The xBloom Review - A Confusing Pod Machine
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- Опубліковано 27 гру 2022
- This is the xBloom (prototype unit, not representative of final production run). A machine that promises to take freshly roasted specialty whole bean coffee, and turn it into a pod machine that not only grinds and brews, but does so according to how the roaster intended.
Basically, it’s kinda promising to make perfect coffee.
So today I’m going to go through an overview of this machine and talk about who it might be for and what it’s been like using it, and if it lives up to its intent.
xbloom.com/
Also, sorry on the audio on this video clipping a little
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BTW - sorry on the audio clipping a little on this one
I paid $399 on kickstarter. My use case is that I'm sick and tired of spending 10 minutes every time I want to make a cup as fun as it is it gets old.
This needs to be 400 bucks to be interesting imo.
It's way too expensive for what you're getting
I think sub-$500 might be a winner
It was for the Kickstarter and that's why I pulled the trigger. I figured an at-home PourSteady for when I am working and can't step away for even 10 minutes.
i mean at least you wont be supporting Nestle lol
Love the succinct and honest content. Ty boss.
Upfront, I’m an early supporter of the XBloom.. I demand that my coffee is not a k cup, not a Nespresso pod or any type of pre ground coffee that is somehow produced by some creative extraction process…I can’t understand why we are still supporting these stale coffee brewing mechanisms.
Well, let’s all drink some instant coffee and end these discussions.
I won’t accept the status quo and want the best coffee as I can have; I don’t want each morning to start gathering an excessive amount of pour over equipment and grinding accessories. And then another 10 minutes cleaning up.
I want my XBLOOM and the great coffee it will produce and its convenience. I can Now and any time have a glorious cup of coffee exactly how I want it…at any time I want. Without all the overwhelming time and inconvenience of how it was in the past…Hurray XBloom!
I feel like you missed one of the biggest selling points:
The ability to use your own beans and program a repeatable, automated recipe for it. Other automated pour-over brewers for commercial use are priced in a whole different league.
-Current Kickstarter backer eagerly awaiting his xBloom
I just received mine today biggest factor for me was using your own beans 🫘
Thanks a lot for the nice video! Do you mind if you tell the brand of the LED light stick you have there on the table?
Glad somebody is calling them out on this over engineered machine.
It’s for specialty coffee lovers who don’t have time to brew multiple pour overs every morning while trying to get themselves and their family out the door.
Have you thought why you dont even have time to make coffee?
@@karigrandii yes. It was stated in my original comment that you responded to. Coffee takes time. Life takes time. There’s not always time for both. Automating the coffee leaves more time for life. And if you reread my original comment you’ll notice I never said “I don’t even have time to make coffee”. So…..
So how do you really feel about it? Kidding. Appreciate the straight forwardness.
Connivence is such a huge deal for someone who’s busy. If I don’t have time to brew coffee in the morning but can let it run while I am getting ready it makes a difference. They are giving what seems like good coffee and the ability for it to be convenient.
I agree, but the challenge for xBloom will be all about hitting that target audience that's looking for convenience, specialty coffee brews, and also has the disposable income to spend on an $800 machine plus pods
Are you debating their business model or the machine’s capability and performance. I thought this was a review on the latter….
Hey bro, you thinking about doing a review in the new varia vs3?
Time to make a new video. App is awesome too.
How is printing on the pod going to make it any better😅
I have this machine, Kickstarter, and love it!
Perfectly brewed cup of coffee with no mess every morning, what more to ask for.....
What kind of water for coffee do you use? Did you use the same water you used in other brewers with this one? If not could this have affected flavor?
same water
I was skeptical when you said you do some work for them... but glad to hear that you call them out. I fully agree with you that is a good product but with little to no market
i try to be as objective as possible! i never accept payment to say something positive
Well I got mine for a kickstarter price of $399 do I think it’s well worth the money for an automated pourover and bulit in 48mm TIN conical grinder. Moccamaster alone is already over that price point. You are right that paying MSRP of $800 is hard to swallow.
for the Kickstarter price, I agree
Me, it's made for people like me. Working as a barista gave me faith in automated brewers like fetcos, and resentment for manual brewers like pourovers. I just have no patience for pourovers anymore. Am I old? 😅
It has a lot more features than a Keurig. But it is essentially a specialty coffee Keurig. Except a Keurig can be purchased for $100 and this is $800
The coffee produced will be infinitely better than a Keurig IMO but that's also why the target audience here is so weird for me - unsure if its targeting those interested in a Keurig vs. those willing to spend $8-10 for a pourover at a specialty coffee shop!
