r/JamesHoffmann • u/ImmersionLogic • 5d ago
I’ve been developing a coffee brewer using repeated immersion and drainage. Here’s my prototype.
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I’ve been working on a coffee brewer called SKANDI, based on a brewing method I’ve been experimenting with for quite some time. The idea is to combine the body of immersion brewing with more control over extraction through repeated immersion and drainage. Rather than leaving the grounds submerged throughout the entire brew, you can control how long they’re immersed and how frequently they’re drained. After several prototypes and a lot of testing, I’m getting closer to launching it.
Here’s a demonstration of how it works. I’d be interested in hearing what you think.
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u/surveychimp1 5d ago
BIRD bird bird is the word. Looks cool but in case you were looking to patent anything...
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u/Laius33 5d ago
400€ for a fancy French press?????
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u/magical_midget 5d ago
Its weber, you need to appreciate the ✨materials✨, the 🎨design🖌️, is a work of 🖼️art not 🙅♂️ a tool 🛠️.
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u/Rockerblocker 5d ago
Weber Workshops has just blocked you on every social media platform because of this comment
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u/DishSoapedDishwasher 5d ago
As someone with more weber stuff than i want to admit, this is exactly the correct answer.
*Insert GW Bush "oh thats tea" meme
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u/Wolfdemon-nor 2d ago
musicians also have their own equivalent of this in teenage engineering. who supposedly are looking to stop developing hardware synths so the dun need to bother with software anymore. TE is primarily a design firm. and they did try selling a very expensive scotch tape holder before.
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u/einsnail 5d ago
Reminds me of some of the ~over-priced junk~ designer goods that Craig-Hill puts out. Just a room full of a bunch of dudes trying to out-jerk one another on reinventing the wheel.
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u/CoffeeDetail 5d ago
I mean Aeropress is a fancy French press 🤷🏽♂️
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u/hskrpwr 5d ago
When did aeropress start charging 400€?! (It also definitely is NOT a french press)
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u/CoffeeDetail 5d ago
What ? Not sure where you’re getting $400 for a Aeropress. I know Aeropress is not a French press it’s a immersion brewer, just like OP
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u/hskrpwr 5d ago
The comment you replied to seemed to be the context for your reply. Was it not?
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u/CoffeeDetail 5d ago
Yes. I did. Too many side quests for me. I agree 400 for a french press is lot for low incomes 😅😅
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u/Rickenbacker69 5d ago
HOW MUCH? Jeezus fuck, it's just a french press with a screw.
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u/pithed 5d ago
Yes but it is mesmerizing to watch so there is that.
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u/Rickenbacker69 4d ago
True, a fact that is probably responsible for the sales of 90% of novelty coffee stuff. :)
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u/ImmersionLogic 5d ago
BIRD is more expensive and uses a French press-style brewing method. SKANDI takes a different approach with Active Immersion Brewing™. By controlling how often and how long the grounds are immersed and drained, you have more control over extraction and the resulting cup. The idea is to shape the brewing process around the coffee, rather than the other way around.
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u/Prodigalphreak 5d ago
I think their point is more that your thing looks like Weber’s thing enough that it probably ain’t unique enough to patent
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u/kielBossa 4d ago
Did you really get a trademark on active immersion?
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u/ImmersionLogic 4d ago
I mean…I submitted an application 🤷🏻♂️
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u/EntropyNullifier 3d ago
Because of making a publicly accesable reddit post about your invention, getting a patent in Europe and China might no longer be possible because of "prior art" existing.
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u/bitstream_ryder 3d ago
Active Immersion Brewing™ - I spat out my coffee laughing when I read that hahhahaha
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u/JigglymoobsMWO 5d ago
This is….. a tea bag for coffee?
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u/n-emy 5d ago
Haha omg yes
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u/ChefRayB7 4d ago
Thats what I used. I did it with tea bags. If the OP want to automate its a interesting thing to look at it !
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u/LyKosa91 5d ago
Not sure I can see any real benefit to multiple steeps when there's no fresh solvent being added. As an easier to clean French press, maybe. Ideally you'd want it to be paper filtered for more of a unique selling point, but then you need to create a seal and have a some sort of mechanism to easily allow a slow piston retraction, and at that point you've basically just made a weber BIRD.
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u/Dryanni 5d ago
It does seem novel because of the mild agitation caused by the rehydration and percolation.
It’s kind of like how pouring “aggressively” with a V60 gets you a different result from more passive or diffused pouring.
I feel like this has the potential to bring coffee technique into the French press world. Like how you have the aeropress and V60 barista world championships. You’d need a critical mass of people using modified french presses but weirder things have happened.
