Steeped Coffee A New Way To Brew
I often get offers to sample various goods and when an offer came in from a new start-up company named “Steeped Coffee,” I was intrigued enough to accept their offer. I take my coffee seriously, to the point where any hotel without a coffee maker in the room gets crossed off my list.
When the Steeped Coffee samples arrived, I took a few packets out of the box they provided and tossed them into my briefcase. As a frequent traveler, I thought I would try them in a hotel room on an upcoming trip out of town. There are hotel rooms where coffee pots and coffee is not supplied, so I felt this way I would be “covered” for my favorite wake-up beverage.
I hadn’t even opened one of the bags to find that the product was actually a “tea-bag like product until I got to the hotel. I had assumed it would be a coffee pod, like that which is often found in hotel rooms. When seeing it, my first thought was to wonder whether I would find the correct amount of time to leave the bag in the hot water. I left the bag next to the hotel coffee pot and used their pod to make my first cup of coffee. As is often the case, it sucked!
Easy To Use, Even On The Road
Then I remembered I had Steeped Coffee samples with me. I dumped the brewed sludge in the sink and tried the Steeped bag, hoping I would not screw it up. My thought was to leave the bag in until the water turned color to look like coffee I drink from my home Keurig machine. Once it looked ready, I removed the bag and took a first sip of my newly brewed “cup of joe.”
“OMG!” I exclaimed. “This is actually good. I was successful on my first try and it is much better than the pod stuff supplied by the hotel.”
What’s the backstory on this new product? Based in Santa Cruz, California, the company promises their new coffee will be a game changer in the world of instant coffees. Steeped Coffee’s nitro sealed steeped bags have won the “Best New Product” award at a Specialty Coffee Expo. Considering it is so easy to make, even if there is no coffee pot in your hotel room and actually tastes good enough to enjoy rather than tolerate, I now can understand why.
Environmentally Safe as Well as Good
Steeped Coffee launched when serial entrepreneur and coffee lover Josh Wilbur decided to combine the convenience of a single-serving brew method with the premium quality of ethically sourced coffee. Wilbur wanted to redeem the environmental dilemma created by wasteful coffee pods. Happy to do the math, Wilbur points out over 10 billion unrecyclable pods accumulate in landfills each year – enough to wrap around the earth more than 110 times if placed side-by-side. Moreover, each type of pod depends on expensive and often moldy brewing machines, which are also unrecyclable.
It took Wilbur seven years to innovate the proprietary Steeped Coffee system that delivers fresh roasted, pre-portioned, precision ground, micro batched coffee in customized Full Immersion Filters. “Premium coffee roasters have shied away from offering their specialty beans in single-serve packaging because it’s been nearly impossible to keep ground coffee fresh, which quickly ruins the taste,” said Wilbur. “With our Nitro Sealed bags, oxygen is replaced with nitrogen, so the coffee stays fresh as if it was ground moments ago.”
“Steeped Packs are the easiest way to make a delicious cup of coffee,” Wilbur Says. “You shouldn’t need to perform chemistry before you’ve made your coffee.” Simply steep each Steeped Bag in hot water for about five minutes to allow the coffee to develop its distinctive body and flavor. There is no machine, no noise, no cleanup, no destructive waste.
Coffee Snobs Approve
In information supplied by the company, they point out that even Barista Magazine is a believer: “Like a tea bag—but for coffee? This new product from Steeped Coffee might just be one of our fave new ways to brew coffee on the road,”.
And I agree! The Steeped Coffee doesn’t take up any room in your briefcase or suitcase, so it’s the perfect travel solution. Its available in light roast, medium roast, dark roast, french roast and even decaf. No more brewing sludge in my hotel room or complaining because my room doesn’t have a coffee maker.
Features of Steeped Coffee
• 100% Specialty Coffee: quality coffee ethically sourced directly from farmers
• Nitro Sealed: removes oxygen, stopping the clock on freshly ground beans
• Ultrasonic Edges: no glue, staples, or wasted materials for max steeping
• Full Immersion Filter: non-GMO filters that regulate ideal water-in and maximum flavor-out
• Guilt-Free Packaging: made using plant-based renewable and compostable materials
• Micro Batching: roasted locally in small batches
• Precision Ground: consistent water-cooled grinding to the micron
• Pre-Portioned: consistent SCA recommended water-to-coffee ratios
• Just Add Water: single-serve convenience with no machines required
• Barista Approved: tested by multiple independent specialty coffee Q-graders for freshness, quality, and taste
So, where can you find Steeped Coffee? Its currently carried at select Wholefoods and other premium environmentally conscious supermarkets, luxury hotels, offices offering craft coffee services. They have also partnered with a growing list of over 75 specialty coffee roasters across the country. To see retail locations and partners or order your own, visit www.steepedcoffee.com for more information.
This is a review based on my personal experience with Steeped Coffee.
