Customer Reviews With Photos

Makes great tasting coffee and and compact size. Great for small apartments

What the heck did I buy? I prepped as instructed with a brew of water and then used a k pod. The pod exploded on try 1, 2, and 3. Much noise, steam, popping sounds - this came literally yesterday and I regret it all. Don't waste money on this one.

This machine works like a champ and it’s getting lots of use at our house. Easy to use and clean. Great value for the money. Well built and it’s small enough to fit into a thin space. Highly recommend!

I have never tried pour over coffee, but I've heard that this method makes a very tasty cup so I wanted to try it. The rumors are correct, pour over is indeed a good way to make a nice cup of coffee! This set is really nice, very streamlined and easy to use. It looks nice and I absolutely love that I don't have to use any paper filters--I always seem to taste the paper when I use a filter. The mesh on the cone is extremely fine and absolutely no coffee grounds get into the carafe. The glass on the carafe is thick and sturdy. The handle fits my hand nicely and I didn't get any drips while pouring the coffee from the pot into my cup. It's easy to clean and because it's stainless steel and glass it doesn't hold in old coffee smells. The side is clearly marked and easy to read. It's a perfect size for my household, it's small enough to easily fit into the cabinet and large enough to make two or three cups at a time (depending on how big your mug is!) I can't think of anything that I don't like on this set, it's well thought out and works perfectly, I would definitely recommend it.

I am a lover of Vietnamese Coffee. I tried several filters on coffeemakers.us.com, returned a few but kept this one because 1. The golden color of the filter made it a luxury device. 2. The durability of the filter. 3. No coffee powder fell onto the glass. But, yes, the screw of the inside filter could not tighten because the leftover the coffee powder. I had to use a small stick to pull it out in order to tignten the screw. That’s why it has 4 stars instead of 5. Improve it in the next manufacturing, please.

I love this, a lot better than an aeropress espresso attachment, cause it doesn’t have as much pressure as this does, it hasn’t leaked, easy to clean, and definitely portable!! Bringing it to the office with me.

I have several sizes of cold brew containers and was hoping this would work for road trips. The containers supplied are well made glass and plastic. The seal is good but the size of the grounds insert is disproportionate to the jar. It is not the style I will use. I want the water and grounds to produce 16 to 20 oz of beverage. It is easy to clean, easy to use and a bit high in price for what it produces. The filter works well but this isn’t for me.

This is so great! It's the quickest and easiest espresso machine. I know it depends on the pods that are used, but I haven't had a single cup of espresso from it that hasn't been delicious! There's a reservoir for water on the back of the machine, fill that with water and attach it, click either of the buttons on the top back of the machine, lift the long, metal lip on the top, slide your pod in, push the metal lip back down (it takes a little muscle), then push your desired cup size (one of the two buttons that were pushed to turn the machine on). Brewing is very quick and the temperature is drinkable right away. The pod will empty into a little collection area the next time you open the metal lip, you can find it to throw it away by pulling the front piece out (the part where the cup sits). I warm and froth milk for lattes. I couldn't be happier with this machine!

I've been doing coffee daily with a French press, a stop-top Mukka Express (Bialetti 6990 Mukka Express Cappuccino Maker, Polished Aluminum), and an Aeropress (Aerobie AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker). I wanted something manual/compact to replace my 10-cup electric drip coffee maker that I haven't touched in over a year. I picked up the Chemex because of its classic design, simple construction, honest materials (no plastic to be found, even in the packaging), and claimed quality. The process really does deliver the smooth and rich flavor it promises. It's rewarding to slowly wet the grinds and watch them froth and grow as they bloom. In comparison, an automatic drip machine will leave grinds at the edges of the filter under extracted. Unlike my French press, there isn't a single grain of grind at the bottom of my cup. I really can't detect any bitterness. This carafe takes up much less counter space than my old 10-cup machine, and will brew plenty of coffee for a guest and myself. If you enjoy the craft aspects of coffee, this unit deserves to be in your kitchen.

I like this coffee maker a lot, but the handle snapped off after only 7 or 8 uses. I can still use the brewer, but the handle was nice to have and also provides some function now lost.

This works perfectly. I love that it has that holding tank on top to slow the rate at which the water flows. And I can just fill that and let it go. No need to stand over it with kettle in hand and slowly pour the water over a regular filter without that holding tank. Best yet is that it makes a great cup of coffee!

El agua no se retiene adecuadamente en el depósito, sino que se filtra por un orificio en el fondo, cayendo directamente sobre el motor del aparato. Parece que es un defecto la fabricación o sacaron alguna pieza. Este problema no solo afecta el funcionamiento de la cafetera, sino que también representa un peligro potencial de cortocircuito, haciendo imposible su uso. Además, la cafetera vino sin la tasa que se supone está incluida.. buscaré una más costosa y de mejor calidad (hope so).

