New kid on the block: the April Brewer
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This post is written in partnership with Best Coffee & Brewed By Hand.
Being a lover of hand brewing, I was pretty ecstatic when the guys at Brew By Hand and Best Coffee asked me to review one of their new products: the April Brewer.
I loved it pretty instantly, not only for the design itself, but also for how tasty and consistent the brews have been.
The Story
Before we get into much nerdy details, the brewer needs a little bit of introduction.
Back in 2019, in Boston Patrick Rolf came to the stage of the World Brewers Cup with a new brewer. The brewer was designed by Patrick himself to achieve consistent brews on stage, as well aid him to brew the perfect cup of coffee. Exactly what the judges would have expected from him.
Patrick not only won a well deserved silver medal, after a magnificent routine – yes, you got a fan here- but also generated the highest-scoring cup in the competition. You gathered, quite a big deal for us in the coffee world.
Since then, it took him and the team at April Coffee Roaster a couple of years to make some small final changes to improve the brewer.
I am happy to share with you, that it was completely worth the wait.
Attention! This next part of the post is about to get quite technical and geeky. So it may be confusing if you have never encountered these terms before.
Design
Before I go into details, let’s talk about the design of the April Brewer.
The team at April teamed up with Belgian design company Serax to craft a product that combines beauty and functionality. Patrick and the team decided to opt for a flatbed brewer, as these help with sweetness and consistent extraction.
The April Brewer itself it’s made of ceramic clay, finished in white gloss. This material helps with maintaining the temperature of the brew, not only in the little cup provided but also in the brewing process. Ceramic clay is known for his conductivity and it works perfectly here.
At the bottom of the brewer can be found 3 little “filter holders”, that help the filter sit in place during the brewing process. These also help with the flow rate, and keeps it consistent.
On the outside, where the base is, we can find some “Air Pockets”. These have been designed to allow air circulation, which helps with maintaining a consistent and clean cup.
The Brews
I did some thorough testing, and drank definitely way more coffee that I should have. I used the WBC Scoring Sheet to be accurate and consistent.
Even though I didn’t always use the same coffee, I kept some parameters the same: dose, yield and the method of brewing.
The results out of all the testing where pretty similar:
- Sweetness: the sweetness in the brews were consistently between a medium/high and I found myself scoring it mostly 8-9. I was lingering and very pleasant.
- Body: the body was juicy, no matter what process or where the coffee came from. Again, high scorers here with an average of 8.5 between all coffees. Literally, most coffees tasted like actual fruit juice.
- Acidity: acidity was present but not dominant. It was in perfect balance with sweetness, and they both complemented each other.
- Aftertaste: again, very well balanced and quite lingering. Another high scorer, around the 9s on most of my brews.
Now, the only things I couldn’t do was take the TDS of my brews – sorry guys, a TDS is way to expensive for someone who’s about to start university again.
But, from past experience and testing I have done at work, I tend to be a consistent brewer.
To conclude, the April Brewer has easily become a favourite of mine. From the design, to the consistency of the brews, it definitely has my full vote.
You can currently buy the brewer through the Best Coffee App Website.
PIN THIS!
A good aftertaste is vital. Sounds lovely.
So neat and cozy, love the design..
I have to confess I know nothing about coffee brewing whatsoever. My coffee habits are restricted to mochas from coffee shops and the daily instant mix I drink first thing. I’m very curious about coffee being sweet and tasting like fruit juice… this sounds like something I could definitely get behind! Loved your review of this brewer, thanks for sharing your thoughts. 🙂
AHAHA that is more than fine! Glad I put the bug in the ear for you 😂
I am looking forward to reading more of your blog posts! I’m new to your blog and I’m so glad you commented on my post ’cause I wouldn’t have found this otherwise! Having read this also reminded me I need to grab my afternoon coffee! 😀
Ahaha Thank you Polly!!x
It is always interesting to see new ways of brewing coffee. The design of the glass is so interesting. I’ve seen some that looks like a funnel, but this is more of a cup design. Thanks for sharing about April Brewer!
I don’t even like coffee, but a small part of me wants this just to sit on the side of my kitchen and look pretty! haha
Katie | katieemmbeauty.com
Ahaha thanks Katie!
