These Coffee Makers Keep The Cold Brew Flowing

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Bodum French press
Amazon A French press might be familiar to you, and you may already own one (or three -- seems like it's an easy gift!). But, if you regularly brew with an auto-drip coffee machine, you might want to bust out or buy a French press and enjoy an extra-flavorful beverage on the mornings when you've got a few more minutes to yourself. Grind your coffee extra coarse and bring out the French press to add a little romance to your usual coffee routine.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET I was making good progress on my long drive despite the abysmal weather conditions. Unfortunately, the traffic became more congested, especially around Loch Ness. Given its fame as the home of the supposed monster Nessie, it's no surprise that the road around it was inundated with coach tours and sight-seers driving 20 mph in a 60 zone.

Most espresso machines, save for fancy super automatic models, lack an integrated coffee grinder and I prefer to test with freshly ground coffee. So I supply my own grinder --- the Breville Smart Grinder Pro. I chose this grinder for two reasons. First, it's calibrated more for espresso and less for drip or other brewing styles. That means it produces grounds that are quite fine. Second, its grind size is also consistently uniform. Both factors are critical for a proper espresso brewing process.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET Eventually I reached Steall waterfall. I wanted to keep a good distance to capture the entire waterfall, and I liked how the branches near me helped frame the falls. My main issue with this picture is that the sun was setting behind the mountain, meaning the falls were plunged entirely into shadow. As a result, it's a bit flat and lifeless. I'd love to return at sunrise when the morning light would light this up beautifully.

Gourmia Cold Brew Coffee Maker
Need your tall glass of cold brew fast? Then the $109 Gourmia Cold Brew Coffee Maker is right up your alley. The vacuum pump-powered electric appliance can brew your beverage in 4 minutes flat. That's a ridiculously short time to create and pour cold brew in, but as you might expect, the taste of those 4-minute brews is weak. Fortunately, maxing the brew time out to 15 minutes produces a much stronger drink. And that's still not long to wait compared with the 12 hours of steeping that cold brewing usually takes.

id="cnetReview" section="rvwBody"> For $45, the Wi-Fi-equipped Brita Infinity pitcher promises to keep track of how much water is passing through the filter. Once the filter is about spent, it'll go ahead and automatically order a replacement from Amazon that'll arrive at your doorstep just when you need it.

Espro Press P5
One tried-and-true cold brew method for making cold brew is to use a French press, with the coffee steeping overnight. One drawback to these simple contraptions though is they tend to have poor filters. The result is often a gritty drink -- solid coffee grounds suspended in a liquid solution, especially if you don't have a coarse grind for your beans. The $60 Espro Press P5 tackles the gritty coffee grounds problem by using two stainless steel mesh filter baskets. The extra level of filtration helps the P5 create cold brew (or hot) that's wonderfully smooth and flavorful. However, the beverage the Espro brews isn't as concentrated as what other products make. Another detractor is the Espro's price. It costs twice as much as an ordinary French press. 

Brita's smart pitcher is $20 more than an identical Brita pitcher with no smarts to speak of, so the question here is whether or not that Amazon Dash integration is worth the extra 20 bucks. In theory, it's a useful bit of automation -- especially if you already buy replacement filters on the regular. In practice, it isn't all that precise, and more than anything seems designed to get people to buy new filters more often than they would out of habit alone. It certainly isn't something that anyone needs, but it might make a decent gift for a friend who's picky about filtered water.

$30 at Amazon Platypus Platy Ultralight Collapsible
Our portable water bottle pick
Platypus This collapsible plastic pouch from Platypus holds two liters of water (that's about how much you should drink each day, especially if you're active) and weighs only 1.3 ounces when empty.

Andrew Hoyle/CNET My main stop for the day was a hike up to a rocky outcrop on the mountain Stac Pollaidh. The drive to get there wasn't my favorite, but eventually I squeezed the car into the small car park at the bottom of the trail.

Tyler Lizenby/CNET If you over-extract, you run the risk of leaching out unpleasant flavors (bitterness) after the good. On the opposite end of the scale, under extracted brews tend to have undeveloped flavors. Lacking sugars and other caramelized organic chemicals, these shots will taste sour, weak and watery.      

The best espresso machine value right now: Breville Barista Express
Chris Monroe/CNET You can't beat the Breville Barista Express and its combination of performance, features and price point. For less than $600, the machine's formidable grinder pulverizes espresso beans, smart technology doses grounds directly into its portafilter basket, plus its sturdy frother steams milk well and makes thick foam. It also consistently pulled the best tasting shots of espresso in my test group. The Barista Express is a cinch to clean as well. And to seal the deal, Breville includes premium metal tools such as a handy dose trimmer and tamper.

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