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Coffee brewing equipment maker Ratio Coffee has rolled out a new version of its Ratio Six brewer for home users called the Ratio Six Series 2.
With the launch, the Portland, Oregon-based company published a white paper detailing a battery of tests and comparisons between the Six and several other popular home drip coffee makers.
The Ratio Six Series 2 Brewer
The original Ratio Six brewer was introduced in 2019 as a user-friendly but lower-priced follow-up to the brand’s flagship Ratio Eight machine. With one-button simplicity, the Six brews up to 40 ounces of coffee, with water kept consistently within a few degrees of 200°F during the brew.
The Six and Eight brewers utilize the same 1,400-watt heating element and handblown internal borosilicate glass supply line configuration. Water through a Six brewer exits a 24-hole stainless steel shower head into a fluted, flat-bottom brew basket.
While maintaining the original Six’s $339 price tag, the Six Series 2 responds to user feedback, with a redesigned carafe and a new system of water level markings on the reservoir.
The redesigned thermal carafe includes a new lid that’s easier to clean and dry, and a reshaped spout for more precise, dribble-free pouring, according to the company The new carafe is also compatible with the existing Six filter basket and can be purchased a la carte for $75.
New demarcations on the Series 2 water tank show volume as opposed to the number of cups, based on user feedback.
The Ratio White Paper
Meanwhile, the new white paper unsurprisingly concludes that Ratio’s products performed better than some competitors. Yet the more important message, according to Ratio Director of Sales and Marketing Andrew Bettis, is in the research methodologies, not the conclusions.
Bettis tested multiple brewers for water temperature, water dispersion and brew bed evenness. The temperature data was gathered using multiple probes, including one at the shower head hole closest to the heat source, and one from the hole farthest from the heater.
“The big takeaway, from a research perspective, is how inherently flawed the standard method of testing brewers is,” Bettis told DCN. “I love the SCA’s 350-2021 Espresso Machine Standard. I used this religiously when I worked at Rancilio, and I wish more manufacturers would do this testing to release standardized data to consumers, like horsepower for a car. I used that standard to inform how this study was built, but I think the [Specialty Coffee Association] brewer certification and other programs that utilize one probe in the slurry are giving partial results.”
Bettis said quality certificates based on less rigorous testing set a lower bar for manufacturers, for which consumers ultimately pay a price. The most widely marketed brewer certification in the United States and Europe is through the SCA Certified Home Brewer program.
“One goal with the white paper is to start a conversation in coffee about our standards for automatic coffee brewers,” said Bettis. “In the long supply chain of coffee, this is the last part and is often given the least amount of intentionality.”
In addition to the new Six Series 2, Ratio is continuing development of the Ratio Four home brewer and the Four+ commercial brewer, which Bettis said are currently slated for an October 2024 launch.
Comments? Questions? News to share? Contact DCN’s editors here.
Howard Bryman Howard Bryman is the associate editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. He is based in Portland, Oregon.
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