BRIPE
Coffee Brew Pipe
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Tester
Information
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| Name:
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David
Wilkes |
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E-Mail:
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amatbrewer@yahoo.com
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Age:
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51 |
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Location:
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Yakima
Washington USA |
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Gender:
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M |
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Height:
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5'11"
(1.80 m) |
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Weight:
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200 lb (90.7 kg) |
Waist/inseam: | 36"/32" 91cm / 81 cm |
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Biography:
I started
backpacking
in 1995 when I moved to Washington State. Since then, I have
backpacked in all seasons and conditions the Northwest has to
offer. I prefer trips on
rugged trails with plenty of elevation gain. While I continuously
strive to lighten my load, comfort and safety are most important to me.
I have finally managed to get my basic cold weather pack weight, not
including consumables, to under 30 lb (14 kg).
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Product
Information
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Manufacturer:
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BRIPE |
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Year
of Manufacture:
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2017 |
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Manufacturer’s
Website:
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www.briping.com |
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MSRP:
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84.95 US$
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Weight Listed/Measured:
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12 oz (340 g) / 11.5 oz (326 g)
[Weighed with torch and coffee tube full]
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Product
Description:The
BRIPE is an ingenious new portable single shot coffee maker constructed
primarily of copper and intended to give coffee lovers the ability to
brew and drink coffee just about anytime or place.
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Initial
Report
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Aug 9 2017
The
BRIPE comes as a complete kit which includes the brew pipe, pipe stand,
quad jet butane torch, reusable filter, thermometer, carrying
case and a tube of coffee. The BRIPE itself looks very much like a
tobacco (or other) pipe made out of copper with a curved handle / drink
tube (would be called the stem or shank of a pipe). The drink tube
(stem) has a plastic tip (bit) and cork insulator. Both are to protect
the user from contacting the potentially quite hot copper. There
is a reusable coffee filter made from a very thin piece of stainless
steel. It has 3 circular groupings of photo etched holes that form the
filter and a section that extends up to the top of the pipe with a bend
and larger hole for securing the thermometer in place during use. The
thermometer is a basic dial type, marked in deg F from 0 to 220 (-18 to
104 C). There is also a copper stand that serves double duty as a heat
sink to assist in quickly cooling the pipe (and coffee) down to
drinking temperature after brewing (more on that later). The included
torch uses butane, is refillable (butane not included), and includes a
piezoelectric (piezo) igniter and 4 jets. The kit also includes a tube
of coffee which holds about 1/4 c (aka 4Tbs or about 59 ml). Finally
the entire kit comes in a very sophisticated looking
gray felt pouch with an elastic closure and leather patch embossed with
"BRIPE".
Small bit of trivia: Believe it or not the tube of
coffee is actually the plastic blank that plastic bottles (including
the 2L size) are made from. I have seen these used as containers for
other things such as brewing yeast.
Weight breakdown:
- BRIPE 51 g (1.80 oz)
- Stand 22 g (0.78 oz)
- Thermometer 9 g (0.32 oz)
- Torch 149 g [fuel full] (5.26 oz)
- Coffee tube [empty] 24 g (0.85 oz) [holds about 13 g/ 0.46 oz of coffee]
The concept behind the BRIPE is rather
simple. Insert the filter into the bowl of the pipe and then add ground coffee and
water. Then holding the pipe by the cork (to avoid getting burned by
the hot copper) use the torch to heat the water up to about 185F (85C).
The indentation in the bottom of the BRIPE increases the surface area,
which improves its efficiency in transferring the heat from the torch
to the water, thereby speeding up the process. Then place the pipe on
the stand. The center post of the stand matches the indentation of the
BRIPE and thereby helps cool it down to drinking temperature
(~140F/60C) quicker. The instructions say to blow some bubbles (blow
into the drink tube) before drinking. I presume this helps clear the
coffee grounds from the filter to prevent it from clogging. Now simply
sip the coffee through the tube.
Cleaning seems to be just a
matter of rinsing out the grounds, and maybe rubbing where/as necessary
to remove any that stick to the BRIPE or thermometer.
I
could not help but try it out almost as soon as I got my hands on it. I
am glad it came with coffee, but obviously the torch was empty. I just
happened to have a smaller torch of my own so added a little coffee
(not enough) and water, applied heat per the instructions, and when it
cooled down to 140F (60C) I tentatively took a sip. I was anticipating
scalding my mouth with the hot drink but it turned out that temperature
is just about ideal drinking temperature (for me at least). My first
sip contained some coffee grounds and the coffee was weak (the
instructions do not really say how much coffee to use) but not bad. I
assume it is likely that I did not have the filter installed correctly.
