toddy, you have to pull out a cork. That part, quite bluntly, just sucks about Toddy.
- Cleanup, probably slightly easier with Toddy.
- Coffee quality, identical, except that the Toddy filter is giving me much cleaner results because I'm using the felt filter vs the OXO metal filter.
So which is better between the two? OXO feels like a higher quality product and has a somewhat better user experience with its switch release mechanism. But, the fact that I can control whether or not the Toddy will leak, makes me very happy. (I certainly will take that control.) And the fact that coffee actually flows when I pull the cork, and that I no longer worry about clogs, really brings it home. Toddy wins, by far.
A few tips and observations:
A) Put the cork in before you put the filter in. Otherwise there is a chance that the cork will push the filter up and out of position a bit. If this happens, you're getting a bunch of grounds in your finished coffee.
B) When you put the filter in, you'll have to press it into place around the edges. It's better if the center of the filter, as you're looking at it, is convex rather than concave. (In other words, it should arc over the cork, not down toward it.) This seems to help it stay in place. (See (A) for why I think it dislodged for me, the one time it did.)
C) After you're done draining the coffee, pick the bucket straight up just a bit, and then tilt it from side to side a few times over the carafe. Reason, there is a design flaw where a small amount of coffee pools in the little section where the cork plugs in. I found this out the first time I brewed, when I removed the bucket and it leaked coffee all over my floor as I was carrying it to the sink.
D) You're supposed to store the filter in the freezer in between uses. It freezes hard as a rock. Stick it in a bowl of water for five minutes before you attempt to do anything with it.
E) The instructions for both Toddy and OXO say to make a concentrate, but that never produces a really GREAT cup of coffee for me. I recommend brewing at full strength. (I like a 12.5:1 water:coffee ratio for cold brew.) I also recommend a "hot bloom", whereby you pour a small amount of hot water on the grounds first to help them bloom, leave that for a couple of minutes, then follow up with the remaining water in your formula, cold. I like a 20-24 hour total brew time.
So is this better than a jar and a filter? Yes, but not by a huge margin. I think it's the best system currently on the market, but the market is full of not very good choices. Toddy's design is very old, and it shows. If the company were to update a few things it could create an actual winner instead of something that's merely "good enough."
All in all, recommended but with reservations.
| Manufacturer | TODDY |
|---|---|
| Part Number | ES9600 |
| Item Weight | 1.48 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 7.25 x 7.25 x 12.5 inches |
| Item model number | THM |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Size | 1 EA |
| Color | White |
| Style | Standard |
| Material | Plastic |
| Item Package Quantity | 1 |
| Number Of Pieces | 1 |
| Special Features | Manual |
| Included Components | Set includes brewing container with handle, glass decanter with lid, 2 reusable filters, 1 rubber stopper, set of instructions, and recipe guide |
| Batteries Included? | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
| Warranty Description | 1 year from date of purchase when purchased New from an authorized distributor |