Update: Died after 18 months... won't draw up water and the hot plate is completely rusted. At first I loved this coffee pot. It's fairly quick for the drip method and it makes the coffee hot. It's easy to start and has a bold feature. What disappointed me was that the heating plate started to rust very early. And now that it's been a year since I bought it it's completely rusted.

Easy to use, easy to clean, the taste is excellent. But the little silicone cover that fits over the handle fell off and got lost within a week or two. It’s not a big problem because I can just use a dish towel but it would’ve been nice if it had been attached better.

This brewer is so much better than all the other systems I tried over the last weeks. I learned over the that making cold brew on your own is not as easy as it seems. Normal brewers with standard steel mesh filters let A LOT of coffee grounds leak into the coffee. So you either need to buy special extra coarse coffee grounds (which in my case did not really help at all), buy a ridiculously expensive coffee grinder (the cheap ones won't do, too much dust), or filter your cold brew after brewing to get rid of all the floating grounds... fun. FEATURES MOST OTHER BREWERS DON'T HAVE! I was hesitant to give Penguin a chance because of the cheap price, but I was pleasantly surprised how good it was when it arrived. All components are high quality and the system checks all the boxes: ** Micro-mesh steel filter: there will be no coffee grounds in your cold brew. The filter is so fine that you cannot even see the holes. I am still using the system with extra coarse coffee grounds. The instructions say you can use a medium grind. Based on the fact that there is nothing leaking though the filter at all I would even say you can use just standard everyday grounds for pour over filter coffee. I'll start experimenting and due to that amazing filter I am not restricted to just the few beans that are available as extra coarse grind but can just use any coffee out there. I can even get just any cheap grinder and grind by own coffee - the filter will take care of the dust! ** Airtight seal: for storage AND while brewing. Your blue cheese in the fridge won't do your coffee no harm. I'm serious - I don't like coffee that tastes like a combination of everything that happened to be in my fridge. And many other brewers have a loose filter sitting on top, sometimes even completely open for other stuff to fall in. ** Easy to clean: the filter opens to the bottom and you can get rid off used grounds in seconds. The whole thing is even dishwasher safe. This brewer was designed to be used, not merely to be sold. HOW GOOD IS THE COLD BREW COFFEE? ** The Penguin brewer has a ridiculous filter to body volume ratio. I got the 1.2 liter set, the filter holds roughly 200 grams (7 oz) of grounds (that's a lot) and the return is about 600 ml (20 oz) of ultra-strong coffee concentrate. I have to delude it with water 1:4 to make it "normal". One reason this brew is so strong is that the set comes with a filter holder that lets you drip out the super-concentrated essence that usually gets stuck in the grounds and is dumped into the trash. It just takes another 10 minutes after the brew is done to drain the entire filter. ** You can use the grounds a second time (2nd brew) and it returns another 600 ml of really strong coffee (not concentrate, but I still have to delude it a bit). In total I can get over 3 liters (100 oz) of amazingly smooth tasting cold brew from a single fill (with admittedly high quality coffee grounds and two 18 hour brews). The first batch of concentrate can also be used to make mixed drinks (you do not have to delude it with water but can mix in all kinds of milk or use it for amazing high-quality cocktails). You can also drink it pure of cause if you want to die of a caffeine overdose - it tastes amazing. ^^ The second batch is what you are used to from your favorite coffee shop - just much better tasting because you are in control of the beans you use. WHAT I DON'T LIKE ** Obviously the brewer only holds one batch of coffee at a time. You need a second carafe for the first batch while brewing the second one. I wished there was a way to just order a second airtight carafe form Penguin. But given the entire brewer is cheaper than what the single carafe is worth, I could just buy a second brewer. =P ** You are stuck with 3 liters of pure cold brew coffee after the second brew. That's just too much for a single person. I cannot sleep any more. :D I wished the system was available in a smaller size. But my office mates are quite happy that I started to supply them with coffee. ^^ ** The bottom cap of the filter has a very rudimentary thread. I wished it would be more of a screw-thingy. But the fact that you can remove the bottom cap at all is just ingenious - I really should stop nitpicking. ;) tl;dr: GET THIS BREWER. You will not regret it. It's absolutely amazing. It not only has the best filter I ever saw but it is also of excellent quality and even looks stylish. Believe me, I had a couple of standard brewing systems and they all sucked compared to this one. PS: customer service... I really don't care where a product comes from, if it's a Chinese or European or American company. But I was a bit speechless when I got a polite and personal email from Atlanta. Someone from Penguin asking me if I was happy with the brewer. Like REALLY personal, not one of these standard automated "please don't review us if you are unhappy" emails. We emailed a bit back and forth. They genuinely stand behind their product, strive to make it even better and truly value all feedback. You feel the love and dedication that went into this brewer system. To the people of Penguin: you guys are amazing!