For years we’ve had to tell customers that there just isn’t a great all-in-one automatic solution for pour over style coffee. This has always been a bit of a disappointment, as pour over is one of the more time consuming ways to brew, so automating the process really is a no-brainer. We can finally say that there’s a great automatic option for your pour over proclivities with the xBloom Studio Smart Coffee Maker!

Design

The first thing you’ll notice about the xBloom is its monolithic presence on the countertop. This machine is narrow, but quite tall at 17 inches. The upshot is the counter footprint is small enough to fit nicely with your other kitchen appliances. The downside is that this brewer does not play very nicely with overhead cabinets. Overall we love the way the machine looks, and we think it’ll be a striking addition to any countertop without low cabinets.

Otherwise, the xBloom Studio is delightfully designed, with easy access to the grinder and brewer, and smart elements like a magnetic dosing cup and grind guide built into the grinder door. The machine also has a delightful screen and controls that feel great to use. We’ll talk more about the features and performance of this machine in the next section, but these sorts of design elements really give the xBloom the premium feel that helps to justify its price point. If we have any nitpicks, it’s that you can use the brew area’s scale to dose your whole beans for grinding, but it can be difficult to pour the beans into the dosing cup with the grinder and filter holder in the way. This is, however, understandable given how little room there is generally in the brew area. 

Features and Performance

The xBloom Studio features a built in grinder, scale, and brewer, making it a one-stop shop for your pour over process. It uses Kalita 155 filters in its normal whole bean brewing mode, making it easy to stay stocked up. Additionally, you can use pre-dosed xPods which come prepackaged in a filter. To use these pods, you simply scan the included card with the machine, pour the beans in the grinder, then put the grounds in the pod. The scanned card sets all of the brew parameters for you with a recipe direct from the roaster.

If you’re using your own whole beans, you can either control the brew settings with the dials on the front of the machine, or go much deeper with the xBloom app. The app unlocks powerful recipe adjustments, lets you save your favorite recipes, and provides live feedback for your brewing. You can even walk away and let the app notify you when brewing is complete, simplifying your morning routine.

None of this matters, of course, if the coffee isn’t good. Thankfully we can say with confidence that the xBloom Studio provides coffee on a similar level of quality to what you can achieve with a hand poured pour over. In fact, if you’re not already using a premium grinder and scale for your brewing, you may find that it’s even better than what you’re producing by hand.

Pros and Cons

The pros of this machine are pretty obvious - with just a few points of interaction you can get quality pour over coffee from the xBloom studio without the time and hassle of manually making a pour over. This on its own is enough to recommend this machine. On top of that, the rich brew customization options in the xBloom app and the option of having pre-packaged pods for even quicker brewing setup are huge pros. You can even use the grinder to brew for espresso, cold brew, or any other brewing method you might switch to when you’re not in the mood for pour over.

Ultimately, the only notable cons are a consequence of the pros. Mainly, this machine can be a bit complicated to use if you’re not using the preset pods. It’s not that it’s especially difficult, but you’ll want to learn a bit about pour over and what to set for the various parameters to get the most out of this machine. There are recommended settings to get your started, but building some pour over knowledge for selecting dose, temps, pour patterns, and grind settings is worth it. The machine also relies pretty heavily on its app, which may be a turnoff for some users.

Regardless, we really love this machine, and we think anyone looking for the ultimate in home pour over technology will too. Check out our video review below to see this machine in action, and be sure to leave us a comment to let us know what you think of this unique all-in-one brewer!