Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsBoom: brilliant design
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2019
You can read the CNET review, or delve through the internet to find Oxo's design notes on how they tried many prototypes to determine the perfect drip hole configuration. Or you can simply try it out to come to the same conclusion: it has a brilliant design that makes a consistent, nearly foolproof (see below) cup of coffee. I love this thing. My wife, who is coffee-making-challenged and balks at my Aeropress, loves this thing. We got one at work now. Everyone is starting to use it because of the ease of use. With a normal pour-over you tediously stand over the grounds nursing it, second guessing the rate of pour, evenly distributing the water, how much water to add, and whether you are swirling enough. This is just fire and forget, do something else for a couple minutes, and bang - great cup of coffee.
A couple tips:
* I started pre-wetting the paper filters (put filter in first and run hot water over it) based on a tip from a pro. I know, it seems a bit snobbish, but many filters have a cardboard taste that gets transmitted into your java. If you want proof, taste the water that has run through a filter.
* I always bloom the grounds by wetting them for 30 sec before brewing. This is apparently good for releasing CO2 in the coffee that might give a bitter taste, but it also helps with the water distribution from the drip holes so that the coffee is evenly saturated. If you don't do this, you'll notice some coffee bunching up around the sides of the cone that is still dry and hasn't brewed properly.
