My second batch came out like a smooth liquor, I have been really happy. Really lived up to the hype I love this stuff it will be great this summer. Wow

I've been eyeballing those separatory funnels for a while after finding a nalgene 1 liter at a place that liquidates furniture from failed Silicon Valley startups, but the prices have kept me from biting. (the nalgene funnel was $50)

I tried out the Bruer for a week on a traveling roadshow and was pretty impressed in the results, especially for the size so I may just hold off on the funnel and break down and buy a Bruer sometime later this year.

http://www.amazon.com/American-Educatio ... nel+1000ml
I saw for $36.11 for the 1000ml I forget what I spent on the 2000ml
The filter funnel is a Yama 5 cup replacement syphon top for about $20

This was last brew was a Costa Rica micro lot origin from Sweet Maria's I roasted to a full city plus roast and wow the cold brew is awesome.

I built one last year with parts from the lab supply shop and made an oak frame for it all. If you want to make one, I detailed the process.

Stephens Drip-O-Matic 1000 cold brew dripper

I did go ahead and spring for a Bruer in February when I ran across a $10 off promotion. I like the fact that it doesn't take a lot of space and isn't likely to fall over. My brews have been hit or miss but I think that this is mostly the coffee I've been using and the roasting I've been doing, I haven't always been getting the best out of my greens. When I went to the SCAA Expo this year, I again stopped by the Bruer booth (they say that they're working on a larger model) and tried their cold brew and was impressed that it managed to retain some brightness and snap to it despite being a 100% cold brew method. I decided to brew up a batch with the recently roasted Ethiopia blend of Gedeo washed and Aricha natural and it turned out great. I did do a hot bloom using the following recipe:

Add a rinsed paper filter on the metal filter before adding the coffee. Add the coffee (ground a bit coarser this time than previous attempts) and bloom with twice the ground coffee's weight in hot water, using the hot water to wash down any stray grinds that stuck to the sides. Stir with a plastic chop stick. Slip a rinsed paper filter on top of the grounds and put in the drip valve, adding the ice and water and setting the drip for about 1 drip per second. Brew on the counter.

50 g coffee
100 g hot bloom water
150 g ice
450 g cold water