How Ratio became part of my morning routine
I met Mark Hellweg several years ago when I attended XOXO in Portland, Oregon. At the time, I knew him as the proprietor of Clive Coffee, one of my favorite coffee gear stores in the world.
Little did I know, he was working on a product that’d elevate the hallmark of my morning routine: making coffee.
My humble beginnings in coffee
Up until that point, I’d tried half a dozen different approaches to coffee making, starting in high school with the free Gevalia coffee maker that my dad got in the mail back when I used Dunkin’ Donuts beans. (Don’t judge.)
While studying design in college, I discovered the Bodum Santos Stovetop Glass Vacuum Coffee Maker, and loved showing it off at parties, when staying up late after bingeing on caffeine was a frequent activity. I really loved the theatrics of this product, and focused one of my semester projects on its use. It lasted nearly until graduation when it met an early demise after an untimely encounter between it and my roommate’s elbow.
After that, I fell on black days, resorting to a found-object as my brew toy: a plastic black coffee maker. While effective, this was the darkest period in my relationship with coffee; its consumption became a means to an end, rather than a pursuit of enjoyment alone.
Third wave coffee crests
In 2004, I moved to San Francisco, right before coffee’s third wave started to gain momentum. I frequented Ritual Roasters in the Mission and became fascinated by the craft I saw on display at Blue Bottle Coffee’s Hayes Valley Kiosk (long before they received Google money). Inspired, I ditched my practical, no-nonsense maker and upgraded to a Bee House Ceramic Coffee Dripper.
A short time later, I decided to go all-in with Hario, buying their V60 Glass Coffee Dripper, the V60 Range Server, and Buono Coffee Drip Kettle. I even bought their scale to measure my coffee grinds for the first time, along with a grinder from KRUPS, to get the freshest brew experience. I’d clearly turned a corner in my obsession.
Seeking plunging portability
In 2010, I joined Google. With my new role and the commute, I realized I needed a more portable setup. That’s when I discovered Aerobie’s (yes, the disc frisbee maker) AeroPress. Although its product page didn’t inspire much confidence, I’d read so much about the cult favorite that I decided to give it a shot (pun intended).
Unlike pour-over coffee makers where you lightly “water” coffee until it drips through a filter, the AeroPress is basically a large syringe. It uses pressure to force hot water through your coffee grinds and through a filter, producing a dense Americano-like concentration. You then add hot water to your desired intensity, and that’s it.
What’s great about the AeroPress is that it’s consistent, clean, fairly easy to master, and compact. Better yet, there just happens to be a coffee grinder by Porlex that fits perfectly into the plunger, making for an extremely compact portable coffee brewing setup. I now take these items with me (and a bag of Mistobox’s latest offering) whenever I travel. I also prefer to use Able Coffee’s S Filter (which I backed on Kickstarter) so that there’s no extra waste or loose filters to pack. And, for AeroPress geeks out there, I prefer the inverted brew method.
Elevating the art of home coffee making
I’d gone through the pour-over phase and had adjusted to using the AeroPress full time when I met Mark on the roof of Clive Coffee (here’s the sunset from that night). When he briefed me on the Ratio Eight, I was floored. It was generations beyond the shitty black plastic brewer I’d used before. It was a product worthy of Apple or Tesla’s aesthic acumen. It was beautiful. I couldn’t wait to get one, and he promised — as it often goes in hardware development —he’d get one to me in “months”.
Well, it’s now been over 91 weeks since that fateful meeting, and Ratio has been available for pre-orders since March. This Saturday, pre-orders end.
June 26th is the last day to pre-order before the price jumps $100, from $480 to its final resting retail price of $580.
Since I’ve now had Ratio in my home for several months, I can say definitively that it’s a device that I want front and center in my kitchen — demanding attention and questions from my guests who may wonder how I ended up with such a beautiful and expensive looking piece of machinery that does one thing, but does it very well. Take a look:
I now have a daily ritual where I’ll get up, hop in the shower, grind 28g of fresh coffee beans, pour them into the included Able KONE Coffee Filter, pour in water filtered by my SOMA Water carafe, and hit Brew. I’ll keep an eye on the slow development of my morning beverage while I make my fried eggs with coconut oil, English muffins, veggie sausages, and avocado. Whereas I used to devote my full attention to making my coffee, I now hand-off that process to the Ratio, and feel confident doing so. Yes, I’m a creature of habit, and the Ratio has completed my routine.
A few nits to be aware of
My complaints about Ratio are specific and minor: first, because of the open-air design of the shower head, it occassionally spits water outside the carafe; it also steams somewhat excessively (think: rice cooker), so you’ll want to keep Ratio out in the open, rather than under cabinets or shelves.
Second, the glass carafe is beautiful to look at, but not insulated. If you like your coffee to stay hot over time, you’re going to want to use an insulated carafe, or drink your coffee with a friend, because the smallest amount of coffee it’ll brew is about two full cups. I might suggest trying the Eva Solo Carafe or Zojirushi thermos.
Otherwise, this a statement piece — and one fully worth bringing into your daily morning routine.
Disclosure: I was sent one of the first Ratio coffee makers (#92) at no charge, but without obligation to write about it, nor to do anything else. As I’ve used the product personally, I was motivated to write this piece, especially in light of the forthcoming, pre-announced price change. In other words, I would have wanted to know that the price was going up before it was too late!
The links to Amazon in this piece include my affiliate code, so if you happen to buy something after clicking through, I’ll receive a small commission for sending you to Amazon. I’ve owned or do still own all the products that I linked to above, and can vouch for them individually. Trust me, I’ll be lucky if I make $5 in affiliate fees.
If you have a different setup or way you approach your daily grind before your daily grind, I’d love to hear about your preferred configuration. Feel free to write a response using the link below.
And as always, feel free to sign up for my email newsletter for very seldom updates from me or follow me on Twitter or Product Hunt to peer into the things I’m tuned in to. I’d love it if you recommended this piece to help it spread — especially before the price goes up on Saturday!