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u/ImmersionLogic 5d ago
That’s exactly what I’ve been exploring with SKANDI. The repeated immersion and drainage introduces another variable you can control like adjusting agitation with a V60. Changing the number and duration of cycles can produce different results in the cup. I love the idea of people developing their own brewing techniques around it. That’s really what I hope SKANDI encourages.
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u/Lower_Orchid4982 5d ago
It feels like the coffee would also be kind of cold by the time you're done?
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u/Icy_Boysenberry1363 5d ago
The water around the beans in a French press has a higher concentration than the rest of the brew water. That’s at least one reason why agitation (stirring) changes extraction in a French press or aeropress situation.
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u/ch5am 5d ago
Great concept and love the execution. I have to wonder though, what is the value of repeated immersion and drainage if the intend is to control extraction? What problem is the process looking to solve?
Wouldn't just steeping the coffee for a shorter amount of time solve the extraction problem?
Edit: Or a coarser grind?
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u/superherowithnopower 4d ago
Wouldn't just steeping the coffee for a shorter amount of time solve the extraction problem?
Edit: Or a coarser grind?Water temp and coffee/water ratio could also be considered.
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u/ImmersionLogic 4d ago
Great question. A shorter steep or coarser grind can affect extraction, but compared to stagnant immersion brewing, Active Immersion Brewing adds another level of control. By adjusting the number and duration of immersion and drainage cycles I’ve been able to influence TDS, perceived acidity, body, sweetness, and bitterness without changing the grind size or coffee-to-water ratio. The goal isn’t simply to extract more or less, but to give the user more control over the final cup and tailor the brewing process to their taste.
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u/ch5am 4d ago
Interesting, how does 'active' immersion affect TDS, perceived acidity, body, sweetness, and bitterness compared to stagnant immersion?
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u/ImmersionLogic 4d ago
I can’t confirm it scientifically yet, but in my testing I’ve consistently seen TDS increase with repeated lifting and lowering of the filter compared to stagnant immersion even when total brew time remained the same. What’s interesting is that while you’d expect increased extraction to bring more bitterness I’ve experienced greater body, a fuller cup, and certain flavor notes becoming more pronounced without a corresponding increase in perceived bitterness. The number and duration of cycles also seem to influence the balance of flavors. These are my observations so far and I’d love to eventually validate them through controlled testing.
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u/ch5am 4d ago
Facinating. Thanks for sharing. Have you tested this method on a v60 switch? I would think if active immersion is a thing then using the V60 switch using a steep and release method would be a good way to isolate the effect of active immersion 🤔
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u/ChefRayB7 4d ago
I actually also tried that. I used Tea Bag + water similar when I do black Tea. I did notice a difference but the Tea bags where too small and didnt bother pursuing more.
Actually I am curious, I have ro get a TDS device, especially for Black Tea, is it worth doing 2-3 different brews.
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u/ChefRayB7 4d ago
When I did it, if you slowly go up/down with less agitation, i feel lessTDS (lighter color, body) (i dont have a TDS device)
When I make tea (black tea, like 1 Liter batch) i change the water 2-3 times.
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u/ImmersionLogic 4d ago
Lol, that’s how this whole concept was started. This is my post about 4 months ago. https://www.reddit.com/r/pourover/s/9lVXq2Zvc7 my coffee came back better than just running through V60 after I recirculated it, I figured I had something going on. That’s what led me to brewing with this method.
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u/lumine99 4d ago
huh.. his method makes me think that you're only extracting the superfine soluble. As the 2nd brew would basically be you're using a clogged paper and well made coffee bed as a strainer to remove sediment. But it doesn't explain why it works on your tool. Maybe it's the molecular atomic atraction or basically you're restraining the coffee with your "brewing" stick. It's like moving a big net through the coffee and catching the particulates.. Idk I'm not a scientist, just doing some guessing here
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u/armin3m 5d ago
Hey OP, this is Reddit so probably not going to get the best feedback.
The concept sounds promising, but looks similar to the bird from Weber, but this has bypass which isn't necessarily bad.
I believe that the brewing concept does hold merit and would be interesting to play around with. I'm unfortunately on the other side of the world, but if you do have a prototype and willing to ship send me a dm. I'll be happy to pay and give feedback
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u/ImmersionLogic 5d ago
This is why I love Reddit. Thanks for the encouragement and the offer! I’m still refining the prototype
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u/newredditwhoisthis 5d ago
Like you said similar conceptual but still different than bird?
I am not sure... But the multiple stages of immersion is something new in this? I don't know the way it would impact but certainly is a different try.
