Bruvi Espresso Maker Evaluate: Tried and Examined 2024

As a commerce writer, buying my first house in 2023 meant I finally got to start buying, testing, and writing about all things home. Every day has brought something new, and as my little rescue dog Peanut and I have settled into life in our new house, one thing has made the transition smooth: carving out new routines and rituals. Perhaps my favorite is my morning routine, made infinitely better by the (sustainable!) Bruvi coffee maker I’ve been using for almost a year now.

The Bruvi is a beautiful and sleek pod-based coffee maker that’s designed to be a more sustainable alternative to single-use coffee makers. I grew up in a Keurig household, and while the click of a pod into the brewer was always satisfying, I couldn’t ignore the pressing guilt I felt throwing them away each morning.

With the Bruvi, that guilt is gone—and the coffee is so smooth and delicious that I genuinely find myself thinking about the next morning’s cup every night. Moreover, the Bruvi machine has helped me carve out a morning ritual, a slower, more intentional approach to each day’s beginning. Though my to-do list always feels never-ending, I make time to sit and enjoy my coffee, in part because it’s quick and relaxing to make it at home with the Bruvi.

How Does the Bruvi Coffee Maker Work?

There are two major problems with traditional single-serve coffee makers: the coffee taste, and how to dispose of the pods. Bruvi hit shelves in 2022 when a pair of coffee industry veterans set out to tackle both of these problems, primarily through the brand’s proprietary B-Pods, which are designed to organically break down in the trash over time without leaving any microplastics behind. That way, you can toss ’em in the trash guilt-free.

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As for how it makes coffee, Bruvi uses suto-optimized brewing settings to give you a perfect cup every time.“Our brewers have a built-in camera that scans the unique code embedded in the lid of every B-Pod, then automatically adjusts multiple brewing parameters to a specific recipe for every individual coffee variety,” Bruvi’s co-founder and CEO Mel Elias shares.

The brewer has an easy-to-fill water tank that you can lift right off the back to refill whenever needed. It also has a touch screen with all of the options listed. As Elias mentions, the brewer automatically determines what setting your drink needs based on which B-Pod you insert into the brewer. From there, you have a few options for customization including size, temperature, and brew strength. There are also settings specific to shots of espresso for espresso pods or iced coffee settings (yes, with the Bruvi, you can brew the perfect cup of non-watered-down iced coffee at home). Currently, Bruvi can make seven different beverages, including brewed coffee, plus high-pressure espresso and Americanos, cold brew (one of the only single-serve coffee makers to offer a cold brew function), and tea.

Another unique feature of the Bruvi is its hygienic brew setting. With Bruvi, coffee brews within the pod, never touching the inside of the brewer. That means that no mold and bacteria growth can be common in other brewers. There’s also no flavor cross-contamination between brews.

What do the experts like best? “One of my favorite features of Bruvi is our smart, on-demand heater with precise temperature control,” Elias says. “Instead of waiting 30 seconds or more to begin brewing, Bruvi heats in only five seconds, and then rapidly cools for brewing iced coffee or cold brew.” This is true— it’s a fast, seamless experience.

The Bruvi Coffee Maker: My Honest Review

Better taste

There’s a reason so many people opt to spend money at coffee shops or the drive-through each day rather than make a coffee at home; pod coffee often tastes weak, watery, lukewarm, and worst of all, bitter. But the Bruvi makes coffee so good, I had to convince myself not to pack it up in my car for my last road trip (I did resist, but barely!). I’m always eager to wake up and make my morning coffee now, whereas before, I felt “meh” about it at best. Trying new flavors of pods is fun, too—I’m traditionally a light-to-medium roast girl, but with Bruvi, I trust that even a dark roast won’t ever be bitter, and have been able to expand my coffee palate as such.

Sustainable pod disposal

Bruvi’s Guilt Free Toss B-Pods are aptly named. Though many traditional pods are marketed as recyclable, most pods don’t actually get recycled, and instead end up in landfills, where they take hundreds or even thousands of years to degrade. Compostable pods sound great, but the US currently lacks the industrial infrastructure for composting, so most of those pods go to landfills too, with the same result.

So, what’s the solution? According to Elias, the team spent several years researching and developing the pods with enzyme-infused plastic. B-Pods are designed to be tossed in the trash because, in the anaerobic environment of a landfill, they degrade more rapidly in an organic process over a few years—and importantly—without leaving microplastic behind.

Packaging

Bruvi uses recycled paper and minimal plastic packing materials, and the Bruvi itself even comes wrapped in a reusable Japanese knot-style canvas bag. You can also purchase the Bruvi Bundle, which includes the brewer as well as a discovery set with some of their bestselling B-Pods.

Customer Service

My original brewer ended up having an issue where one of the pieces broke, and I reached out to the customer service team for support. They were kind and receptive, and a real person on their team even sent me a personal troubleshooting video with steps to try to fix the issue. When those steps didn’t work, the team didn’t hesitate to send over a new one, encouraging me to recycle the old brewer. This really solidified me as a lifetime Bruvi customer; it was refreshing to have the customer service process be so empathetic and…well, easy.

Pods delivered on autopilot

You can (like me!) set up a subscription for B-Pods at the cadence you prefer. My personal favorite at the moment is the Mulholland Roasters Colombian coffee, which has notes of mandarin, stonefruit, and chocolate. When I spoke with Elias, he shared that in 2024, the company’s priority is to introduce more B-Pods: more brands and more beverage options, including teas.

Design

The design of the Bruvi is beautiful and modern. I have the original brewer, which is a sleek white design with bamboo accents (perfect for my coastal-inspired home aesthetic). The team also just launched a second brewer—a modern black Bruvi with stainless finishes. I helped my dad gift one of these to my mom for Christmas this year, so I’ve seen and used this one in person too, and it is absolutely gorgeous, too.

Final Thoughts

The bottom line? I’m honestly a ride-or-die for Bruvi, at this point. Everyone who comes to stay at my house says the following: “I just can’t wait to have coffee,” which speaks volumes. Though the Bruvi is more expensive than some other coffee makers on the market, it stands out from the pack thanks to its aesthetics, highly sustainable design, and coffee quality. As a Bruvi user myself and someone who’s gifted it to others now, it’s an investment you won’t regret.