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Following a six-month-long backpacking trip across East Asia, I settled in a tiny Northern Thai city with my wife to work as an English teacher and, later, web developer. Before we found Chiang Mai, we consumed coffee to stay up or to wake up exclusively. But the town turned us into coffee lovers, thanks to its remarkable culture.
Imagine beans grown in the mountains twenty minutes away from the coffee center and posh, affordable coffee shops with excellent lattes.
We’re a long way from Chiang Mai here in Vancouver, and our lifestyle has changed. Daily coffee shop visits are no longer possible. Plus, my wife and I like the coffee I make with stovetop espresso better than most coffee shops in the area.
Of course, stovetop moka brew coffee doesn’t compare apples to apples with the real espresso made by professionals on expensive commercial machines. It is a different kind of strong, enjoyable coffee when done right. Unfortunately, our apartment kitchen is just too small for an espresso machine. But a stoveop moka pot would serve quite well, especially if it was well made and provided a unique coffee experience.
This is why I got very excited to learn about the Orb One Stovetop Moka Brewer when it appeared on Kickstarter. I got in line, backed the project, and it came to a successful, funded conclusion. After about a one year delay, units starting shipping and I got mine. What you’re about to read is my take on the Orb One.
This brief review is my first attempt to write about coffee, a beverage I love, but have limited experience with. I usually write about film cameras, and talk about them quite a bit on Mastodon. This is where I met Mark Prince from CoffeeGeek, and started a conversation about this brewer. The result is this review, which I hope you’ll find informative.
ed.note: This is our first guest-written Snapshot Review on the 2024 version of CoffeeGeek, so it follows a different format that our other Snapshot Reviews. Dmitri give a very first hand experience with this brewing device, one we might miss out on for a review on CoffeeGeek, so we’re very glad he approached us!
This is a guest-written review, submitted to CoffeeGeek. It’s a very interesting and unique device, so we are happy to publish the review, though it does not follow our standard protocols for product testing.
What exactly is the Orb One? It is a modern take on a stovetop moka pot espresso maker. Engineer-designed to produce an even, controlled flow of water and brewed coffee through a heatsink.
The Kickstarter page promised “to prevent over-extraction or burning” and “a perfect infusion every time.” It also promised that you could use different grinds in the brewer for different brewed coffee results.
The device consists of five elements: base (pot), funnel & gasket, heatsink, basket, and the lid. Here is an exploded view of the parts.
Plus it just looked so cool. Here are a few of the promotional photos they used in the Kickstarter project.
So… does it work? It sure does.
I mentioned in the introduction, I am not a professional barista, but I know what I like and feel I can identify when coffee is good, bad, or better than good. I could definitely identify improvements in the quality of coffee produced by the Orb One, when compared to my generic stovetop espresso pot.
The distinct flavour of “good” beans, sourced locally in Vancouver from some excellent craft roasteries, producing single-origin, seasonal coffees, became significantly more apparent with the Orb One. To describe it, it felt as if someone turned on the lights. The cups became less bitter, yet I could still get the body that worked well with 3% milk to make a creamy flat white with a kick.
It is, however, still stovetop espresso. It does not have the crema, the condensed thickness a pump driven espresso machine provides, and remains its own unique taste experience. So comparing apples to apples – the Orb One vs a traditional stovetop moka pot – the resulting cups from the Orb One were plainly superior. But at a bit of a cost.
You see, there are many steps you need to take to make a cup of coffee with the Orb One, and it needs to be cleaned after use.
I feel it necessary again to reiterate, I am not a coffee professional, and have not spent a great deal of money on coffee equipment. The Orb One is probably my most expensive coffee gear.
I know I should have a better grinder than I do have, but I make due with a cheap motorized burr grinder that makes a lot of noise as it smashes up the beans, dumping the grinds into a plastic cup. It is not particularly consistent, and certainly not in the same league as an Encore ESP or a DF64 Gen 2 grinder.
I also know both my stovetop moka pot and the Orb One would produce an even better cup of coffee with a better grinder paired up with it. Still, both have that even starting point, and the flavour difference between the two, well, I’ve already noted.
No matter what grinder you use with the Orb One, you must ensure the coffee grinds are not packed too tight, or ground too fine. I got an email from the Orb makers reminding me of the safety precautions needed to avoid an explosive event. Though highly unlikely, it is possible that the pressure release valve would not be enough to relieve all the pressure buildup if the filter is blocked.
(ed.note – this is a potentially serious concern; we may follow up with Orb on this).
Keeping this in mind, coffee put into the device was evenly packed, not too tight, and at an appropriate grind. After a lot of experimenting, I found the best tasting cups were from 16g of a grind between an AeroPress fine grind, and a standard espresso grind; what most would call a moka pot grind level.