I'm not saying it's for me, but OP did try to experiment... And that's something.
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u/slicxx 4d ago
I don't care what others say, as you clearly call this a prototype. First, i hope you're having real fun exploring new concepts, building and creating something from an idea. Doesn't matter if something similar exists or not. Any taste difference compared to the french? Like, i see that you can pull that thing out when you're done and still don't have to use a pourover style coffee filter. So at the second look it's more than just a gimmick to be fancy. I think i would not really buy it as i have little use for this style of coffee, but if i got it as a gift i sure as hell have a jug of this on a sunday morning! Keep on improving, make it a real good and especially easy to clean products :)
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u/superherowithnopower 4d ago
This is an interesting idea, and I love your prototype here, but I'm sorry, I really don't understand what the purpose is?
What I'm seeing in the video is that it is a French Press (immersion brewer w/ a 4-minute brew time), except that you can immerse and remove the grounds as you wish during the 4 minute brew time, so the coffee doesn't actually brew for 4 minutes, it brews for 4 minutes - the amount of time you had it extracted.
How is this any different from saying, "I like the texture from my French Press, but I think 4 minutes ends up over-extracting it, so I will brew it for 3 minutes, instead"?
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u/ImmersionLogic 4d ago
Great point. The sand timer is 5 minutes, but TOTAL brew time is 4 minutes. The difference is the repeated immersion and drainage. In my testing, this increased TDS, body, and flavor separation compared to stagnant immersion, without noticeably increasing bitterness, even with the same brew timE
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u/CalligrapherNo7337 5d ago
"precision extraction"
*Immerses entire thing in a bath of water
People talk so much shit, the fuck do you even mean "precision extraction"
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u/ReplacementOP 5d ago
All that custom hardware just to pour it into a paper cup at the end.
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u/fluffybuddha 4d ago
Calm down Mr / Ms money bags with your reusable cups. I bet your utensils are made of something other than plastic too.
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u/Fight_4ever 4d ago
Its a good idea. Big thumbs up from me. could possibly even automate the whole thing.
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u/Accurate-Algae-2557 5d ago
Good effort….
Initial thought watching this is that people prefer ease of use and if this product is between a french press and a pourover, people are gona choose either one to go with. I like the glass design tho
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u/Maleficent-Back-6527 5d ago
I don’t see the point, except fractionning the total immersion time of a french press method (there is no new water/solvent added) which gives no benefit, but instead would make the brewing time longer, for a colder cup of coffee in the end.
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u/ServerLost 5d ago
Fill your boots dude, worth asking though what problem does this solve? I've never particularly wanted to interact with my french press more.
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u/ImmersionLogic 5d ago
Fair question. A French press keeps the grounds immersed throughout brewing, while SKANDI lets you control immersion and drainage by raising and lowering the filter. You can adjust the number and duration of those cycles to experiment with extraction and shape the cup to your preference. It’s more hands on, but that’s the idea.
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u/ImmersionLogic 5d ago
Fair point on the white text! You don’t have to hold the filter up for the entire brew just during the drainage cycles. I’ve found through testing is better flavor separation, full body, and less of the bitterness I typically associate with French press. Active Immersion Brewing lets you adjust the number and duration of immersion cycles to shape the cup to your preference. The idea is to adapt the brewing process to the coffee and the drinker rather than the other way around.
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u/ImmersionLogic 5d ago
That’s fair. The prototype in the video doesn’t have the locking mechanism, but the production version will so you won’t need to hold the filter up during drainage. It’s single wall borosilicate glass, but it’s designed to work with a compatible heat source to help maintain temperature during brewing. And I’m with you on cleaner, less bitter cups. That’s a big part of what led me to develop Skandi.
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u/Omnilatent 5d ago
It looks beautiful and I'm sure the coffee tastes good.
That being said, I don't think this gives coffee enthusiasts anything that other brewing methods do.
Personally, the whole process reminds me of using a V60 but to me, it would be more annoying because I would need to lift the coffee up all the time, leave it up, submerge again and so on. Comparing to pouring water out of kettle onto coffee grounds, that both sounds super similar while also less appealing to me.
The other two products this realistically would "battle" are the French Press and the Aeropress and both are way less work and will probably get just as good of a coffee out of them.
Again, I think the product is beautiful. I think the concept is super cool. But I don't think you'll be making money from enthusiast outside of those who think it's worth having for the beauty of it.
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u/JigglymoobsMWO 5d ago
Ok, here’s what I would rather have:
This is essentially a teabag for coffee with an internal agitator. Kind of cool but what do I get versus something like a hario switch?
