Bean Envy Cold Brew Coffee Maker In-depth Review

Bean Envy is a dedicated designer and manufacturer of coffeeware. Currently, their focus has been on manual brewers such as this cold brew coffee maker, a pour-over coffee maker, and a French press. Other products include a handheld milk frother, a gooseneck kettle, and a range of unique MCT oil powders.

7.9 Brew Quality

For an immersion filter brewer, the Bean Envy ranks very competitively and the brew quality is relatively good. The brew is strong, flavorful, and smooth but not as complex as a cold brew can be. We found it brewed more towards the bitter flavors rather than the sweeter ones.

8.0 Bouquet

The Bean Envy produced a medium to strong bouquet. It had a distinctive roasted note, but there was some complexity to it. We also detected woody and herby notes, with a slight underlying hint of chocolate.

8.0 Drinkability

Bean Envy presented a strong roasted flavor with a semi-full-bodied experience. Overall, the brew was a little bitter with not so much of a sweet aftertaste. We liked it as it was, but you could even dilute it a little. All things considered, it was a good brew for mixing. We have found that a brewer with a thin neck and wider base tends to get better results, and Bean Envy fits this design.

7.5 Sediment

After allowing the brew to settle, we decanted the contents to see how much sediment remained at the bottom. The Bean Envy produced a moderate amount of sediment as a fine sludge. Considering that it’s best to stir the brew before pouring to drink, we would recommend a second decanting. The sediment produced, however, was a good compromise for the quality of the brew.

9.3 Design

Bean Envy is an all-round top-quality product and it makes a fairly good brew. The silicone base and the two-lid design are particularly nice, and the stainless steel filter was well-machined. Unfortunately, pouring with the silicone lid popped up was not so smooth.

In the Box

• Assembled brew carafe 
• Extra silicone lid
• Brew guide and manual
• Warranty tag and promotional card

Bean Envy is a high-quality craft product. The first thing you see in the box is the VIP card which invites you to scan the QR code to register your warranty, gain exclusive offers, and more — except our code didn’t work. Their only website is on Amazon and there’s no way to find the registration page. There is, however, a tag with a warranty on any broken glass, a support email, and toll-free number. 

Unperturbed, we unpacked the rest of the box. The side of the box promises a microdot precision laser fitter, a silicone base, and an extra strong borosilicate glass decanter. This product comes with two lids: one for brewing and one for post-decanting. The final item was a very high-quality product booklet, brew guide, and care manual all in one.

Decanter

The decanter is well-made and specifically, we liked the thick rim. The extended and rounded handle is also very easy to grip. Likewise, the silicone base is neither too thick nor too thin and effortlessly slips on and off. This is something that not every brewer using a silicone base gets right. The base of the glass carafe is actually slightly indented for the fit and Bean Envy are awaiting patent approval for this design.

9.5 Stopper / Lid

The Bean Envy doesn’t stop with its unique carafe design. The stainless steel brew lid is quite similar to other designs, however, the additional all-silicone lid for post-decanting is quite unique. 

This lid makes up for the disparity between the fit of the lid with the filter and that without. Not only that, the silicone lid has a unique pop function. You just lift the lid slightly to pour from two different open positions, or you can twist the lid to a sealed position. However, we found the carafe doesn’t pour so well with the silicone lid extended.

9.0 Filter

The Bean Envy filter is well-machined and made from fine laser-cut stainless steel. There are no sharp edges, but unfortunately, the bottom of the filter is solid. We have found that the presence of holes at the bottom makes it easier for decanting all the liquid, and may contribute to developing a better brew.

Also, from our extensive testing experience, fine-cut laser filters tend not to be the best. This is because they lack sufficient permeability for a good brew to develop. The Bean Envy filter, on the other hand, proved not to be the case as the brew quality was relatively good — also evidenced by the amount of sediment produced.

9.5 Build Quality

Overall, we were very satisfied with the quality of the Bean Envy cold coffee brewer. The extra thought put into the base and lid designs was much appreciated. The only improvement would be with an upgrade to the filter and the pour with the silicone stopper.

9.1 Ease of Use

Brewing and decanting required minimal effort. Additionally, the volume markings on the carafe are great for telling how much yield is produced and how much coffee you have remaining during use. For hand-washing, you will need a bottle brush and a little extra care is required so as not to misplace either of the lids in storage.

9.5 Brewing

The nice thing about Bean Envy is their included brew guide. First, they recommend freshly ground beans, and as coarse as you can grind them. They also pay due attention to brew ratio, which other manufacturers don’t generally do.

They recommend a typical 1:4 ratio. In their instructions, they speak of 8 tablespoons of grounds to 32 fl oz (1 L) of water. We carefully measured both water and grounds for testing. The Bean Envy filter takes 3 oz (typical for its size) or 85 g of grounds. The volume of water needed to completely soak the grounds was 1.1 L or 38 fl. oz. This is a typical ratio of 1:12 which matches with a number of other similar brewers.

Because of the type of filter, it took quite some time for the water to pass through. Therefore, you may want to start with at least 20 fl oz (600 ml) of water already added to the carafe.

9.0 Decanting

As with most similar immersion filter brewers, decanting requires very little work. It took a little force to pry the filter out because it was tightly bonded—which was not a bad thing. Decanting would be easier though if the filter base had holes for all the liquid to flow out more easily. After decanting, you simply place on the silicone lid, which, apart from creating a different look, was also a very good fit.

8.5 Cleaning and Storage

We found it best to clean the brewer by hand, but the glass carafe and filter can easily go into a dishwasher. Both the filter and the carafe required the use of a bottle brush. The silicone base is very secure, yet you can slip it off easily and it’s also one of the best designs we have seen. Because there are two lids, you should make sure not to misplace one or the other while in storage.

Compared to Other Cold Brew Coffee Makers 

A comparable cold brew coffee maker to Bean Envy is the Ovalware. Ovalware tends to produce a sweeter brew than Bean Envy. It's also a more slender carafe and the measurement markings are in cups and milliliters and not cups and ounces. 

Other immersion filter brewers such as the County Line Kitchen are more suitable for brewing in the door of a refrigerator. See a full listing of our top cold brew coffee makers for free-style brewers for making a full-strength cold brew concentrate.

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