Yesterday we had the great pleasure of catching up with Mark Folker from Trinity Coffee Co. to demo his prototype 3-in-1 Coffee machine the Trinity ONE.
After a second attempt at a Kickstarter Campaign Mark was finally able to get some funds raised to start production of this brilliant amalgam of art and science. For those of you who missed out on the Kickstarter Early Bird offer, keep checking the website for the pre-order sales options. We managed to pick up our Trinity ONE for AUD$250 which is an extremely small price considering the level or workmanship that has gone into this device. Pre order sales will still be at a slight discount but if you wait too long, you’ll end up forking out around AUD$400. Whilst still reasonably priced for what you get (considering most entry level prosumer espresso machines are at least twice that price) if this brewer interests you at all, I would be contacting Mark and making a pre order sale VERY soon.
Mark is an engineer by practice but this prototype is just the beginning of his entrepreneurship. He has already hinted at add-ons for the Trinity ONE in the pipeline. That excites me because I can see this becoming an all-in-one device that could not only be sitting front and centre in your kitchen, but could be a great asset to any camping adventure.
So, let’s talk about this brewer and what makes it so amazing.
The Trinity ONE comes complete with a beautifully designed and crafted timber and S/S frame, a brew chamber made from a mix of glass and Tritan (a BPA-free copolyester composite), a filter head, and a well weighted press cylinder. The scales that you see in the image below are an optional addition and can be purchased for around AUD$20. The thing I absolutely love about this design is that it is entirely modular. You can replace the timber parts with new or different pieces (I’m imagining a market here for “covers” similar to how you pimp out your iPhone). You can replace the filter head components as they wear out and you can replace the chamber if it ever gets scratched or cracked. This goes to show that Mark has really thought long and hard about aspects of the device and trying to make a brewer that lasts as long as your love for coffee.
Trinity ONE being used for filter coffee.
There has been a lot of chatter about this machine being a glorified (and more expensive) aeropress but really, you cannot compare the Trinity ONE to any one single-use device. It is a combination of a Chemex/ Pour-over, a French Press/ Aero press, and a Cold Drip Brewer with the unique ability of being able to switch between them very easily on the fly.
For the coffee, we used the exquisitely tasting Panama Geisha Coffee and without a doubt, the Trinity ONE delivered a fantastic brew. The candied mandarin flavours were clearly present in the cup and even the non-black-coffee drinkers admitted that this was a hit.
After our first cup of pour over coffee, it was a matter of seconds before we had the filter head clean and were ready for another cupping experience – this time using the press cylinder. I was truly amazed at how quickly it was able to jump from one brew method to the next. Every component seemed to be designed to make this process dead simple.
Next up we sampled the Coffee Press method. The beauty of this machine which is completely unique to any other French press or Aeropress, is that it self presses. Due to the sheer weight of the Press Cylinder (and believe me, it’s heavy enough to do bicep curls) you can simply drop it into the chamber and watch it slowly push down on the grind.
The Coffee press method was a little bit on the fast side for my liking but that was largely due to the fact that we didn’t have fine enough dispersion screens for the filter head. Mark assures me that in the final production (set for delivery in Jan 2016) will have upgrades that will address that and as a bonus there will be three different O-rings on the Press Cylinder that control the speed at which the cylinder presses down.
We didn’t get to experience the cold brew that this machine can produce (again, this is still a prototype so rest assured, in the first round of production you will be able to leave your coffee brewing overnight and return in the morning to a beautiful batch of cold brew.)
The Trinity ONE is a blend of art and science
All in all, we are extremely excited to be a part of this Kickstarter campaign and can’t wait to get our hands on the final product. It will go very nicely next to our office espresso machine and I’m sure it will only increase our coffee consumption. One thing is for sure, the Trinity ONE is not just a device for coffee aficionados; it’s for regular people too. It is also a collector’s dream, a masterpiece of art, and a brag-worthy addition to your kitchen or even your coffee table.
