I joined the forum to ask you coffee wizards about the Pique Cold Brew prototype:
http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/21/pique-cold-brew/#/

In short, this system uses a vacuum to pull air out of the coffee/water slurry - as they say to "open up" the coffee. They say it allows water to contact the coffee on a microscopic level, "increasing the extraction."

Vacuum infusion is nothing new - but I am trying to understand it's effect in the coffee context. There are the videos online of people using the Nitrous Whips for quick coffee extraction, but no real analysis from a reputable source. The Pique designers claim that this is a "10-Minute Cold Brew", but there are so many differing opinions of what a cold brew should be (i.e, hot-brew over ice, 24-hour extraction in fridge, 12-hour extraction on countertop) and I am not sure where this one falls?

I've read on the internet and on the forums about how coffee infusion and cavitation, but I haven't found a decent explanation in the context of extraction? How can you control the extraction with this type of method? How would this extraction and taste compare to the conventional idea of "cold-brew" which is the long steep in a Toddy or in your fridge? Does the extraction only happen at the end of the process when the slurry is depressurized?

Lastly, is it even fair to try and make a comparison between vacuum extracted coffee and long-steep cold brew?

This machine makes cold brew coffee in less than 10 minutes, Tastes great!!
http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/21/pique-cold-brew/

Another crowd-funded coffee gadget, which uses a vac pump to infuse water into finely ground coffee.


...merged topic with thread on same subject by moderator...

i feel like some of these ideas might be unfortunately infringing on BKON's RAIN patented technology. http://bkonbrew.com/rain/

From the beginning of this article:

"Cold brew coffee is delicious. It's about two-thirds less acidic than coffee brewed with hot water, which results in a cleaner, smoother and less bitter taste."

A less acidic brew results in less bitter taste? Huh?

I'll test this concept myself (I have a commercial chamber vac) but something tells me it's going to be another failed coffee project.

Vac pressure is going to pull what remaining air out of the grind and fully saturate the brew, but stirring will do just as well, I think. I am doubtful vac'ing your coffee is going to do anything to actualy speed up cold brewing.

I would bet a dollar that the cold brew this will produce would be no different from stirring cold fine grounds for a bit in an aero press.

I really am tired of this massive crowd-sourced coffee gadget trend. How many of them actually made it to market and of those how many of them actually deliver on their promises?

I wonder if you keep the coffee slurry under pressure for around 30 minutes, instead of 10, if that would improve the extraction and lead to something more similar to a traditional cold steep.

Personally, I think it is wrong to call this "cold brew" in the literal sense. We have folks who enjoy hot blooms over ice, 24-hour steep in fridge, 12-hour steep on the counter, hot brewed and put in fridge (bleckk!), and a myriad of other methods.

My theory is that it is difficult to replicate the 12-24 hour cold brew steep using one of these methods (when comparing body, mouthfeel, balance, acidity, etc..). But then again, I think back to the chemistry of solutes and solubles and my opinion gets put on its head! That's why I've been on the search for some definitive answers to these cold extraction methods.

frank828 wrote:i feel like some of these ideas might be unfortunately infringing on BKON's RAIN patented technology. http://bkonbrew.com/rain/

What do you think of these infused extractions? Can you even compare the extraction between an infusion method and a slow steep (referring to cold brew).

well i'm sure it'll make a different tasting product. concepts seem similar to me. i guess we'll find out if there's ever a patent dispute.

here are the patents
http://www.google.com/patents/US8383180
http://www.google.com/patents/US8586117

weebit_nutty wrote:
I really am tired of this massive crowd-sourced coffee gadget trend.

I'm not. Nobody is forcing me to buy it and these campaigns are helping to drive innovation in a market that has been more or less stagnant for far too long.

Mr. Coffee was a huge innovation in 1972. My Brazen+, arguably one of the more technologically advanced drip brewers on the market, isn't much more than a gussied up Mr. Coffee. I'm eager to these projects pop up.