COLD BREW TECH

Sponsored by Brew Bomb COLD BREW TECH

{ Taking it to the next level }

JAKE LEONTI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, COFFEETALK / CEO F+B THERAPY

The tools a barista has at

his disposal continue to grow and grow as the industry turns to technology to improve consistency and create a more fluid workflow. The Brew Bomb is an innovative solution to the cold brew conundrum that everyone and their brother is trying to take a stab at solving. From hot coffee chilled at super speeds to high-pressure brewing to shorten brew time, we have seen a lot of innovation over the years trying to refine and perfect the process of cold brew both in efficiency and quality. Finally, Ray Buerger may have cracked the code with Brew Bomb.

I had a chance to sit and talk with Ray and learn about this new technology taking the cold brew game to a new level. Ray has something in common with a few others that have innovated as of late. He did not originally come from a coffee background, which seems positive as he was not entrenched in the beverage's limitations. inspiration as he went on to build large batch, Kyoto-style brewers.

In 2017 Brew Bomb was launched at SCA Expo in Seattle, and the first four sold immediately. One went to Mike Perry of Klatch Coffee, and suddenly everyone who was once skeptical was now a convert that this was the ultimate in cold brewing. Now roasters from Onyx to Blue Bottle have adopted this innovative brew method into their stores.

My first big question was, why is this so innovative? It's still just water meets coffee, right?

Ray, unruffled by my skepticism, gives a poised response, "there are a

Ray has lived several different lives, starting as a CPA and then moving into real estate and custom home building. No longer satisfied with his life in Colorado, he sold everything he owned and set sail to enjoy an unencumbered life. After traveling for a couple of years, Ray ended up in Cambodia and kept seeing coffee trees wherever he went. "I like coffee. I like coffee, chocolate, and wine," Ray adds.

After working for a while as an NGO in Asia, Buerger decided to dig in and purchased a coffee farm in Thailand which is now Thai High Coffee (https://thaihighcompanies. com/index.php). Ray grew a small farm to its current output of selling 100 tons of green coffee a year.

One of their customers in Thailand, Roots Coffee, invited Ray to help develop their cold beverages. This is a serious undertaking as eighty percent of coffee sold in Thailand is iced. But, like everything Buerger does, he dove right deep and began making large-scale brews in big tanks. Ray realized that he preferred the Kyoto drip method of cold brew cup profile to the Toddy bucket. This preference would be Buerger's guiding

few components that make the Ace Brewer different. One is our use of active extraction rather than passive."

I cut in, "could you explain that?"

Ray continues, "Most cold brew is a passive extraction. The coffee sits and soaks in the water, or in some cases; brewers agitate the grinds to improve extraction. Brew Bomb is a single-pass drip system, and extraction time depends on the flow rate of the water." "Ok?" I'm still curious.

Ray goes on to explain, "The biggest difference is not just the brewing process but the platform we have created to monitor and control the process. Every element of the brewing process is measured and recorded from the machine and relayed to an online platform. For example, you can view your brew water volume and flow rate analytics from the platform. From here, the coffee passes through a pharmaceutical-grade filter using food-grade polyester at 100 microns. The cake of coffee fines acts as part of the filtration process. Then you can use your remote online platform to either automatically dilute to an RTD concentration or store the concentrate and use the brewer to dilute on demand."

"So, what's the third difference?" I ask.

"The brew time for a proper cold brew coffee goes from 12-20 hours down to 2-3 hours depending on your optimal recipe. We achieve this through the single-pass active brewing process."

A two-hour brew time is an elusive treasure that all innovators in the cold brew space have been trying to achieve, yet none have accomplished while maintaining the taste and body that made cold brew popular in the first place. Has it finally happened? There is only one way to find out. Give it a try.

MULTI-LOCATION OPERATORS REIMAGINE

SCALING YOUR COLD BREW PROFITS

Each ACE Brewer interfaces via a Smart Brew Network for Brew Profile creation, distribution and real time brewing analytics. Fresh brewing onsite is then just a matter of recalling the synced Brew Profile and following the on screen brew wizard.

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