@@itsxris Ageed. People who want a Keurig will buy a Keurig because it’s cheap. People who want a pour over will make a pour over because they like the process of it.
It’s the same reason why people with a Rocket or a Lelit didn’t buy a Nespresso instead even though it really is more “convenient”
You can use your own beans in this
It grinds fresh, unlike a Keurig. And that's a massive difference.
@@badnews7801 I make my own pour overs at home, but I have an xbloom for the office because a) shit gets too busy and b) my office mates are enjoying it without having to learn how to make a pour over.
Is it usable at all when the pods stop being made?
if I'm not wrong, there may be a pod designed to be reusable with your own beans
Yes there is a reusable pod you can put your own coffee in that uses Kalita filters.
My issue is the question of how long will roasters support this machine? I sure wouldn't want to have a $1000 glorified pod machine that roasters may stop making pods for a year or two down the line. Sure they are making a reusable pod so you can use your own coffee, but for that price I could get some REALLY nice equptment that probably would do a better job.
If I'm not wrong, the beans are sent from roasters to xBloom for packaging - so in theory, xBloom is wholesale purchasing beans from roasters. So as long as xBloom continues to produce pods, there should be no issues on that front.
Also they have re-usable pods you can fill with your own beans.
The idea of this is really intriguing. It would be a perfect replacement for the Keurig that I have at work, since I don't have the time or space in my office to mess around with pour over. I am currently using ground coffee (I know...) in a reusable pod in the Keurig. I would definitely consider buying the xBloom, or something like it. But some things would need to change: 1) Price. I would not pay 800. Maybe 400 or 450. 2) I don't like the RFID system. I would much rather use a printed QR code that would work with the app. I mean, if they are going to go green then go all the way. 3) The RFID makes it seem like I would have to buy their beans/cups. But I would also like to use my own beans and make my own recipes. This might be something in the app? and 4) A few manual controls on the machine itself would be great. I can envision days when I just want low tech.
Your story is compelling but maybe you should not consider giving opinions without first finding how real fresh coffee is brewed and tastes.
Using a Keurig and some ground coffee from a can is far from what the XBloom is offering.
Your opinion is more relevant in the ground coffee appliance category.
I've always thought this thing was just weird from all the videos I've seen. Thanks for the honest review.
Interesting review, raising some interesting points, however one area I am concerned about is your reliance on tasting notes, surely if you are a genuine coffee enthusiast you can determine the taste of the coffee without a narrative telling you it tastes like plums, or dried fruits or chocolate etc, yes roast dates would be good to determine how fresh your coffee is, but for me the admission you made about the lack of tasting notes leaves your review fundamentally flawed. However we'll done for pointing out the software flaws and for your generally balanced review regarding good build etc. As someone who has ordered one of these my usage is for when I don't have time to make speciality coffee which does take time weighing, grinding beans blooming, several slow pours to get the desired results, which can take upward to 15 minutes. I am hoping I can have the X Bloom in my home office and use it to make good coffee whilst I make phone calls and do some work, whilst the machine automates the coffee making, I will still make my own pour overs, Areopress etc but for when time or patience is limited it's nice to have a plug n play machine that achieves great results, I hope they iron out the bugs and the X-Bloom will be the solution.
That's true that as a coffee enthusiast you should be able to determine these things by taste which was fine for the most part! I think you're onto something - this could be a good option for low volume commercial environments and offices, but it's still going to be tough convincing administration to purchase this over say a Keurig haha
@Xris for the most part I thought your review was very balanced, and I think they could have cut costs in using cheaper materials but keeping the main touch points high quality, I think if this was $400 it might be better placed in the market, but then the Gevi is $800 for a less complex machine
@@simply_psi I think Spinn (when it's on sale) also comes into the conov and as much as I thought that machine was Vaporware I actually tried and was super impressed would even consider changing XBloom for it if the XBloom doesn't deliver. I have tried the XBloom with Onyx pod and it was really good so I feel it has promise.
They might be better off selling that electrostatic spout as a standalone unit with more flow for $~500, something like a Poursteady or Gevi. I can't for the life of me can't see the value except for offices. Even for offices this is a hard sell as they want variety of drinks with milk. This basically boils market segment down to offices filled with specialty coffee lovers.
Cafes and people who are into coffee (that has grinders) wanting repeatability of a pour would definitely buy them. Definitely better than water dumping Hario smart 7 and less moving parts than Gevi and Poursteady.
It's for shops, the hospitality industry, offices, and the relatives and friends of the good coffee Brewer.
