To start off, this is NOT thick glass. As a matter of fact, it was the thinnest glass wall item in my kitchen. In other words, quite fragile. The carrying sling should come up higher to cover the shoulder of the bottle. Even when kept in the door tray of my fridge door, I still had to be careful with keeping it from knocking against other glass jars (pickles, jalapenos, etc)
The filter wasn't wide enough for me to use a tablespoon so I had to use a smaller spoon and make multiple passes to put the coffee grounds in.
I had checked the other reviews before making my first batch and am glad I did. One mentioned about wetting the coffee grounds so the water seeps through more evenly and thoroughly.
After leaving it in the fridge for about 30 some hours, I took it out and gave it a try. It poured out just fine with the filter still in place although I wouldn't recommend it. I'd rather unscrew the whole thing off the bottle and just pour it out like a carafe.
As far as the materials used in this brewer, taste is a non-issue. If you're not used to cold brewed coffee with the reduced acidity and sharpness of hot coffee, you may need to experiment with other coffees.
Cleaning the whole thing by hand was a bit of a chore. Because the filter is tall and narrow, it took multiple passes for the stream from the water faucet to wash it out. I suppose you could tap it upside down over a paper towel but you would still need to rinse off the grounds still attached to the sides. Not to mention that the filter is so thin walled that I'd be afraid of denting it somehow.
If I sound a bit disappointed, it's because I am.
💡 I had previously made a cold brew-er using my long stemmed tea leaf/coffee filter and a mason jar and it was quite nice in it's simplicity. Just trace the metal part of the lid onto a top of a plastic food container lid you don't need, cut it out, add a slot for the filter stem and you're golden. Of course the size of the mason jar dictates how much you'll be making per batch. Oh, and the glass in the mason jar is WAY thicker.
Plus, if I planned on traveling with this, I would just pour it into one of my insulated stainless steel water bottles. No big deal, no potential broken glass to worry about.
I guess I should take some responsibilty for not thinking this one through before ordering it.
Even though I grabbed the 24 oz one, it still consumes more of my time than my home-built mason jar one, both in starting a new batch as well as cleaning up.
If cold brewed coffee is the drink of choice for your quiet (me) time, then by all means, grab this. If you're looking for something durable and quick to set up & clean, this isn't it.
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