Hario Cold Brew Coffee Wine Bottle, 650ml, Brown

It’s not that I’m a big fan of cold brew, however, I bought this for two reasons: 1) I wanted to prepare coffee the night before, without a lot of hassle, so that when I get up at 0430, I can quickly have coffee at the ready, mindlessly; and 2) As cold brewing can mute certain types of flavors and aspects of coffee, I wanted something that would enable me to use up the not-so-great coffees that we occasionally try because I hate to waste.

And by the way, this is specified as a cold brew for coffee, so if you use it for something else, then you really have no basis upon which to complain….

This is a beautiful bottle, and it makes me happy just looking at it. It comes apart easily, and when together, its snug silicone top safely holds and prevents leaking; overall, a pretty great Japanese design. However, my one mini gripe is how the filter fits into the cap. If you can see by my photos, the fitting is easy- match the extensions on top of the filter to the openings under the top, then turn; however, if you turn 180/360 degrees, your extensions come right back to the openings. Granted, this is easy to understand, and one would have to be a putz to swing it ’round and lose the attachment, but, I think it would be nice to have a stopper at a quarter turn because my occasional obsession-compulsiveness has to re-insert or wiggle it just to be sure.

I’ve been making cold brew a few times a week since receiving this. I even made cold-brew tea. Frigging fantastic. I used some Ready Brew Pouches of a coffee brand that we found to be absolutely horrible, tasting old, and completely unlike their whole bean version, as I wanted to see if it would enable these to be drinkable; I did say I hate to waste. Anyhoo, it worked. The coffee’s brashly undrinkable qualities (when brewed as a normal hot brew) were considerably mellowed and muted to where it was smooth, also not enabling the old oils to be as potent on the palate. We also had a bunch of medium-roast coffees that we didn’t much care for, and putting them through the cold brew process helped to calm the zing and tangy qualities that we didn’t like, thereby allowing the coffee flavor to better shine… for us, that is.

I’ve also make a couple of batches with a heavier hand of grinds (filled the filter to the top) to make for a more concentrated coffee so that I can have more cups of coffee by just diluting my pours. I am not a big fan of searingly hot coffee, btw, but I will pour some of my cold brew into my cup and microwave it for about 30-60 seconds to cozy it up.

Cold-brew teas work well, too, though one must take into account longer brewing times based upon the quality of the tea. My English breakfast tea was good with an overnight brew, but my green tea needed about 12 hours to get the flavor I wanted.

I haven’t had any issue with washing the bottle or its parts, as my hands fit completely into the bottle, whereas my husband’s do not. A soft bottle brush can remedy that, but just don’t bang the sides too hard; it is a glass bottle. I just use a soft, soapy sponge for the rest of the components, folding it in half to fit into the filter portion, or use your bottle brush.

Well, I hope y’all enjoy your beautiful cold brew bottle as much as I do!

Easy to use, easy to clean with a simple, elegant design.

It is easy to use. Just put tea leave or coffee inside. And, wait for 12 hours (I prefer). Then, enjoy

I have used many different cold brew systems to brew coffee and they never create the brew I’m wanting. Usually leaving behind a lot of coffee grounds. This does not do this. The mesh is so fine it doesn’t leak grounds. The flavors are perfect!

I’ve been waiting for a warm spell to try this thing out, and I’m very impressed one week in.

First, some background: I switched over from Nespresso pods to hario pour overs about 3 years ago, and found the whole transition rewarding, in terms of flavor and experience. It expanded my interest in coffee preparation in an enjoyable way — bean type, grind level, ground amounts, blooming, pouring technique, etc. It was also nice to develop a calming morning coffee routine, a little early morning moment of zen. Pouring the water, watching the drips, the floating grounds in changing water levels – very meditative.

But, simply dumping my hot pour overs into a cup of ice was rather disappointing — totally ruined the richness, was impossible to calibrate everything. Even tried freezing my coffee into ice cubes! Enter this simple little device — I’ve never enjoyed iced coffee more. It retains that level of control over the brewing process that pour overs provide, but is way less involved — pushing your prep from morning to the day before, and making things a bit easier.

For anyone that is 1) ok integrating a small little fold into their daily schedule 2) has faced frustrations in making a solid iced coffee and 3) is curious to get more into coffee culture — buying this item is a no brainer.

Now onto some personal tips and observations related to other comments:

1) Cleaning – this does take a bit of effort and dedication. If you totally ignore the filter altogether it will eventually clog, stop working effectively and/or get gross. From some research and experience, I would NOT recommend putting the filter into the dishwasher. Rather, every 2-3 days, I put both parts of the filter into a large cup, pitcher or bowl filled with boiling water and a drop of organic/gentle (Mrs. Meyers, Method) dish soap. You don’t need to boil a full pot, just your regular tea pot, and top off with hot tap water. This seems to be working well and is what I’ve gleaned from other users. Also, you will need a space to store/keep the item when not in use/waiting for next use — I would recommend laying it out to dry as opposed to having to dry it and/or store it with any moisture inside.

2) Upper Rubber Portion – this is here mostly to serve as a holder for the filter. I’m speaking of the larger wine-bottle shaped part, not the cap. So, when pouring, do NOT just take the cap off, remove this whole piece – just makes keeping things clean way easier. Some people have complained about this piece making it harder to store in the fridge, but once brewed, you don’t need this part. I’ve been looking into whether this carafe size is standard and might fit a flat rubber cap (updates to follow).

3) Servings/Amounts – I have been using about 3 flat Hario scoopers and filling up to the 700ml mark. This makes about 2 larger iced coffees or 3 smaller ones (on the strong side), pending how much ice you use. So, if you want to make a lot of coffee, you’ll have to do it in batches, and then store it in another container. I believe Hario has a larger version (maybe an older model) but even that is not that much bigger. all in all, this makes enough for 1-2 people depending on the situation.

An odd downside here, say you’re having a slow morning or want more than your usual dosage, well you’re @#$% out of luck, as you’ll have to wait at least 8 hours. Because of this, some people use an additional storage carafe no matter how much they might “need” or how many people they are serving. You also can’t make more if there is any left in the brewing carafe. So definitely think about an additional container if in a multi-person household or you entertain often … and you are ok with possible mixing different brew batches.

4) Brew Time – Recommended is 8 hours, but who really wants to do all this at 9 or 10pm every night. I leave mine in for around 12-14 hours and have not noticed any negative effects. Though, there is some sludgy thicker coffee liquid on the bottom of the carafe, but I just give it a shake before pouring. OR, I’ll top off my second glass with that super potent sludge as a little powerboost sip before going to the straw.

Other sundry items:

Sugar – Amazon has a great oxo chefs syrups dispenser set. These can be used to store simple syrup/liquid sugar (and also sauces for cakes, and ingredients for cocktails). Making simple syrup is easy — for iced coffee its 1 parts sugar to 2 parts boiling water. If you don’t want to deal with the dispensers yet (or at all), just put your regular sugar in before the cold brew or ice, and add hot tap water until the sugar is covered, swirl until dissolved and you’re good. That’s what I did until my oxo set arrived.

Gooseneck kettle – some complained about difficulties pouring the water into the spout (remember you have to pour it into that smaller hole given the filter holding setup) … but any hario gooseneck kettle makes it way easier. Bonus, you’ll be halfway to a hot pourover set up once fall arrives!

Straws – Amazon also has a great set of reusable easy to clean metal straws from hiware

If anyone actually made it to the end of this insanely long review, it’s length is directly related to how much I’d recommend this product. All in all a great addition to any home of any size, triply so for coffee lovers.