hey all,

sad to say that my coffee hobby has come to setting aside hundreds of dollars and seeking brewing advice from strangers online. thank you for indulging me. god help me if any of my friends/family/acquaintances discover this post.

right now my set up includes a kitchenaid burr ginger (seems decent), chemex 3 cup, oxo scale, and a stagg kettle atop of a electric stove. I make approx 400-450 mL of coffee every day, transfer it to a thermos, and head out to work by 7AM.

the coffee is great but the time and consideration in the early morning is a bit tedious. i have to time the water reaching 205 and perform the pour-over amidst preparing for work. i anticipate in the future that I will be less patient with my current daily coffee routine.

therefore, i am trying to automate the process. i have cash saved up for two different solutions possible solutions. if anyone has any insight/advice, I'd greatly appreciate your time.

1) upgrade to stagg ekg+ kettle and upgrade the scale. the most difficult part of the AM is getting my water to the appropriate temp and keeping it there throughout the brewing process. this involves a lot of time going to and from the stove. the scale wouldn't really help the routine at all but would be a welcome upgrade

2) buy the ratio eight. looks like a nice machine but I am skeptical that it is as good as performing a pour over manually. there seems to be a dearth of adequate reviews (aside from the review on this forum) but it seems to please those who use it daily. I would greatly appreciate perspective from an owner of this brewer.

thanks again for reading this post.

How about using an immersion device such as a French press or Clever Coffee Dripper?

A bonavita brewer works great and tastes no different than the pour overs that I do. Use good water and proper ratios with a good grinder.

I was in pretty much the same boat as you. Boiling a pot on the stove, putting my Chemex on the scale, watching the Acaia app, pouring, etc. was a lot of work, and totally nontransferable to my wife.

So I bought a Ratio Eight and the quality is legit. I admit that I don't have the most advanced palate, but to me it's indistinguishable from my best hand poured brews and a lot more consistent. Build-wise, it's a rock solid work of art. Anyways you can read reviews and see all of that. But for me it's a no brainer since my wife can make good coffee while I'm gone on work trips.

One thing to note is that most people who give bad reviews of automated pourover machines (whether Ratio, or others) generally are using substandard grinders.

My wife has made a stovetop yama siphon brew every workday morning for years. She brews it and takes it in a thermos. I bought it at greenbeanery,

Ratio Eight is an excellent choice. I have one and love it. You will then be grinder limited in ultimate quality, but if you like your current pourover, Ratio Eight will not disappoint.

There are other more compact, cheaper drip makers which others should suggest, that will make equally good coffee.

The large size Clever Coffee Dripper is another of my favorites. I use it with the #4 bamboo filters, which impart little taste, even when I neglect to prerinse them.

My preferred method is to run coarse grounds through my espresso machine set at low pressure with a paper filter in the bottom of the basket.
When dialled in it's equal or better to any other method I've tried.

johnny4lsu wrote:A bonavita brewer works great and tastes no different than the pour overs that I do. Use good water and proper ratios with a good grinder.

+1 For the Bonavita SCAA approved brewer.
Better shower head than Technivorm. Less than half the price of a Ratio Eight.

Don't bother with the insulated carafe if like most here you don't let coffee sit long once brewed.

Also check out the Breville Precision brewer and OXO Barista Brain.

I just purchased the original Bonavita BV1900TS as an amazon warehouse deal for $60. That's about 1/10th of the cost of the Ratio. And the Ratio does make really good coffee too.