Coffee Steeper, Black/Silver

I gave it two stars because the coffee does taste good. But unit is awarkward and top heavy and screwing metal onto glass is nerve wracking. There is no way to store without leaving the top unit on because the lid does not fit the glass carafe. Nor can it be poured without the top unit in place. Kind of defeats the purpose of brewing enough to save for later. Also annoying and messy to clean.

I bought this for my son. He's a cold brew fan but he recently went back to French Press method for hot coffee. I had seen this in a store and thought it would be useful to him. It was...and it works well. The filter is effective and easy to clean. Unlike paper filters, it leaves a bit of the oils (good) and cold brew comes out just as well. These guys know how to make coffee (utensils)!

An interesting approach to coffee. One option is to add grounds and cold water, let it steep overnight, then turn the valve and filter the coffee. Avoids some of the bitterness that can occur with hot water extraction. Major problem for me was finding a space in the refrigerator that would accommodate the height of the steeper, but the door had some appropriate places/

I got one through the kickstarter campaign. I use it regularly, and like it, with a few caveats: It is top heavy when coffee is in the steeping part. Don't really have a problem with that - I put it in on the countertop in a corner so it's out of the way, and use a 5 minute egg-timer to tell me when it's finished. It's a bit awkward to pour, but not terrible - once the coffer's filtered in the bottom a lot of the top heaviness goes away. As its conceived/configured, no, I don't find it any more sludge-free than a regular french press.. the holes on the internal metal filter allow enough sediment through so you're coffee still has that "thick" feeling to it. I've solved that by using a square of paper towel in between the metal cone filter and the grounds holder.. it takes a little bit longer to filter that way, but the result is very similar to a good paper filter in terms of coffee sludge. And, surprisingly, an actual coffee filter doesn't work as well as a paper towel.. All that aside, I use it daily now. My wife doesn't drink coffee, so a regular drip maker makes too much for me. And I'm not going to buy one of those infernal ()*! k-cup or nepresso things with the throw away cartridges. So in the morning, I grind a couple of measures of beans with a manual grinder, toss 'em in here with a paper towel wedged in as explained above, turn the 5 minute egg timer over and go about getting breakfast. 5 minutes later, I turn the top, a few minutes after that I have a nice, clean, sludge free, richly flavored cup of coffee - or two. One of the reasons I like the Duo is that it actually makes 2 cups at a time.. my previous setup was an aeropress - which makes great coffee, but alas, only 1 cup at a time, and I like to linger over that second cup before heading off to work.

Great concept but terrible execution. Although I am using it carefully (after double-checking and re-reviewing the videos and instructions available on the company website), it ALWAYS leaks coffee grounds into the carafe. This is especially bad considering recent studies have found that that coffee grounds can actually be harmful to your health by increasing your bad cholesterol (the oils in the beans have something to do with this). The whole idea of this coffee maker was to prevent that from happening, but instead, it is just as bad as a French press in terms of coffee grounds ending up in your cup. I went back to a drip coffee maker, and the Duo is sitting unused on my counter (might use it for tea, but NOT for coffee).

Some comments (1) the glass carafe gets hot so it is difficult to pour the coffee while just holding the plastic middle, (2) when I turn the top to let the coffee flow to the glass carafe at the bottom, there always is leakage, (3) much more of a chore to clean than a French press (one has to take it all apart and the filter takes some time to clean) (4) makes about 16 ounces - no way to make more than that (unlike a French press), (5) no noticeable improvement in taste vs a French press and (6) 3X the price of a French press.