The months are getting colder, but demand for cold brew is only heating up.
At the 2017’s Specialty Coffee Association Expo, a little company by the name of Brew Bomb set up shop in the back corner of the expo with a little banner and the masterpiece brewing unit that is the Brew Bomb.
Founder and the CEO Ray Buerger sold four machines at that launch event, including one to Klatch Coffee in Los Angeles, who has since integrated the machine for all of its commercial volumes of cold brew.
In the past year, Ray has sold 28 units into the US market in “strategic places” for high-end specialty roasters wanting to convert their coffee into cold brew on a large scale, and each one shares the same positive feedback: it’s an asset for time, control, and quality.
Well Australia, we have good news to share – the Brew Bomb is here and ready for market distribution thanks to its partnership with Bombora Coffee + Water Supplies.
The Brew Bomb can produce 210 litres of cold brew in three-and-a-half-hours and the cup clarity is brilliant, much like a delicious pilsner.
We love the Toddy Cold Brew system. It’s another favourite cold brew brewing method for small to medium-sized cold brew production, and one we sell plenty of at Bombora. But if you’re one of those cafés thinking about producing large volumes of cold brew, the Brew Bomb will save you time and effort. It uses a drip brewing process, which is fundamentally more efficient than immersion brewing. It yields up to 15 per cent more cold brew using the same amount of roasted coffee.
We know that Australian baristas and café owners are particular about having control over batch consistency and quality standards, and the Brew Bomb shares the same values. It provides users complete control over the brewing variables to achieve precise standards, and a delicious brew.
“The Brew Bomb manages water flow rate with precise timing. It’s just like an espresso machine where a good extraction relies on better control of water flow,” Ray says. “Like a shot of espresso, you have high concentration to start, and if let it go, the TDS (total dissolved solids) naturally drops. The Brew Bomb brews the same way. It gives you the ability to track and reach a required TDS every time, which is great for making concentrates, but also as a ready to drink product.”
Ray says cold brew in the US represents the highest growth segment within the coffee market, and in Australia, it’s gaining momentum. There’s so many backyard cold brew recipes floating around that cafés are struggling to keep up with demand, and that’s where the Brew Bomb comes in.
Ray first developed the idea for a high volume cold brew machine when he lived in Thailand in 2014, running a green bean business that sold stock into South East Asia. There, Ray noticed that 85 per cent of the market drank cold coffee.
He moved to Bangkok to work with Roots Coffee Roasters and started a cold brew program and bar. It turned so successful that Ray needed to make cold brew on a large scale. For inspiration, he kept looking at the way Yama cold drip towers worked, and decided to model the Brew Bomb on the same brewing philosophy, just on a much larger scale. It took Ray four years to get the right engineering to “scale it up”, but he did it along with some fearless innovators.
The devise is self-filtering with a grind disposal bottom drop that removes the grinds into a waste bin, and features a touchscreen interface, patent pending technology, and guarantees a 15-minute clean up time for a few hours work – not bad at all. Unlike a roaster or barista that requires precise experienced skill, the Brew Bomb is easily operational with no skilled labour necessary.
Yes, the Brew Bomb is more expensive than other brewing methods, but there’s typically a 300 per cent retail value increase by just taking roasted coffee and turning it into cold brew through the Brew Bomb.
The Brew Bomb is our hot tip for summer. Give us a call to find out when a demonstration unit will be in your area.
By Megan Ferguson is the Wholesale & Export Manager at Bombora Coffee + Water Supplies.
Experience the Brew Bomb for yourself. Find out where there’s a demonstration happening near you.
For more information, visit bomborasupplies.com.au or call 1300 724 249