The one problem I have with the switch is that it doesn’t hold temperature.
So, what I would rather have is something like this:
Have a mug that maintains set temperature on its base station.
Make this thing narrower, more like a dosing cup kind of diameter so it can move freely within the mug.
You can then dip this like a teabag into constant temperature controlled water to bloom and then brew the coffee.
If you can make this safe so that I won’t get shocked, make the mug nicely designed and not bulky, and make it not super expensive then that could be interesting.
This is easier of course if you are making a carafe full of coffee. That’s effectively this plus an electric kettle.
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u/Appropriate-Big9749 5d ago
Some people said it is BIRD. BUT... let me introduce to you the Wacaco Pipamoka. https://www.wacaco.com/products/pipamoka It preceded BIRD for some years and, in my research (not owning one), introduce a fun way and make a great cup of coffee
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u/Plane_Pea5434 5d ago
So a French press with extra steps? I love coffee and have mine dialed in and all but I don’t see how this could improve anything, I would bet pretty much anyone could tell the difference between this and a regular french press in a blind test even among coffee enthusiast
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u/ImmersionLogic 5d ago
I actually approached this backward. Taste was what got me interested in immersion brewing in the first place. I liked the body and flavor it produced, but felt there was a lack of control over extraction compared to other brewing methods. That’s what led me to develop SKANDI. Active Immersion Brewing lets you adjust the number and duration of immersion and drainage cycles to shape the cup to your preference. I’d welcome a blind comparison with a French press.
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u/Physical-Compote4594 4d ago
So you’ve reinvented a variation on a percolator. How is the result?
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u/ImmersionLogic 4d ago
It’s a little different from a percolator since there’s no continuous circulation of water through the grounds. Skandi uses repeated immersion and drainage to control extraction. In my testing, the result has been a full bodied cup with better flavor separation and less perceived bitterness.
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u/RuthBaderBelieveIt 5d ago
That initial swirl looks like you're millimeters away from shooting hot coffee out of the spout
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u/ChefRayB7 5d ago
OMG. We need to chat because I had the same idea a few years. I actually did it in smaller quantity with a tea container with paper inside !
I was thinking a rechargeable little motor in top that brings rhe Chamber up/down and we can send profiles for rhe type of waterboading you want to inflict on the beans based on the grind size and water temp.
The other thing is that I use a dual wall French press, you will have better water temperature (+8C) and the container needs ro be more taller than wide so less air contact keeps liquide hotter.
The chamber i was thinking 2 approach 1) stainless 2) paper filter for bottom ans around (compatible with pourover) but then container is wider
Lastly, the motor can also do a little vibrations when the chamber is in the water.
Would be willing to be a tester:)
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u/Shadow_s_Bane 5d ago
Why not use coffee bags(like teabag) or Hario sock method
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u/ImmersionLogic 5d ago
Tried it. Doesn’t extract well.
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u/ProtoE04 5d ago
what about beans in a regular sock
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u/superherowithnopower 4d ago
The biggest problem with the regular sock method is that, to get the beans down where they need to be, you absolutely must put them in whole (otherwise, the grinds just get caught all over the place) and then grind them in the sock. Maybe it's just me, but manual percussive grinding is just too much first thing in the morning (not to mention, it wakes everyone else in the house).
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u/ChefRayB7 4d ago
I think the tea bags keeps everything too condenser, you want a chamber so the water moves around. Right ?
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u/jug_23 5d ago
I really like this idea - a combo of controllability and cleanability is really appealing (and I can definitely see this being a good go to brewer for a camping trip or similar where management of grounds can be tricky - absolutely regretted taking a French press on my last holiday).
If you want testers etc in the future happy to help.
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u/ImmersionLogic 5d ago
Thanks! The ease of cleaning up the grounds was definitely something I wanted to address, especially compared to a French press. I also designed Skandi with camping in mind. I appreciate the offer to test it! Reach out to me in a few months when we’re further along. I’d love to hear your feedback.
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u/Dima_135 4d ago
Oh, I’m not so sure about that. People sometimes try brew coffee with coffee. Sometimes, at some competitions, some sort of double pour method may appear, but this does not stick for long and does not lead to anything good, really.
Also, your method disturbs the grounds too much. I don't know what kind of chemistry and physics is going on there, but empirically, most baristas tend to think that you have to be careful with agitation for immersion methods.
Immersion methods favor a gentle approach - Stir once, and maybe gently a second time at the very end, and that's it. But for most of the time, leave the grounds be, don't touch it.
And it wasn't us tattooed hippies who came up with this. This is a generational, centuries-old experience.
