I Tried This New Coffee Maker—and It Beats Pods Easily

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If you’re looking for a better coffee maker that doesn’t rely on wasteful pods, the Coulée Swirl Brewing System might be worth a closer look. Designed to combine pour-over coffee quality with push-button convenience, this compact machine promises richer flavor without the hassle. After testing it for weeks, it quickly became my go-to for a fast, consistently great cup.

I first started getting serious about my coffee a few years ago when I interviewed the co-founder of Atlas Coffee Club, an Austin, TX, based coffee bean subscription service. That’s where I learned that most people (particularly the Starbucks-obsessed fans) drink over-roasted coffee that just short of being burnt. He sent me a variety of medium roast and light roast coffee beans from around the world to try and it blew my mind. I could actually taste certain notes and suss out subtle aromas that are obliterated by the popular dark roast process.

That revelation that coffee should be more of an experience than just swilling juice from burnt beans led me to explore all of the alternative brewing methods, from drip to espresso. Right now, the new Coulée brewing system is by far my favorite way to make a quick and tasty brew. The Swirl is a basically a pour-over machine mixed with a pod-type coffee maker. Instead of eco-unfriendly plastic pods that you toss in the garbage everyday, Coulée uses all-paper EcoPour filters filled with ethically sourced coffee—three flavors and a decaf option—that you snap into a silver armature after opening. Then you just fill up the small reservoir with about a cup’s worth of water—depending on your desired strength level—and hit “Brew.”

After heating up the water to a perfect 205 degrees, the arm starts to rotate around, simulating the action one would use to make pour-over coffee with pauses to let the filter drain—it’s fun to watch the first few times. A beep indicates when your automated pour-over coffee is done. The coffee is excellent, I tried all three flavors—minus the decaf—over two weeks at a friend’s hunting lodge over the holidays. It’s a pleasure to use every morning and provides you with an quick alternative to whatever is being brewed up in the big pot, which isn’t always the tastiest depending on the coffee drinkers in your orbit.

The whole system is simple and easy to clean, also. Just one easy to access reservoir and that’s it—no hidden nooks and crannies to build up mold and slime like more complicated brewers. And, as a bonus, if you want to use your own fresh ground beans, you can pick up empty EcoPour filters to save some money and add more variety to your morning automated pour-over brew.