I used a small fork to do my own variant of a WDT flex in the filter basket to fluff the grounds up before packing them lightly but evenly into the basket. I completed the prep by using the fork to push the sides down, to form a small cone of slightly compressed coffee.
A bit of a technique, for sure, but it was delivering me the best tasting cups.
In the Kickstarter campaign, The Orb One creators specifically demonstrated that the device could be used with coarser ground coffee for a more “coffee like” and less “espresso like” brew. This is one of the good features of this device, because it opens up more avenues of experimentation.
Here is their Kickstarter campaign video, which demonstrates the product and its abilities.
The Orb One uses a heat sink to keep brewed coffee from boiling and burning, but just like a standard moka pot, it can be overwhelmed and lose its purpose in life if you use a grind that’s too fine. The Orb creators were very clear about this in their communication. The application of heat to the device can also negatively influence this brewer, again just like with a standard moka pot.
Basically, grinds that are too fine, and a heat source that’s too high will cause the coffee to boil inside the device, resulting in a very bitter, over extracted cup of coffee. It is a pay-attention kind of device. Medium to low heat, especially during the brewing phase, is required to get your best cups.
You must also stand over the pot and watch it to avoid a whole pot of watered-down boiled coffee.
Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to see what’s going on: markers inside the pot indicate three doses from espresso to brew-style. The manual suggests fine grounds for the smaller portions, always around 15g. I usually fill it to the mid-mark and then douse the pot with cold water.
Orb One has a few parts that you need to assemble and disassemble each time; they also have to be washed, and it is recommended they be cleaned right after brewing. Factoring this in, your time with an Orb One to get one or two shots of espresso is about fifteen minutes. In that time you’ll prep it, heat the water up, brew with it, break it down afterwards, wash it, and reassemble it for the next use.
Longer term, you will need to submerge the pot into a vinegar solution to rid it of calcium buildup, especially if you live in a hard water area. Remember that the handle is wooden, and it should always be kept dry in all use and cleaning regimen.
My ratings above for value are based on what I paid for it: $120, which was the Kickstarter pledge price. Today, it is between $179 and $189 direct from Crucial Detail, the company that makes this brewer.
This said, I can’t believe this coffee tool cost me just $120. The pot is made from very well-machined metal parts that fit perfectly together. The overall feel of the product suggests it’s worth at least $300. It is a beautiful, functional work of art.
However, there are some imperfections and “first production run” issues that might be cause for concern.
The most notable is the insufficient metal hardness or connection design in the locking mechanism bayonet. This pot may become unsafe if that part wears out. I’m not particularly worried about that on my pot, but if locking stops feeling secure at some point in the future, I may have to discard the brewer.
This bayonet is not as strong as it could be.
I believe the makers of Orb One are aware of this flaw; I’ll be sharing my feedback with them as they appear very open to it.
ed.note update: Just as we went to press on this review, Dmitri heard back from the Orb One creators, after sending them pictures of the bayonet connection. As a result, they are sending him a new unit with an updated design. If you order an Orb One from Crucial Detail, you’ll get the updated design as well. If you are a Kickstarter backer, consider contacting the company if this is a concern for you.
I also think that the team chose the wrong type of wood and varnish for the handle. Mine is already suffering from discoloration and chipped varnish despite my attempts at wiping and drying it religiously. Meanwhile, the Ikea bamboo cutting board I’m too lazy to wash by hand is still in perfect shape after four years of being run through the dishwasher twice a week.
Here’s what it looks like when brewing.
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Despite these flaws, the Orb One is still a major improvement over the generic stovetop moka pot I’ve been using for some time, and is a beautiful piece of engineering that feels great in the hand.
To be honest, I would happily pay more for a new variant of this brewer once the launch edition flaws are resolved. I like the brewer so much that, even if they don’t make major changes, if my current unit breaks, I’d still buy a new one.
I guess that is a solid endorsement!
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One Response
Welcome to Coffee Geek Dimitri! This was a great and thorough review. Thank you. This looks great fun. I love new coffee toys. I didn’t see the Kickstarter when it happened but was aware of Orb One.
I’ve been making espresso at home for close to twenty years and used moka pots for 15 years prior and have three in play currently. I agree, it’s not espresso but it’s addictively delicious when you know how to use them. I’ve been using a Bialetti Brikka of late that produces “crema”. It’s a sort of but not really crema, as it’s produced at the end of the brew cycle.
Anyway, this sounds like another set up worth owning. The explosive part sounds scary, but I was afraid of the first moka pot I had because of the noise it made. Being able to use it with a camp stove is cool. If getting better results from a moka pot is what it’s about, I’m all in. Nice to know about the bayonet connection and fix! All in all it sounds like a lateral move with better results. Moka pots take more time than pulling an espresso shot, not including warm up time, and the clean up is longer as well, but there’s no breaking dealing with descaling and cleaning a machine. The things we do for a good cup of coffee…