I've got a Bentwood at home so I'm deep in spending my money on things I don't need and decided I'd get an xBloom after tasting the coffee it brewed at SF coffee festival. It was by far the cup I strive to create at home. A great cup of coffee. It blew most of the other brews out of the water at the shows just by being consistent.
This is great for my friends whom come over on game night, my family who visits and like my coffee, and me when my wife wants a cup of coffee and I'm in a 7 hour meeting. Great! I can pay for that reliable brew!
Even if it ends up on my parents counter so they can enjoy coffee like I do.
But what about me? With my TDS refractometer, and my bentwood, and my chemical kits? Well now my brews can get even better and I can start thinking about what changes do to my brew and how to compare them.
I'm going to be VERY caffeinated trying to brew better than a machine...
I'll tell you who this is for at $800...it's designed to be a commercial machine for the "hotel bar" that doesn't want to bother training staff while getting very consistent results.
I can only imagine this being in the lobbies of mega corporations next to the fridge full of unlimited string cheese and bougie yogurt. Not a knock because I would hella take advantage of this if I worked a job that had one of these. 😅
Doing a RFID is basically a deal breaker for me, doesn’t make any sense to try to lock you in buying only their pods, over engineering it to lock you out
You can grind your on coffee with it
It's all fun and games until the magnets stop working
Chemex $45. Xbloom $800. Nuff said. 😂
If you’ve ever bought a $50USD + 100g bag of a limited edition Gesha and found that you were wasting valuable beans trying to get everything dialed in to get the perfect cup, imagine being able to have the roaster do all of that work for you and know that when you brew you’ll be getting a cup just as the roaster intended, the first time and every time. Backer #55.
Excellent point. KRIS obviously didn’t want to be honest. He will spend thousands on espresso machines and grinders but he obviously not a fan of brewed coffee and it’s following.
It's Xris btw. I think my point comes across perfectly in xBloom's audience is incredibly niche still, in this case the guy above is the perfect example of their audience. Very few people are in the market for beans of that tier, and even less so probably willing to purchase a machine like this to use it on.
Water tank is too small but otherwise I think it’s pretty cool. The market isn’t for an everyday person but I know a lot of family want something easy
If this ends up working the way it is advertised (so without all the problems in this fase that you describe) I think it is not that expensive at all, actually. It should work super easy, which is a huge draw for a lot of people. Without any trouble, you can get the cup that your roaster intented, without any chance of ruining it at home by wrong grinding or pouring.
From what I understand, it has a good grinder and works as well as say a Mocca Master in pouring your cups. Considering Lace Hedrick and Scott Rao both are involved in making this and they work so closely with great roasters still make this interesting to me. I think it's great for small offices. Also, since my dad drank coffee at my place that I made pourover style for him, he always wants coffee that way. But he just doesn't want the trouble. If he wants it that way at home, now he has to get a good grinder, a scale and a mocca master or a ratio 6, plus a good grinder. This is just one machine, less mess, less footprint and not that much more money actually.
Product for Techbros who got rich on crypto, launched right at the crypto crash
Too expensive. Unless I have $800 I have no idea where to spend on is just in my pocket somewhere I have no reason to buy this.
Based on the industrial design, its target market is clearly wealthy (or at least aspirational) non-hobbyists. There’s no fun in pushing a button, but there’s pride of ownership in buying an overpriced kitchen appliance. Specialty Irish coffee makes sense in that context. It would make a great company perk in the office lounge, too. Good coffee at work? Yes, please.
With all the questions on who the market is for this, I'm the market for this. I don't drink espresso and have no desire to learn how to make it. I have an superautomatic, it's way to fussy and way to prone to making bad coffee if everything isn't cleaned and greased properly. Its over priced to make an americano. Keurig is absolute garbage, I can't think of a worse way to drink coffee. Nothing about Keruig is ok. I have a gooseneck kettle, manual grinder, v60 and scale, sure it makes good coffee, but really, i lazy out on it because my morning have a bunch of things going on, so i don't take the proper steps to make it correctly, James Hoffman would be horrified by my pour over technique. So where does that leave me? it leave me a with a spot for an xbloom. I can dump the beans in it and do what i need to do, come back and coffee is ready for me. I hope it actually shows up and i didnt' get scammed and it actually works. But beyond that, im totally ok with the cup being 97% of the way there. I don't need perfection, and i won't drink Keurig
PERFECT ANSWERS… WELL WRITTEN.
With all due respect, I think you’re failing to see the target market. There must be a set of people who want the best final cup, but don’t nerd out about coffee like we do. My wife hates it when I travel and she is home, because she is accustomed to an excellent morning brew, but has no interest in pouring over herself. My mother-in-law, like so many people out there, has a Jura. It makes a mediocre cup of coffee. But she wants that fully automatic lifestyle. This can deliver the fully automatic lifestyle with a significantly better cup, even if it isn’t Lagom Mini + V60 quality. I think this is for people who own a Jura and put specialty coffee through it.
