Uniform Brewing Solution for the Breville Precision and Luxe Brewer

The Problem: The catalyst for our Uniform Brewing Solutions product line was our desire to transform an existing good product into a great product.  That initial product was the Breville Precision Brewer, which has been updated and rebranded as the Breville Luxe Brewer.  For years, the Breville Precision Brewer has been the drip coffee maker (batch brewer) that we have most often recommended for home and small cafe use and the one we have brought to countless farmer’s markets.  That recommendation has always come with a qualification regarding workaround methods to address the brewer's poor showerhead design.  The problem is that the stock shower head sprays water only onto the center of the bed of coffee and the rest of the ground coffee is wetted only as the basket fills with water.  This often results in dry pockets of ground coffee that do not get extracted, the center of the ground coffee being over-extracted, and the rest being under-extracted.  In other words, it results in an uneven extraction and inconsistent flavors from batch to batch.  This is a well-documented critique in various online coffee forums.  

Our Solution: Our solution to this problem was to create a food-safe, BPA-free water dispersion device that fits inside the filter basket, which provides a more uniform water flow across the bed of coffee at a consistent flow rate.  The result is simple, repeatable, consistently great tasting coffee.  The device is designed to be used only in the flat bottom filter basket and rests in the notches where the cone-shaped filter basket would be inserted.  

The Results: The Uniform Brewing Solutions water dispersion device produces coffee is that is consistently sweeter, more balanced, more full-bodied, and more evenly extracted than the stock brewer.  We and other testers have often found as a much as a 50% increase in extraction compared to the stock brewer.  One thing we want to be clear about is that we are not suggesting that higher extractions necessarily mean better tasting coffee.  It doesn’t.  Consistently great tasting coffee is our ultimate goal—not high extractions.  In other words, extraction is a means to an end and not the end itself.  While the trend in the past five years has been chasing brewing methods resulting in extractions well above 20%, we often prefer extractions in the range of 18-21% depending on the particular coffee being brewed.  Taste is subjective.  Our position on this topic is that your brewing equipment ought not to be the limiting factor on your ability to reach higher extractions and, most importantly, your ability to consistently extract the coffee evenly.  With the Uniform Brewing Solutions water dispersion device, you are capable of reaching high extractions.  Should you determine that the coffee tastes better at a lower extraction, you can always adjust your brewing variables to lower the extraction.  Our opinion is that this is a game changer for the Breville Precision Brewer and the Luxe Brewer.

Maximum Dose: Breville’s recommended maximum dose of ground coffee in the flat bottom filter basket is 99 grams.  When using the Uniform Brewing Solutions water dispersion device, the recommended maximum dose is 75-80 grams to prevent the ground coffee from touching the bottom of the device during the brewing cycle.  This is largely going to depend on the roast level and freshness of the coffee, and a phenomenon known as bloom or blooming.  As coffee is roasted, complex chemical reactions take place inside the coffee bean, which include the formation of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas.  Darker roasted coffee has more CO2 formation than lighter roasted coffee, which escapes as the coffee ages or “rests.”  When hot water is initially applied to freshly roasted and freshly ground coffee, the initial hydration (blooming) of the ground coffee allows for the sudden release of the trapped CO2 gas from the ground coffee.  If the coffee is very fresh (e.g., within a few days of being roasted), it is not uncommon to see the rapid swelling and bubbling of the ground coffee, especially the darker the roast level.    

Flow Rate Setting: While we made this product to be compatible with the fastest flow rate setting on the Breville, our preference is the medium flow rate setting.

Cleaning: Depending of the roast level, freshness, and the closer you get to 99 grams of ground coffee in the filter basket, the greater the odds that you will need to clean ground coffee and coffee oils from the underside of the water dispersion device. While the Uniform Brewing Solutions water dispersion device is top-rack dishwasher safe, cleaning in a kitchen sink is fast and easy.  Begin by rinsing off the underside of the water dispersion device.  Next use dishwashing liquid and a bristle brush to quickly remove any remaining coffee oils or grounds from the part.  Rinse and you are done. 

About the manufacturing process: The water dispersion device is made from injection molded medical-grade Polypropylene homopolymer (P4G3Z-039).  It was injection molded by David Eberhart with Dragonfly Engineering in California.  If you are interesting in the injection molding process of this product, David documented the process in his YouTube channel.  I have included links below.