What is there was a short cut to great pour over coffee for busy parents?
Have you heard about the ESPRO BLOOM? Pour over coffee is a beautiful way to make coffee, not to mention delicious.
Pour over has that mysterious artisanal vibe, you know? And, its oh so good for the ‘gram.
But, if you’re just getting started, its also a little…. complicated. Parents of littles, take it from one who’s been there – if you’re trying to learn pour over, you’re going to have one big barrier.
Your children.
Pour over coffee generally requires a certain… finesse. Precise timing, a controlled pour, patterns of multiple different pours, just the right amount of agitation, and a lot of trial, error, and practice to really hit a sweet spot. Don’t get distracted, lose your timing, neglect to tare your scale, forget about your brew between pours, give a child a time out or even think about clearing the table – your coffee will end up bitter or acrid.
But what if all that finesse and detail could just…. evaporate… and you could enjoy an incredible pour over at home without the brain power?
Enter the ESPRO BLOOM.
The DESIGN
Now, I have to admit – when the ESPRO team reached out to send me a BLOOM to try out, I was a little daunted by it. Holding it in your hand the stainless steel and silicone cone could almost be a medical instrument – it looks intimidating. The bed of the brewer is like nothing I’ve ever seen, with 1500 tiny holes. The thing LOOKS hard to use.
Honestly, I put off trying the ESPRO BLOOM because I thought “My kids are throwing hot wheels at each other, theres no way I’ll be able to figure this out.”
Eventually, I bit the bullet and tried it. I ground up some coffee. How fine? I guessed. Tossed in a filter and just went at it with ESPRO’s stock brew guide – which is incredibly simple.
I figured I’d dump the coffee but really wanted to try it anyway.
At the end of the brew I took a sip. The coffee was…. absolutely incredible.
I was absolutely shocked.
Later that day I brewed a second coffee – different bean, figured I would need to spend a couple rounds dialing it in. It was…. also incredible.
That evening I brewed up a decaf. Third shot. Also unreal.
Now, I have NEVER had this experience with a new brewer. Most of the time, I beat my head against the wall for the first half dozen brews at least until I get something passable.
The BLOOM just works.
Since then, it’s become my daily pour over dripper. If I’m not cranking back an espresso, I’m brewing on the bloom.
USING THE ESPRO BLOOM
The ESPRO BLOOM takes all of the brain work and crazy pouring techniques and lets you throw them out the window. Pitch whatever you like at it, inconsistent dose, ratio off, bad pouring technique, a little long, a little short – in my experience, as long as you’re in the ballpark on grind, great coffee is coming out the bottom.
This really caught me off guard because the bloom looks so out there – it’s clearly really highly engineered. Its got its patent number on the bottom for crying out loud.
But, it’s highly engineered in the same way my iPhone is. My toddler can pick it up and take 10,000 pictures with it and message all my co-workers despite my best efforts to hide the messaging app.
The BLOOM just works.
It’s not all roses though (pun?) – it’s not a cheap brewer, and the filters aren’t cheap either. But it’s still going to be WAY cheaper than picking up a Starbucks though if you break it down by cup. Also, until you get the knack of separating the filters, you’re going to feel like an idiot. There is a knack you get, I promise.
And if you really don’t want to use filters, you don’t need to – just grind coarser. It also doesn’t have that distinctive cone dripper swagger of a glass v60 or ceramic origami dripper, but let’s be honest – if you’re here you likely need something your kids can throw across the room anyway.
If I lost my BLOOM today, I’d be ordering another one right away. When the kids are at the grandparents for a sleepover and I have a quiet morning – I’ll dive in with a brewer that takes a lot of finesse and focus. Most days when it’s chaos all around and I just need absolutely delicious coffee in me STAT – pass the bloom please.
PROS
- Easy to use. The BLOOM really can take all the inconsistency you can throw at it. Super flexible and forgiving when compared to other brew methods for producing a great cup.
- Not much learning curve. My first three cups EVER were absolutely delicious. Honestly, I haven’t made a bad cup with the BLOOM yet. I can’t say that of any other brewer.
- Incredible flavour. Dependent on your beans of course. But man, the bloom produces a great cup.
- Easy to clean. Like most drippers – rinse it off.
- Durable. Don’t freak out if you drop it in the sink.
- You can brew without filters. If you’re too cheap or run out – it works without filters as well – just grind coarser. Ever tried brewing without a filter on another dripper? I didn’t think so.
CONS
- Price. It’s not the cheapest dripper out there.
- Filters are expensive. Again, you can find cheaper filters for other brewers.
- Filters are tough to separate. Until you get the knack. Hit me up if this is you.
- No classic dripper swagger. It looks like it could be a scientific instrument. Maybe thats your vibe?
- Gets Water Spots. I mean, I feel like I need to present every con. I guess this is one. The stainless spots easily. Towel dry?
Bottom Line
If you want great coffee even when you can’t concentrate because the kids are losing it AGAIN – get a BLOOM.
Thanks again to the ESPRO team for sending this over.