Wow! The more I read your coffee posts, the harder the realization I have that I don’t know anything about coffee at all haha The white ceramic is gorgeous and so my style! I love this so much. I need to be more adventurous and experiment coffee as an art form. Thank you for sharing, Fred! xx
http://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
Yes to all! I am so glad you are loving my posts!
So I literally know nothing about coffee being a die-hard tea drinker, but wow, this was an absolutely fascinating read. I’m not sure I even knew brewers existed. You’ve got me really intrigued now – great post!
Thank you! Who knows, maybe one day you will come to “the dark side” 😂
This was really interesting. I’ve never used a brewer before but it sounds like you can get a great taste by using it.
Indeed!
This post reminded me of my colleague who used to make a nice cup of coffee. I am a fan of great coffee if someone else is doing the hard work.
Your post is informative and tempting as well:)
AHAHA yes I get that!
This was very insightful! I’m not a big coffee drinker, having only started re-drinking it again after like a 7 year absence last year. And I’ll probably have one every 2 months or something haha!
Ahah Thanks Jenny!
This is so cool! I’m a huge fan of coffee, so this sounds great for me x
Thanks Sophie!
I love coffee and have my favorites, but I’m always open to trying a new roast. This one sounds like a winner. I’ll definitely check it out! I wrote a post about the secret to a perfect cup of coffee. Pour overs are a great way to go, but I hate lukewarm coffee so I tend to go with a French Press.
Thanks for sharing your insights!
–Sue
https://susanberkkoch.com/blog/make-a-perfect-cup-of-coffee-in-one-step/
Thank you.
Oooh this is so clever! I live on a steady supply of coffee, so this would definitely be right up my street!
Love, Amie ❤
The Curvaceous Vegan
Thank you!
What a clever idea — I love it! I am such a coffee lover and have so many gadgets/ways of brewing that I’, keen to add this to my collection. Great review!
There are never enough gadgets ahah
I consider myself someone who really loves coffee – and I do – but I’m completely ignorant when it comes to the terms and descriptions. I feel like I need to do coffee tastings as often as I do wine tastings so someone can explain to me what everything means! I’m fascinated right now, honestly.
Oh, that is great to know you have been doing wine tasting! The two industries literally go hand in hand! I have trained some sommeliers that came to learn about coffee to help them with wine. And I have done viceversa! Well, watch this spot, because I will definitely share more!
Great post, I would love to try. I love coffee
Thanks for sharing
Thanks!
I have never brewed coffee myself, but you’ve provided so detail information on using the April Brewer and coffee sweetness, body, acidity, and aftertaste that I want to try such coffee. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! I am a coffee “nerd” after all 😂
As a coffee lover I would try this. I have not heard of this April brew before.
Honestly, the best brewer i have tried. I cannot wait to get my mum to try it too! She loves coffee!
I don’t drink coffee but this sounds like a great product to try. A really interesting post. You have shared a great post. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you Lauren!
The design of the April Brewer looks so nice & it’s great that you gave the coffee consistently high ratings when using the brewer!
It is literally the perfect brewer! Xx
Wow i’d never heard of this company! cool!
do i need any more coffee paraphernalia? no. am i thinking about buying this? oh yeah.
Ahahah that’s what i say all the time and then I get it 😂
Coffee is literally my daily fuel, this seems a great item for brewing. I’ve found my coffee maker isn’t consistent with the brewing, seems like all the testing and development of the product has worked very well. Thanks for sharing.
Definitely. I was amazed and loved how consistent this brewer is. Consistency is key in coffee, and this brewer is designed to do this! X
So many technical terms about coffee and the perfect coffee that I don’t understand haha! Sounds like this coffee is nice, defo need to try!
Yes, it was a very technical post! Thanks for reading anyways!
I am not a coffee drinker and I honestly don’t know a thing about coffee but this was an interesting read and this brewing company does sound like a great one too.
Thanks for sharing this brand – very interesting. I’m actually not a coffee drinker but my man is, he’s addicted!
Rosie
Ahah perfect! He may have heard about it!
I honestly live off coffee so I loved reading this! It sounds like these brews are super delicious, I might have to look into them further! Thanks for sharing!
Yes! Thank you!
This was interesting to read! I don’t know much about coffee so I love getting insight from your posts – very informative and helpful xx
Ahah Thank you Della! I love that you love my nerdiness on this!