iCoffee Steam Brewing Innovation by Remington Product Review

iCoffee Steam Brewing Innovation by Remington Product Review

Written by Melissa

The Remington name has been associated with coffee brewing since 1846 when John Remington received his patent for a coffee percolator. Since then, several models of Remington percolators and various coffee brewers were marketed. In 2005, Bruce Burrows, founder and inventor of iCoffee by Remington, began the relentless pursuit of using the goodness of steam in coffee brewing. He recognized that for more than 40 years, coffee lovers have been limited to methods of brewing that can over extract bitter and acidic oils from their favorite coffee and leave them dissatisfied with the flavor.

We received the iCoffee Brewer free for the purpose of this review, regardless our opinions are our own and true.

What we received:

The iCoffee Brewing system by Remington.  This brewer was designed to produce a smoother, less bitter cup of coffee by (in basic terms) steaming the coffee grounds instead of  “drip” brewing.   The process is simple, but technical so to better explain and to make sure I do not leave out any important information, I have included this video :

Ignore the fact that this video resembles a corny paid programming ad…

Main Features: 

iCoffee extracts more flavor, so you use less coffee in the basket (example- we were using 6 scoops and 8 cups water, now we use 4 scoops)

Alarm sound signals start and end of brew cycle- this comes in handy, especially if you are using the auto start feature. It has been our wake up alarm!  Two birds, one stone.

AutoStart programming And Clock  – by far the easiest set up for programming the auto start on a coffee maker that I have had.

Easy to set up – just add the filter basket, place the filter into the carafe, add water & coffee, brew. Enjoy. Simple.

Re-usable filter (my favorite feature, no more running out to buy filters!)

Window so you can see the brewing. This is very neat,  you can see the difference in how the grounds are moved and tossed around in there. Unlike a drip brewer where the water just comes straight down and runs through the middle.  It makes sense how more flavor would be extracted this way.

 

Auto Shut Off-  after a certain period of time (around 2 hours I believe) the brewer shuts off automatically.  The only thing I don’t like is you can not turn it back on.  The unit will beep and actually tell you on the screen to add water, it thinks you are starting a new pot.

For example... let’s say I get up about an hour after it finishes brewing , I pour a cup, I enjoy it, I get sidetracked outside, come back in and want a refill and the brewer has turned off.  I can not turn it back on to keep the coffee hot in the carafe.  Now, maybe the designers figure your coffee is no good after a certain amount of time (like in the cafe’s) which is fine, but I like to be able to make my own decision on if I am going to drink burnt/aged coffee or not.  It is a small detail, but something that annoys me.

This brings me to the next feature- a very cool one.  The brewer is programmed to alert you if you forget to add water or place the basket cover on. I have , many times, started my old coffee maker only to come back thinking it was done brewing and find I had done nothing but burnt the bottom.  Forgot the water.   Not with this one.   It will beep at you and a message will show on screen that you need to “Add H2O” as soon as you hit the start or auto start button.

Our Thoughts: 

In addition to what you read above,  we think the iCoffee is great.  The bitter taste really is removed and we use a lot less coffee than with our previous brewer.  I am so glad to have a cup of coffee without the acid present, it is something I was always complaining about. We tried all types and brands of coffee ad nothing worked. Now I know it was our brewer.

A huge change I noticed, I use less sugar. That is a big plus for me. I have been trying to cut back on my sugar intake and the hardest part has been with my coffee. Well, I realize now that I was adding more sugar to try and cut the bitterness.  Now, I use a touch of fat free flavored creamer and no sugar.  Going from 50 calories to 20.

 

Overall: 

You won’t find me going back to a drip brewer unless I absolutely have to. Meaning, my iCoffee breaks and I can not get a replacement. Other than that,  this is the way to go for me.  Brilliant.

You can find the iCoffee at stores like Bed, Bath & Beyond and Dillard’s .   For more information and a  full list of locations please visit their website at iCoffee.com