Get ready to elevate your coffee game without spending extra time or money. Meet the OXO BREW® Rapid Brewer, the perfect sidekick for making exquisite coffee anywhere in 5 minutes or less. And the Rapid Brewer is extra-handy for making cold brew, since typical methods can take a full day.
No matter what kind of coffee you love best, the Rapid Brewer’s compact, travel-friendly design and easy-to-use features will make your coffee routine faster and more satisfying.
Getting Started: What You Need
Before getting started with the brewing process, make sure you have everything you need:
- OXO BREW® Rapid Brewer
- Finely ground coffee
- Filtered water
Step 1: Preparing Your Coffee Grounds
Grinding Your Coffee
A simple way to elevate your coffee routine is to grind your beans fresh. “A freshly ground cup is going to taste much different than a pre ground-from-the-grocery-store cup, because it’s hard to know exactly how long that’s been on the shelf,” says OXO Product Manager Shannon McConnell.
For best results, use finely ground coffee. The Rapid Brewer works best with a fine grind (coarser than what you’d use for espresso, but finer than for pour over). If you're grinding at home, set your OXO Conical Burr Coffee Grinder to a fine setting, such as grind 2 or 3. Different grinders have varied settings, so adjust as needed for optimal results.
You may find that you need to adjust your grind setting depending on the coffee you’re using that day. Chris Diskin, Associate Director of Engineering at OXO, explains that the “grind setting and how it pairs with the brewing process depends a lot on the coffee itself.” Factors such as light or dark roast beans, coffee origin, and whether or not the coffee is fresh will all affect the ideal grind setting for the Rapid Brewer.
Step 2: Setting Up the Rapid Brewer
Disassemble
First, unscrew the pump and coffee basket from the water chamber. This will ensure that you can easily add your coffee grounds.
Add Coffee Grounds
If you’re at home, use a scale—like this precision scale with a timer— to measure the precise amount of coffee for your taste. If you don’t have a scale handy or are traveling with your Rapid Brewer, you can use the marked measurement lines for both hot and cold brewing:
- Cold concentrate: Add 1/2 cup (40 grams) of ground coffee to the second fill line in the coffee basket.
- Hot concentrate: Add 1/4 cup (20 grams) of ground coffee to the first fill line in the coffee basket.
Place the coffee in the basket and tamp it firmly and evenly to the marked fill line using the tamper. Tamping ensures even extraction and a consistent brew.
Reassemble
Screw the coffee basket onto the bottom of the water chamber using the alignment markers as a guide. Place the combined coffee basket and water chamber on top of the carafe.
Step 3: Fill the Water Chamber
Fill the water chamber with filtered water up to the designated fill line. The Rapid Brewer has measurement markings for both hot and cold brews, making it easy to use the right amount of water every time.
- Cold concentrate: Add cold or room-temperature water to the water fill line in the water chamber (5 oz/160 mL).
- Hot concentrate: Add hot water (up to 212°F) to the water fill line in the water chamber (5 oz/160 mL).
Step 4: Secure the Pump to the Water Chamber
After filling with water, screw the pump onto the top of the water chamber and allow time for the coffee grounds to steep. Wait five minutes for cold concentrate and two minutes for hot.
Make sure the pump is firmly attached to avoid any leaks. Once the wait time is over:
- Unlock the pump by pushing down and twisting the locking handle a quarter-turn.
- Gently press down.The pressurized chamber forces water through the coffee grounds, ensuring a quick and even extraction.
- Pump four to five times until the coffee concentrate stops dripping into the carafe.
Step 5: Enjoy Your Brew
Once the brewing is complete, your concentrated coffee is ready to be diluted. For cold brew, dilute the concentrated coffee with ice, milk and water to your desired strength. For hot coffee, simply add hot water or milk to taste.
- We recommend a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio of concentrated coffee to water or milk. For example, 2 oz (~ 59 ml) of concentrated coffee diluted with 4-6 oz (~177 ml) of water or milk.
When it comes to coffee drinks, the sky’s the limit. Whether you like a simple iced coffee, a more involved coffee drink recipe or even a coffee cocktail, the Rapid Brewer makes it quick and easy to have your drink base ready for whichever drink you prefer. McConnell points out that the brewer makes it super-simple to create custom coffees for your guests too, since you can easily switch between hot drinks and cold brews.
Troubleshooting
Finding the right grind size may take some trial and error. The ideal size may differ depending on the roast you use, the origin of the coffee or whether it’s freshly roasted, says Diskin, who recommends having a grinder ready when experimenting with brews. Use the following tips for determining the perfect grind:
- If your coffee doesn’t flow out during pumping, it may be too finely ground (e.g. an espresso grind).
- If the coffee quickly flows through the basket and there’s not much water left in the chamber after the steeping period, you likely need to grind the coffee finer.
If you're grinding at home, set your OXO Conical Burr Coffee Grinder to a fine setting, such as grind 2 or 3. Different grinders have varied settings, so adjust as needed for optimal results.
Cleaning and Maintenance
Keeping your Rapid Brewer clean is essential for the best-tasting coffee. Ensuring that this brewer is easy to clean was an important part of the design process. “Cleaning up wet coffee grounds without a paper filter can be challenging,” says McConnell. But with the Rapid Brewer, cleanup is a breeze: After each use, just tap your used grounds into the compost bin or garbage, then rinse the coffee basket and water chamber with warm water.
For a deeper clean, gently wash the main parts—i.e. the pump, coffee basket and water chamber—with mild soap and water, taking care not to submerge the pump. Make sure to thoroughly dry the parts before reassembling.
Want to learn more about optimizing your coffee experience? Check out expert brewing tips, read about other must-have coffee gadgets and try some of the drink recipes on the Good Tips Blog.
