The xBloom is a device that seems to be pitching Keurig, but using whole beans coffee. Keurig / Nespresso and similar use ground coffee in a pod for the machine to inject water through to generate the coffee. This is fine, but the coffee it produces is not the best. The better coffee is ground fresh before brewed. That seems to be the approach that the xBloom device is taking. It has a grinder and a brewer to reduce the amount of steps the user would need to perform. I was very curious. Would such a machine work? Could such a machine bridge the gap between normal coffee person and show them the world of specialty?
The Event
I had the chance to attend an event hosted in Los Angeles by xBloom. Since the event was free, the place was packed full of people.
I got to see a demonstration of one of the units. Check out the video below.
The above was Onyx’s Southern Weather. It actually tasted pretty decent. There were nice flavors present in the cup, with minimal interaction from the user. I could see this as a casual person’s slight step up from a Keurig device.
Moving towards the back, there were other booths setup with xBloom devices featuring other roasters like Verve, Sightglass, Boxx, Joe Coffee, Regalia and so on. I got to try a couple other ones and tasted the ranges of coffee that were prepped for this event. They opted to ease the person into specialty coffee. Most of these were in the medium to medium light range.
I actually got to meet the founder briefly. I asked why he decided to start this company. Paraphrasing his answer: “I got tired of the corporate life. I was talking with my partner about this for a while and one day we just decided to do it.” Fast forward 10 months, and here we are. 6 (?) working prototypes demoing the event.
As I left the event, I obtained a bag with some pods from xBloom as a souvenir. I’m not entirely sure what they intended for them to be used for, but I can make full use of it.
Testing and Brewing
The next couple of days after this event, I was just brewing the coffees in the pods. The amount of coffee varied from 15 grams to 16.5 grams. I was told that this was due to the inconsistent weighing of the Timemore Black Mirror. My theory is that whoever was weighing it, might have just assumed that the pods (which doubles as a filter) all weighed the same (they vary between 5.5 to 6 grams). And that they just added beans to a target weight amount.
I was able to make a 15 gram Onyx Southern Weather into an espresso shot.
I then brewed Verve’s coffee using the xBloom’s pod as the filter.
I have used it also in Aeropress and April Dripper. Most of these beans are very coffee like. It makes sense. It is a gentle introduction.
Thoughts
I think as a whole, the xBloom machine does what it states it would do: make specialty pourover coffee in a very convenient package. On that account, I would say it is a success. When I first started attempting to do pourover with a v60, it was a very long and arduous journey. There was lots of trial and error. Am I getting the right grind size? Am I pouring correctly? It didn’t even taste good! It could perhaps get the consumer more interested into coffee to explore further.
With an emphasis towards convenience, I think this would make a drop in replacement for the Keurig / Nespresso in the small office.
But, what is the price? That is to be announced. My best guess is $800 MSRP, with Kickstarter 50% off at $400. I’ll probably update this post later to see if I am right or wrong.
EDIT: September 28, 2022, I was right at the price! See the listing below. Support them on their Kickstarter.