Coffee is a drink people take seriously, and go to great lengths in order to achieve the perfect cup. Bonaverde, the Kickstarter phenom that took its sweet time coming to market, is betting that freshness will be its key to success.
While many coffee devices out there will give you exact control over water temperature, or grind size, Bonaverde’s pitch is that you need to take it back to the bean. A raw, green coffee bean, to be more precise. The Berlin is an all-in-one device that roasts, grinds and brews your coffee. The idea being that the sooner you brew the coffee after its roasted, the fresher and better it will taste.
But that freshness has a price. The Berlin is $800, requires a RFID-tagged pouch of green coffee beans to even work, and takes about 20 minutes to deliver your first cup of coffee. Update: As a commenter points out, there is an app (available via Facebook Messenger) that will let you roast any green bean. This option was not mentioned in the materials we received.
So, is it worth it? That’s for you to decide. To help, we put a Berlin through its paces. You can watch our video of the Bonaverde Berlin in action below:
For a one day old article I’m surprised that it’s missing so much information. I’m in the U.S. and have a Berlin and find that with the addition of the Concierge, I can: 1, roast any green beans (however I prefer the Bonaverde easy all in one packaging), and 2, can try different profiles and not use the RFID tag at all. I’ve experimented with mixing and matching the various recipes with one type of bean and each recipe produces a different result. Everything from bright and acidic to deep and rich. One thing remains the same, however, the cup of coffee is smooth, not bitter, and can stand up to the real coffee test. That being to take whatever coffee, water, and preparation you currently like, make it, and after drinking a cup stick the remainder in the fridge. Pull it out one to five days later and nuke it. It should, and will from this machine, taste exactly the same provided you used good water. If the thought of nuking your coffee after leaving it in the fridge for a couple days sounds gross, then you are making bad coffee.
Thanks for the note, Mike. I’ve updated the article with info about the Facebook app. The coffee is smooth, it’s just not a revelation to our tastes. And the way we consume coffee in our house, it doesn’t stick around long enough to be fridged and nuked.