Weber Workshops, the company known for intense, micron engineered bespoke manual and electric grinders (don’t even ask how much), $500 WDT tool devices, and $365 portafilters with advanced filter baskets built in, has dipped their extreme precision engineer toes into the coffee brewing arena.
Weber has introduced the BIRD, a device that at first look seems to be a press pot, but really is quite different, and features Weber’s typical super engineering tweaks and refinement.
BIRD stands for “Brew in Reverse Direction”, and it is a no-bypass immersion style brewer with built in agitation tricks. Indeed, it has a whole series of tricks to deliver a concentrated brew – somewhere close to the strength of a moka pot coffee – but with a very clean and refined cup, providing up to 350ml in the maximum brewing amount. Weber says it’s enough for one very rich cup of coffee for an individual, or for 3 or 4 demitasse servings to share.
So what exactly is this thing?
Makeup of the Weber BIRD
This new brewer from Weber consists of three main components: the glass brewing vessel with handle and a “pod” is where the ground coffee resides for much of the brew, and is also the tool for the device’s filtration; either a mesh filter, paper filter, or both. These are the first two elements.
The third component is where all of Weber’s engineering resides: the “Gizmo” as they call it. It consists of a crown, a drive shaft, a wingnut adjustment dial, the cap, and a spinning propeller claw underneath. It’s quite hard understand or visualize exactly what this thing is with words, so why not check out Weber’s promotional video of the BIRD to see what’s going on.
Douglas Weber, the main behind Weber Workshops, had this to say about the new BIRD brewer:
“The BIRD is our first entrance into the world of brewing equipment and, like all of our designs, we wanted to approach it from an unexplored angle. Using only quality materials, we set out to deeply explore the uncharted territory that is the middle ground between espresso and pour-over. With the BIRD we’ve created an entirely unique brewing style and device, and we’re excited to see what the leading cafés and home baristas of the world do with it.”
The Details
It’s a Weber product, so you can expect the BIRD to be expensive and very well made. They are pricing the BIRD initially at $360USD. 1,000 units, split between two drops, are coming in January. The company says it is planning higher volume production starting in the spring.
The Weber BIRD weighs 830g (nearly 2 pounds!) empty, can brew 20-35g of ground coffee, and takes 400g max water in, delivering about 350ml brewed.
When you buy one, it includes the brewer, a stainless mesh reusable filter, 300 sheets of a special paper filter (Abaca paper, by Cafec, made in Japan), a solid anodized aluminum paper filter dock (Weber sells a variant of this on its own for $100!!), and a rubber drip catcher for resting the pod on.
There is no plastic in any of this device; it’s made with brass, stainless steel, aluminum and silicone (for the seals). Weber says replacement parts will be available for the BIRD, including the brewing carafe, filters and other parts.
Initial Reception and Thoughts
So the news of this device and the above video were leaked early by an online influencer looking to get cred points from coffee nerds on various social media and discussion platforms. It was supposed to be officially announced Thursday December 21, 2023, but since it leaked early, Weber’s lifted their embargo.
What this means is, there’s a lot of early reaction to this. Not all of it good. At $360, this is more expensive than a decent entry level espresso machine, like the Breville Bambino. In the Youtube comments, many people pointed this out. Still others felt it is an over-engineered re-imagining of the AeroPress.
I’ve sometimes been a critic of Weber, but at the end of the day, I’m a big fan of what they do, mainly because they push boundaries and open possibilities. The HG-1 grinder was so amazing and singular when it came out. Sure, it had issues, but it just set a new standard for what is possible in coffee grinders. Bottom line is, anyone who’s a fan and adventurer in their own world of specialty coffee benefits (and needs) the Weber Workshops of the world to push these boundaries. As they explore and evolve coffee products, other manufacturers take note and start bringing their own new ideas down into more budget friendly territories.
In some ways, companies like Weber are like the Formula One teams in auto racing. Expensive, bespoke, out of reach for most folks. Yet the development and engineering F1 teams do always filters down eventually to most of the cars we buy today. The same is true of companies like Weber in the specialty coffee sphere.
I should also note, the big coffee manufacturers of past eras used to do this more often, like Faema, La Marzocco, Gaggia and Elektra, and others. Now they mostly play it safe (La Marzocco the possible exception, but I’m still waiting for the successor to the Disco Volante grinder). Weber never plays it safe. They explore, they engineer, they think out of the box. They take existing ideas, concepts and elements of coffee and espresso, and take them to an entirely different engineering level.
I mean… the BIRD actually clicks, like the winding of a mechanical watch, when you spin the wingnut! Come on!
I don’t know if the Weber BIRD actually brews a good cup of coffee or not. I probably will never know, unless they start sending a few of the 1,000 they plan on making, for review and evaluation. I also know I would not buy one with the current bills and mortgage payments I have to meet in my own life, and where my current financial priorities are.
But I also know this: if I happen to sign a major contract for photography work with a new client in the near future, or won a scratch and win $5,000 lottery ticket, or the 50/50 draw at the next Pacific FC soccer game I attend… I’d probably buy a BIRD. At $360, it’s expensive, but not crazy obscene expensive. It’s also rare, very unique, and something that most likely brews a good and interesting cup of coffee.
Plus I’m a sucker for beautiful, micron-precise engineering.
Mark has certified as a Canadian, USA, and World Barista Championship Judge in both sensory and technical fields, as well as working as an instructor in coffee and espresso training. He started CoffeeGeek in 2001.
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Mark Princehttps://cg2023.coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
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Mark Princehttps://cg2023.coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
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Mark Princehttps://cg2023.coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
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Mark Princehttps://cg2023.coffeegeek.com/author/markprince/
3 Responses
It is so exciting when Weber introduces a new device. You can expect something really special, possibly a radical, but beautiful design. In the case of the Bird, though, my first thought is how much cleanup there will be between making single cups of coffee. So the Bird is not for me.
That being said, I’m trying to think of a single Weber product that I don’t secretly covet.
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From reading a semi review the ease of the cleanup is one of the main selling points.
Wow, looks amazing with a fun, tactile experience, but that price is super high. Not like a little high, it’s really a bit crazy. And I’m an original HG-1 owner, so I’ve been following the team for a while!