Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

OXO has produced a worthy contender to the well respected Toddy T2N Cold Brew System. Both are great cold brewers. Which one should you choose? I will try to highlight some differences, and then you can decide for yourself. (I think that you can't go wrong with either choice.) First, a quick background: the cold-brew method is a straightforward way to produce coffee that does indeed have lower acidity. I'm not concerned about acidity. I like having cold-brew coffee on hand because iced coffee has a better taste when made with cold-brew concentrate than when made with a pot of hot coffee that you refrigerate. The cold-brew method is dead simple: combine coarsely ground coffee with good water and let the mixture sit undisturbed for about a day (there is no need to refrigerate while brewing). Then, dispense the results through a filter into a pitcher. The end result is a concentrate that will make a dozen or so glasses of iced coffee. Second, a consistent coarse ground is important. If you don't have your own burr grinder, ask your local coffee roaster to grind it for you. Less expensive "whirly blade" grinders will produce a mixture of coarse and fine grounds that will mess with the results and possibly clog the filter. Third, no matter which brewer you get, experiment a little! Toddy and OXO use slightly different proportions (OXO says 10 oz of coffee for 1200 ml of water, while Toddy says 12 oz of coffee for 1650 ml of water). They also use slightly different methods for combining the coffee and water (OXO says put in all the coffee at once, followed by the water, and then stir. Toddy wants you to layer the coffee and water, but says not to stire.) Which technique is correct? Whichever technique you like the best. Play around with the technique. Try varying the grind. Try varying the kind of coffee that you use. The "best technique" is the one that you like the most. OK...with that out of the way, here are the main differences between this OXO cold brewer and the Toddy cold brewer: * The FILTER: This is the most important part of the entire brewer. OXO provides a metal filter, while Toddy has a fibrous "wafer" filter. The big difference? The metal filter from OXO will inevitably allow a bit more sediment and coffee oils into the resulting concentrate. The metal filter has a very fine mesh, so the sediment is minimal, but it is noticeable. OXO acknowledges this by providing a few disposable paper filters and some supplementary instructions that explain that some people might prefer the paper. It does not appear that OXO sells replacement paper filters. I have some paper filters for my Aeropress Coffee and Espresso Maker that are slightly larger, and might work, but I cannot vouch for them. OXO's including the paper filters struck me as a last-minute decision. I think there must have been some gripes about the results from the metal filter. I slightly prefer the Toddy approach to filters (note the filters are not interchangeable...you can't use Toddy filters in the OXO brewer). [UPDATE: Paper filters for this OXO brewer are available...OXO Good Grips Cold Brew Coffee Maker Replacement Paper Filters, Brown, 50 Per Box] * The TECHNIQUE: OXO's brewer has a couple more parts to it than Toddy. This includes a "Rainmaker" to help disperse the water as it is poured. More importantly, OXO has a switch that you flip up while the coffee is brewing, and down when it is time to dispense the coffee into the pitcher. By contrast, Toddy's brewer has a rubber cork in the bottom of the brewer. When it is time to dispense the coffee, you need to reach under the brewer and pop out that cork. Here, OXO is a clear winner. The on/off switch makes it much easier. However, Toddy's cork-removal approach never really bothered me in the first place. But, if you are a flip-a-switch kind of person, rather than a pop-a-cork kind of person, then the OXO choice is a no-brainer. Because the OXO has more individual parts to the system, setup seems a bit more complicated. But really, both systems are simple to use. * The APPEARANCE: OXO wins this one. OXO's smoked-plastic tower looks much nicer on my kitchen counter than the white-plastic Toddy that has to rest on a glass pitcher. Still, despite some differences between the OXO and Toddy cold-brewers, either is a good choice. OXO has a fine reputation for well designed kitchen equipment. Toddy has a solid reputation for its home and commercial cold-brewers. Both systems produce a fine cup of iced coffee. Either way you go, you will be happy.