We will see if you're right, i disagree however that the jura coffee tastes bad. As always, garbage in garbage out
I agree, my girlfriend is in the same category! Enjoys the brews I make with no interest in brewing herself. But, the price is prohibitively expensive IMO even for that category, plus the brews I've been getting with a quick grind + dump into a Moccamaster have been better BUT to be fair, the samples I've been receiving are not representative of the final pods for production. So again, I think its only fair to wait and see how the final pods are in terms of quality of brews!
I’m not so sure that the comparison with a Moccamaster + grinder is fair. Of course to coffee geeks like us it’s completely worth it to weigh, grind and put the coffee in the machine, but many people I know (including my girlfriend) would still go for the Keurig, even though they really like the cups I make for them. What seems easy to us can still be perceived as a lot of effort by others. The comparison with the Jura is much more realistic imo.
That's fair! At the end, its a matter of finding that audience thats willing to pay a pretty hefty premium for this machine that will be a challenge for xBloom
@@itsxris Yeah I completely agree! It’s going to be a real challenge at this price. Hopefully they realise that by lowering or even eliminating their profits on the machine itself they can sell a bunch more and make money on the pods sales. The fact that they’re selling it to kickstarter backers for $399 (!) means they have a lot of room to play with
Being beholden to their pods is a non starter.
You aren't, they have re-usable pods you can fill with your own beans.
I honestly think the market for this is people on TikTok who want cool gadgets and feel like "they've outsmarted Starbucks". Unless they can make this machine fully controllable from the app (grind size, brew process) and you can use reusable cups, I think this is a waste of natural resources. I don't care that famous coffee nerds are on board, I'm still not buying into this the same way I wouldn't buy into coffee related NFTs. What a waste.
Agree. Just go get a fking Starbucks. Wasteful with nfc tag and stuff
Lol I can see the videos now. “I just found a way to never pay $6 for my Starbucks ever again. Meet the xBloom!” *proceeds to dump creamer in after brewing
Lance Hendrick explains you can fully customize a brew with the app for your own coffee/recipe.
@@JohnyTechReview lol supporting an evil corp is not the flex you think it is
As cool as it looks, the machine has Juicero all over it.
That strikes me as hyperbolic. Call it overpriced, but the machine does seem to brew a respectable cup by all accounts.
You can use your own beans so this comment is wrong
Wray to expensive for me
This doesn't make any sense, they've taken a basic drip coffee concept and put a loud bur grinder inside? Is this trying to compete with a super automatic or semi automatic like de longhi? So not worth the price, for hot water over ground coffee.... not worth the hype or price, just get a delonghi for that price for 1000 times better coffee
It’s far too expensive for what it is . Just get a ratio 8 brewer for a automatic machine . Xbloom is just paying the big coffee influencers to make it seem special
I've had a Ratio 6 then sold it. You can't customize anything with it. This machine is way different than a Ratio 6 or 8. Batch brewer vs. Customized pourover machine.
Everyone saying this machine is too expensive does not understand manufacturing and RnD costs, nor the maximum amount of money people are willing to pay just to get tasty coffee easily with zero effort or skill. This machine is essentially like hiring a small barista to make you a pour over every morning... Something that if you literally wanted to do that would quickly add up to much more than $800 if you were to do this for months or years on end.
There are soooo many people who don't know anything about coffee, whose first grinder was a niche zero which they purchased thinking it would be great for V60. They just want tasty coffee and are willing to pay waaay too much for a grinder just because they saw James Hoffman using it. Those are the people this machine is for.
I work in a company that produces high end custom mechanical keyboards ($300+ range) so I understand a bit about manufacturing, R&D costs, etc. etc. - BUT - I feel its a classic case of not knowing the audience for this machine, but I guess only time will tell to see how successful they become and how well its received in the market!
@@itsxris All business is gambling to some extent. And I'm sure you're right in terms of their marketing, but pricing wise they get to set the bar because there isn't anything else like this on the market currently.
I don’t think anyone thinks the price is unfair for what it is but considering that the price is objectively high makes it confusing for who the intended customers are. This really just seems like a machine thats meant for hotel lobbies or car dealerships just to have for fun. Really can’t see the xBloom having that great of a future unfortunately but it would be great if they proved me wrong.
Is this an snl skit? There is too much going on and way too many things that can go wrong
Somebody tell them this machine got so much wasteful part!
😊