The relationship between Gross and his Chinese manufacturer began to sour. In 2020, Smartco sued Brian Gross for breach of contract and trademark infringement in relation to Brewista. Essentially, Smartco alleged that Gross was beginning to market Brewista as his own and had plans to spin out his own U.S.-based business, when the Chinese company was the rightful owner. Gross tried to fight these lawsuits, but ultimately filed for bankruptcy later in 2020 thus ending the legal battle and giving Smartco the keys to the brand. At the beginning of 2021, Smartco informed Espresso Supply that it was ending its trademark agreement with its distributor of nine years. “At the end of the day, we had an agreement — and contract — and it expired,” said Carolyn Chen, a vp at Smartco who is also helping relaunch the Bonavita brand. “When we tried to renew terms, we couldn’t come to an agreement.”

My current tool of choice for that is the Wirecutter-recommended Kalita Wave. The Wave is a forgiving intro-to-manual-pour-over brewer. It’s less in need of exacting pouring than something like the famous Chemex (which I admittedly aspire to buy when both money and time-to-learn are high enough). Blooming is an important step in the brewing process where coffee grounds are lightly saturated with water before the rest of the water is poured. It makes the coffee release CO2, also known as "degassing," which leads to a purer taste. But with the increasing need for safety and cleanliness, having a travel kettle is ideal for those looking to avoid using shared items in hotel rooms or for those camping or travelling outdoors. The temperature can be adjusted between 100 and 212 degrees. A downside to the manual buttons, however, is that you have to press them for every degree you want to change. For instance, if the kettle is set to 170 degrees but you want the water to be 200 degrees, you have to press the button 30 times. While this is more frustrating than using a dial, I've personally never had an issue with it after testing the kettle for a month. I primarily brew pour-over coffee between 198 and 203 degrees, so I don't need to adjust the temperature too often or too drastically. There have been times that I made matcha with 176-degree water, but even then it wasn't much of a hassle to adjust the temperature. I also consider this one of the easiest-to-use kettles that I've tested because the display is so intuitive. You can unbox the kettle and understand all the features right away, unlike some kettles that require a glance at the instruction manual first. Even professional coffee makers began to notice the shift. “There was a while in the industry when the snobs in coffee were saying there’s no good way to make coffee at home — no machines that do it. Or, there is a way but it’s very expensive,” said Counter Culture’s Carguilo, who was crowned United States Barista Champion in 2012. “I remember at the time when Bonavita came on the market. [I thought] finally you can make a good cup of coffee [and also] I can recommend this to people,” said Carguilo.Simplicity, precision and affordability have always been important selling points for the Bonavita brand. It launched in late 2011, and its two most popular products perform key coffee-making functions that may seem simple, yet are difficult for hardware to do repeatedly and consistently. From French press users to Chemex lovers, two subtle factors make a drastic difference in the quality of your coffee: water temperature and the evenness of the pour. The Coffee Gator Coffee Brewing Kettle covers both these areas thanks to a built-in temperature gauge and a precision-flow spout. But there may be more to it than just that. Court documents, for instance, give a more nuanced view, highlighting frictions between its Chinese manufacturer and U.S. distributor — as well as heightening tension with a competing brand named Brewista. Some parties have alleged breach of contract and bad faith business dealings, others have gone bankrupt. Meanwhile, demand for higher-end coffee pots has increased as bigger appliance names began to enter into the space. What’s resulted is a clogged and muddy mess on all counts. Bonavita heralds a new coffee category And, having used it for about 6 months now, it’s a damn good kettle, full stop. It’s trivially easy to fill, the handle is comfortable and solid, and the charging base is super-solid and reasonably-intuitive. It was pretty remarkable to see,” said Mark Hellweg, founder of the specialty coffee retailer Clive Coffee. His business has sold high-end coffee equipment to consumers since 2007. In Hellweg’s estimation, the rise of Bonavita — and nicer auto-drip brewing devices as a whole — was a natural after-effect of the third wave coffee shop culture. “It started with specialty cafés and roasters, and the home market followed,” he said. “People started thinking about their home gear more intently,” he said.

Most conventional stovetop and electric water kettles have a rather wide mouth for speedy pouring. And this works great for many applications, but not when we want control over where exactly our water comes out—and how much comes out at time. It’s very hard to direct a wide-mouth of water over the relatively small area of most pour-over brewing contraptions.This is, in some ways, the easiest question. If you find yourself using or wishing for an electric kettle, you probably have a sense of the size you need. If you’re unsure, and you’re mostly making coffee (or tea) for yourself, the 1L will do you great.

Well, if you’re anything like me, you love a hot cup of tea in the morning or if you’re most others, you prefer a cup of coffee to start you off. When you’re travelling, this might mean having to buy a hotel breakfast or even find a cafe somewhere around town. This nifty travel kettle is a small lightweight item that’s easy to bring around. I find it to be a good choice for business travellers looking for an easy-to-cry option that guarantees a piping hot cup of coffee or tea in the morning. Box Dimensions (L x W x H) Stovetop kettles can take a beating, particularly for those who have open-flame gas burners. But this simple stainless steel kettle from Coffee Gator is up to any task, and it comes at an affordable price. In addition to being durable and affordable, the stand-out features include a temperature gauge, finger-groove handle, and a precise, reliable spout that you can depend on to up your coffee or tea game for years to come.Seasoned travellers know that investing in travel kettles is a great way to ensure you have a steady supply of hot water whenever and wherever you go. You never know when you might need it, even if it is just to soak your feet at the end of the day after a long day exploring new places. Please bear in mind that not all manufacturers provide correct imagery and we may put a similar or alternative image to the actual product for illustration purposes only.The actual item you receive may differ from that which is displayed, for example the box may have changed or a model may have been upgraded or changed after we have added the product online.