VINCI Express Cold Brew Patented Electric Coffee Cold Brew Maker in 5 Minutes, 4 Brew Strength Settings & Cleaning Cycle, Easy to Use & Clean, Glass Carafe, 1.1 Liter (37 Fl…

Update…
The motor finally broke. I could hear it and I did try to clean out everything to allow flow. Nope, it is broken. I cannot say I used it alot. In fact I only used it three or four times a month. I definitely followed directions. So I did have a professional electrician look and test. I watched him take it apart easily. Very sad. I though it was tiny grains getting stuck. The motor itself could not pump. what I heard was the motor. It just did not move. It made hum only. It tried to work. It just wasn’t pumping like how it should have.

When I first purchased…
When I first viewed this cold brew pot, the thing that attracted me is the easy of use in making cold brew rather than doing the refrigerator thing. I use to put coffee grounds in a container with filtered water and close it up, shake it, then put it in the fridge. After 24 hours you get a cold brew. I would then strain it into another container where I could keep in the fridge for me to drink over a period of time. The one thing I hated was waiting. This little machine does the trick, until you place tiny grinds inside, which it tells you to avoid doing in the manual. If you grind your own beans and then start spooning in the grinds, you may get small particles that get stuck in the filter (blocks your filter screen). Whether I use grounds or make my own, I have to strain it to get small particles out so I can put into the filter. This allows for good water flow. So I make an extra bold brew with just tap water, as instructions say to do. It really does taste like what would take 24 hrs. I don’t like make it sit like my friends do as it does not make the taste any better. So, you get a lot of the bitterness from the roast, so be careful in choosing your roast level, and the richness of the coffee bean flavor. It is not give the bite of an acidic coffee, which is the purpose of cold brew. This is not like what you get from other smooth coffees I’ve tried in the past, rather, it is much more shocking in flavor than the smoother ones. I suppose you’d have to get the same bean and roast as what you want to compare it to. Overall, this is still smoother than a regular cup of ground coffee. The balance of cream and sugar is arguable, but for the sake of mentioning it here, I would say the cream and sugar makes the flavor stand out in richness, like a milk chocolate candy. If you drink it black, it is dark chocolate like with the right roast. Choose a flavor of roast you like and compare with a regular cup of that same roast. I did so with Yuban and a strong decaf. Both had mixed results but I have to admit that the consistency is/was the richness of the roast I chose. The acid levels/smoothness/mix with cream/mix with sugar/mix with sugar and cream, the only thing that spoke out to me is that richness. If you do a light brew, you may as well drink black tea. Also, as a big warning, use the freshest roast you can and grind it only before you brew. Keep your beans air tight and in a dark bag. Do not freeze. Your coffee will come out more consistent in flavor every time. The older your beans, talking about 1 to 2 weeks old, you will start noticing a flavor difference and the smell won’t be as strong. In fact if kept wrong, you will get more of a mushroom smell meaning the fungus is settling in on the beans.

Look no further – this is the best cold brew maker ever. I’ve been using this for over a year and it works amazing. It brews coffee grounds to the darkness of your liking (I pick bold and it’s very dark – does not look diluted). It takes 10-15 minutes depending on your preference, and is ready to drink right after. Don’t even need to store it in the fridge overnight. Most efficient cold brew machine AND brews strong coffee. Important Note: do not submerge the top thing in water when cleaning, or it will break. I had to order a new one (after about a year) but that was my fault for getting water in the electric part lol

TLDR: I’d likely buy it again.

Pro
– Works great. Cold brew is just as good as any overnight-method I’ve tried.
– Makes a decent amount. You probably won’t be serving a party with it, but should be enough for 2-4 average drinks.
– Fast, by comparison to standard cold brew. It cuts 12 hours down to about 20-30 minutes for the extra bold setting. Haven’t tried the lighter settings. (I like it strong.)
– Not super complicated to use after the first time.

Con
– A little overwhelming at first. Not terrible, but definitely more complicated than a French press.
– Cleanup is annoying, and the primary loss of a star. I spend as much time cleaning up the drips and spills as I do the brewer. There’s so much transferring of dripping components, you WILL end up with drips of coffee and/or water. Keep a towel handy.
– No power cord storage; terrible location. When it’s brewing, I don’t care… but when it goes back to the cabinet, I can’t put it in the cup because of drips from the brewer head, and there’s no good way to keep it together with the rest of the unit.

This machine is absolutely perfect for those who have preferred brands of grounds (Death Wish, anyone?), are frequent drinkers, or who have enough cabinet space for a reasonably-sized appliance. The price tag seems steep, until you remember that this starts going cost-positive around 20 grocery bottles of cold brew, or as many cafe drinks. If you’re impatient and drink a lot of cold brew, this is honestly fantastic.

Absolutely love this cold brew maker, easy to use, clean, and makes cold brew so fast! But after awhile it starts leaking out of the head and when you go to get your coffee half of it is on the counter. Not sure if I just got a defective one or what.