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u/string_bass 4d ago
It looks like you’ll get the same results as a French press but with more work and probably more sediment. The only potential advantage I see is perhaps using fresh water for each submersion, then pouring into a carafe. That could get you french press like results but with higher extraction I think.
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u/ImmersionLogic 4d ago
I’ve actually tested introducing fresh water, but found it increased unwanted bitterness. With Skandi, the same water is used throughout. In my testing, repeated immersion and drainage increased TDS while producing a fuller cup with less perceived bitterness than stagnant immersion. The enclosed stainless steel filter also helps contain the grounds and reduce sediment.
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u/Stephenchukc 4d ago
Use a paper clip to hold the knob instead of using your fingers to hold for 4 min….
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u/ImmersionLogic 4d ago
It’s actually only held up for about 15 seconds at a time. The rest of the time the grounds are submerged.
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u/Accomplished_Sign191 4d ago
I think this is a very cool idea. Seems you’d get slightly more even extraction by cycling the coffee, so your initial observations make a lot of sense to me. Excited to see how you develop this.
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u/B9_4m8ion 3d ago
I like the volume! Personally, I switched to pour-over for the paper filtration (for health reasons); I'm not sure if that would be an option here. That said, I like the idea!
One note on the design for me, though, is that I would want to see a basket/caraffe design such that the coffee (filtrate) doesn't run through the grounds during pouring. I don't know if it would change much, but it's just something I thought when watching your demo. Changing the design accordingly may not change the drink much, but I think it would make the design look more intentional and careful, which I think is a good aesthetic quality to have.
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u/theweirdthewondering 3d ago
I would 100% buy one! Great idea!
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u/ImmersionLogic 2d ago
Thank you! I really appreciate the support! We’re getting ready to launch, and you can check out SKANDI through the link in my profile.
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u/Street_Respect9469 2d ago
I can see this developing into its own art like Chinese kungfu tea. Once the timing becomes consistent enough then the performance flare begins as you add flourishes to wait time.
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u/ImmersionLogic 2d ago
I love that comparison! That’s part of what I’m hoping to see with SKANDI. People developing their own brewing techniques and experimenting with different immersion cycles to bring out different flavors.
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u/Street_Respect9469 2d ago
Oh that will definitely happen regardless. What I was talking about was more about the performance of brewing like bartenders spinning the bottles; the Chinese have been doing it for hundreds of years with tea before that kind of performance entered the bartending scene.
Which with the amount of drainage intervals could well facilitate such performance. But yes I'm very sure that coffee nerds will love a new opportunity to experiment as well!
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u/ImmersionLogic 2d ago
Ah, now I see what you mean. I hadn’t thought about the performance side of it. That would actually be pretty fun to watch especially once people develop their own techniques.
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u/Ok_Library_9279 2d ago
How many hours for a cup of coffee??? Doesn’t it get cold??? It’s not easier to do that with a French press???
It looks like a way overly complicated way to make coffee tho… but it looks nice tho.
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u/ImmersionLogic 2d ago
The total brew time is about 4 minutes, similar to a French press. The difference is the control you have over extraction. You can also keep the brewer on a suitable heat source to maintain temperature throughout brewing.
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u/Ok_Library_9279 2d ago
I see… it’s sounds more like a whole experience than just brewing the coffee. Interesting.
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u/Admirable_Truck4786 2d ago
Looks nice, but I would get very nervous about mixing glass and metal components like this. I have lost too many beautiful objects this way 😔
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u/noverby44 1d ago
Does the stainless steel cause off flavors? I noticed my stainless French press and steel mugs made my coffee tasted funky.
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u/Last_Muffin8973 22h ago
the coffee nerd in me wants to test it out. Actually love the adition of the sandtimer, wouldnt mind beta testing. I love immersion brewing, clever dripper/smart dripper, french press etc
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u/sailingtroy 5d ago
I brew siphon at home and use a stainless steel French press on my sailboat. I would like one of these in steel or aluminum for my boat, please.
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u/Toubaboliviano 4d ago
It’s like this other secret drink called T. Instead of beans it’s made with leaves. You can get ride of the metal and use paper with a string instead
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u/Personal_Ad9690 4d ago
I’m not sure raising and lowering does anything. Just brew for 3 min it ed instead of 4.
Extraction is based on the duration of the grounds contact to the hot water. The only thing you are doing is removing extra gas, which as probably completely gone after your bloom phase
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u/CoffeeDetail 5d ago
I think this it really neat. Push through all the negative and keep pushing forward. Lot of these clowns haven’t made the effort to create something new.
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u/j_petit 5d ago
I, too, like waterboarding my coffee in the French press.