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Features
The Brazen™ Coffee Brewer - introduces a revolutionary new vision in coffee brewing - where the user is
- actually in control of the brewing process.
BETTER CONTROL through smarter technology Everyday drip coffee makers, - including most commercial versions, do not allow the customer to change the
- brewing temperature of their coffee.
- There were no consumer versions available with a pre-soak function, and
- almost all had poor extraction due to poor design of water dispersion.
The BraZen Brewer is redefining how - drip coffee is brewed – in a word – properly!
Calibration Feature- We developed this feature to address - the issue of component tolerances and drift. Nearly all electrical and
- electronic components start with varying degrees of accuracy. That accuracy can
- degrade over time, resulting in already loose component tolerances becoming
- even looser or drifting. Providing the
- customer with the ability to calibrate their Brewer at any time gives them the
- control to keep their Brewer accurate.
- The end result is tight temperature control over the life of the Brewer.
Altitude Correction - At sea level, water boils at 212°F - (100°C).
- As you rise in altitude, that temperature drops significantly. Coffee brewed
- with boiling water at sea level is dramatically different compared to coffee
- brewed at 5000 ft where water boils at 202°F (94.4°C).
- To compensate for this (and for the first use in any brewing equipment) we have
- included a program feature within our calibration technology that mitigates and
- compensates for this change in the boiling point of water.
Why is Calibration so Important? To better appreciate the - benefit of this technology, it is helpful to understand a basic principle of
- manufacturing. Tolerances are one particular aspect that constantly challenges
- manufacturers. Every piece of a product has a particular tolerance. For instance, the thermocouple used to sense
- the temperature of the brewing water may be off by 2°F, or approximately
- 1%. “That’s not so bad” you may say, and
- you would be right, except there can be dozens of other components with their
- own range of tolerances – and these tolerances, or errors, can add up. The end result is that you can have ten units
- built consecutively from the same production line, using the same high quality
- parts and components and the result is a final product tolerance range of as
- much as +/- 4% or up a range of 16 degrees F. Currently one coffee maker viewed
- as the “gold standard” has a 10° F range. Another
- coffee maker touts as having fixed brewing temperature of 205°F….with
- a footnote indicating a full variance (or tolerance) of +/-4% or still the
- ‘standard’ 16 degree spread. In a game
- of horseshoes you’d be in the corn fields and laughed out of the game, yet
- these tolerances are deemed acceptable by others (partly because that was as
- good as anyone could do), but not our company.
With almost 4 years of dedicated - research and development, being told at every turn that what we were demanding
- was simply not possible, we developed a means that is patent pending, by which
- the component tolerances are recognized, accepted and corrected for by an
- on-board calibration. The result is a
- Brewer that has shown a combined tolerance of as little as ½ to 1 percent in
- tests. This equates to as little as 1 degree on either side of the brewing
- temperature you choose for a total of 2°F in actual bench tests –
- FIVE TIMES better than the industry standard!
- Having this feature enables users to set the system at 204, 205, etc.
- and know they will be closer on target than any other system available in the
- consumer market.
Why is Temperature Control Important?- Having control over - the brew temperature enables the user (YOU) to decide at what temperature you
- would like your coffee brewed at. Different brewing temperatures will extract
- different flavors from your coffee and can greatly affect the character of the
- cup. No one brewing temperature is ‘right’ or perfect. Hotter is not always better. In simple terms; being able to choose the
- brewing temperature gives users more control over the flavor of the coffee in
- their cup.
Full Saturation Water Dispersion Sprayhead: Critical to - proper extraction of all the character your coffee embodies in conjunction with
- water temperatures, is water dispersion. The Brazen system has been designed
- with a water dispersion spray head (see below) that provides even water
- distribution over all the grounds. This
- allows greater character in your cup without the all too familiar grounds
- basket “donut” (that dry ring of grounds around the edge of your basket) where
- areas of the grounds get little if any water.
Extra Capacity “Cupcake aka straight sided” style Grounds Basket: - Seeking to provide an environment conducive to proper flavor extraction, the
- Brazen has a “cupcake” style grounds basket.
