Keurig sales are down for a lot of reasons, but it has little to do with the fundamental idea behind a coffee machine that quickly and conveniently makes a single cup of coffee at a time. Around this time last year, Bruvelo launched a Kickstarter campaign for its connected, single-cup coffee maker and did very well — before creator Dustin Sell pulled the plug.
Though he’d raised nearly $150,000, he realized it was going to cost far more to produce the final product. Now he’s back with a simplified — but still smart — version on Kickstarter. It’s aimed at coffee aficionados who still want a simple machine to do the work for them.
The device’s pour-over system has a built-in grinder — it’s meant to work with fresh-ground beans instead of pods. (There’s definitely some pod-hate happening in the Bruvelo’s Kickstarter video.) In fact, it won’t work with pre-ground beans at all. The hopper holds the exact amount you need for a single cup, and the machine senses how much water you’re adding, so it’s always the right level. The Bruvelo brews for four minutes at 199 degrees Fahrenheit, right in the ideal temperature range of 195 to 205 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Coffee Association. An accompanying iOS and Android app lets you start the machine from bed.
This time around, the machine does away with the touchscreen. It’s still an expensive piece of equipment, though. It’s expected to retail for $419, though Kickstarter backers get theirs for $299. There’s still quite a lot to finalize, and the machines won’t ship until October 2016. Also, Sell is making sure he gets enough cash this time around: He’sc concluded that the project needs $975,000 to be fully funded. It’s not even halfway there yet, but there are still 38 days to go.