- The cupcake style lends itself to even extraction as is evidence by the
- fact that all commercial units utilize this style for better extraction. This
- is in contrast to what is used almost universally within the consumer market; a
- cone or “V” shaped style which was designed to over compensate for poor water
- dispersion. This style of basket leads to “donuts” and increases the likelihood
- both over and under extraction of the coffee leading to a bitter and sour cup
- respectively.
What is the Pre-Soak Function?- A pre-soak function is just - that; a cycle where water is dispensed in a controlled fashion and allowed to
- saturate the coffee grounds, preparing them for a proper extraction. Current
- brew systems made for the consumer market merely dispense water as its function
- allows – spurts, drips and dribbles. In
- the process, you may get clumping and pockets of dry grounds producing under
- and over extracted coffee. Pre-soak allows water to permeate all the grounds so
- the water subsequently released for
- brewing flows evenly, producing a better, cleaner and often sweeter cup.
Pre-Soak Sub Feature - Adjustable Rest Time – This function - allows the user to fine tune the length of time water rests on the grounds. The
- benefit here is that the pre-soak time can be adjusted according the age,
- origin and level of roast of the coffee. A very fresh coffee that has rested
- and degassed for a shorter period of time, tends to have a larger bloom, or
- swelling of the coffee grounds, when water is first introduced. A longer pre-soak time allows the bloom to
- subside and minimize the potential for the grounds to over flow the basket.
- Conversely an older coffee may not need as much time for the bloom to fall and
- be ready for the remaining brewing water.
What is Temperature Glide and Overshoot? A common occurrence - when heating water to a specific temperature is to ‘overshoot’ this point
- because the heaters are not turned off until the water is at temperature –
- unfortunately electric heaters continue to heat the water for some time after
- that. The idea of a glide is this; once
- your desired brewing temperature is set in the Brazen’s memory, the Brewer is
- designed, using patent pending technology, to recognize this set point. Program
- settings reduce the power to the heaters so that they are almost off when the
- water is at the temperature you choose.
- By having the glide feature you minimize the likelihood of missing the
- brewing water temperature you set. A
- good analogy is to compare it to driving up to a “STOP” sign with the stop sign
- being the set point. If you are driving at 60 mph when you come to the stop
- sign, despite pressure on the brakes, the car WILL runs past the “STOP” sign
- into the intersection, and potentially into great peril. If you de-accelerate some distance before the
- “STOP” sign (as I am sure you do) your ability to stop exactly where you want
- becomes much greater. The same theory is
- applied to the glide feature. Our goal is to hit the set point versus racing
- past it.
Why is the Manual Release Important? It allows the user to - control the water release and do so in accordance with their own needs or
- desires. It also allows the user to use
- the Brazen as a hot water kettle for teas. This can be achieved by removing the
- brew basket and placing any item, a French Press for instance, under the water
- dispersion screen to catch the released water for brewing other items.
What Does the Timed Auto Brew - Function Do? This is your standard ‘timed function’ that many users are
- used to – the ability to set the coffee brewer up at night and have coffee
- waiting for you in the morning. It
- allows users to put coffee into the grounds basket and set a timer to start
- brewing at a predetermined time, much like your alarm clock. In this case, the
- two are likely to be coordinated so the user is awakened by their alarm and
- strolls into the kitchen to find coffee hot and ready for their morning ‘fix’.
Stainless Steel Reservoir: Having a stainless steel - reservoir for heating the water eliminates the possibility that plastic tastes
- can be imparted into water used for brewing.
- This prevents tainting the character of the coffee. Stainless steel also
- has clear advantages over aluminum or copper as it resists corrosion, which too
- can impart odd or bad flavors into the water and thus the coffee.
How Does an Insulated Steel Carafe Help? One of the problems - we recognized in many of the current coffee makers was that of the hot plate to
- keep the coffee hot. The result – baked
- coffee, often no better than what a percolator would produce. The insulated steel carafe keeps the coffee
- hot longer than unheated glass carafes but does not adversely affect the flavor
- like a hot plate does.
*Designed - to meet or exceed SCAA Brew Standards-
- Behmor will apply for certification once the program restarts in Fall
- 2012
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