I would note here that the web site mentions that the filter is
"variable" but does not elaborate. And while I can see there are 3 sets
of filter holes, I can't really see any difference in them, so am not
sure how it is variable.
I look forward to
using this on the trail, in camp, in my home and office as well as
maybe in hotel rooms when I travel. I might even find other locations
as well.
NOTE: I am an admitted coffee snob. I grew up drinking
Kona Coffee and have long said "life it too short for bad beer or
coffee". Also my morning drink of choice is 2 shots of espresso (no
water, sugar, flavor, ice, etc please, just the coffee). The coffee
that came with the BRIPE is not bad, but not the sort I prefer. But
"good" coffee is highly subjective and what may be good to me is often
nasty to others. So I won't judge the product on the coffee that came
with it, but do look forward to using the BRIPE with my own fresh
ground coffee.
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Long
Term Report |
| Dec 19 2017 | USE:
- 1 night backpack – Umtanum Creek central Washington
- 3 day hikes Eastern Foothills of the Washington Cascades
- 2 days Ski Patrol White Pass Washington
- Various use at home/office/travel
I
have used the BRIPE, in my home and yard. I have used it in my office
and in conference rooms of remote offices. I used it in hotel rooms,
and yes even on the trail. And thanks to some favorable weather had the
opportunity to use it in the yurt while on ski patrol. I would
conservatively estimate I have made at least 25 batches of coffee with
it. During the testing I have made little effort to measure the amount
of coffee I use. I just fill the bowl to just cover the center post
which is about a table spoon (~ 15ml) of grounds, more or less
depending on my mood.
To start, I still have not figured out the “variable” part
of the variable filter. I used the e-mail address from the “Contact
Bripe” section of the manufacturer’s web page to ask about it but never
received a reply. I have tried using the Bripe with the filter
positioned to use each of the three sets of holes but have not seen any
difference. To be fair I have used a few different grinds of coffee
from coarse to fine and found the filter seems to work fine regardless
of grind or position of the filter. So I am curious, but it does not
seem to be relevant to its operation.
The instructions say to
blow bubbles before drinking. I presume this is to help clear the
filter and avoid clogging. I have a couple of times forgotten this
step but experienced no problems.
As mentioned in the initial
report, the first few times I used the Bripe I would get some grounds
with the first sip (even after blowing bubbles as instructed). However
with further use I have experienced this less often and assume that
with use the filter is conforming to the shape of the bowl and thereby
doing its job better.
The tube supplied for holding the coffee
grounds seemed excessive and unnecessarily heavy, so I tried using a
small “snack” size re-closable plastic bag. This allowed me to carry
more coffee with less weight than the tube. However I also found it to
be difficult to get the coffee from the bag to the Bripe without making
a mess unless I used a small spoon to scoop it. So I have since gone
back to using the tube. So much for me trying to out think the
manufacturer.
Along the idea of reducing weight, I tried using the
Bripe with my own much smaller torch (one that converts a commonly
available lighter into a torch). But again I was unable to out think
the manufacturer. While the smaller torch worked, it took about 3-4
times longer to heat the water and used about a half to a third of the
fuel of the lighter. So now I understand why the manufacturer includes
the torch that they do. It may be heavy, but it is effective and
refillable. I just need to remember to refill it. I had one business
trip where I went to make coffee and realized I forgot to refill the
torch. I was forced to choose between drinking the really bad office
coffee or nothing at all (a real crisis for me). I am finding I can
make about 3-4 batches of coffee before having to refill the torch.
This torch, like any other that uses butane does not perform well when
cold (near freezing) and may not work at all below freezing. On one
hike I forgot to carry the torch in an inside pocket so by the time I
used it, it was kind of cold (I estimate around 45 F / 7 C) with
light gusty winds. I had too turn the flame to its maximum setting and
shield it from the wind with my body. The flame went out a few times
but I still managed to get the coffee up to temperature.
A
small side note. On one personal trip I was in a hotel room with my
Bripe but forgot to refill the torch. The room did have a kitchen. I
know this is not the intent but I placed the Bripe on its stand
directly on the electric burner and heated it that way. Getting the
Bripe and the very hot stand off of the burner without burning myself
or melting anything was tricky but I accomplished it, and in the end
had succeeded in making coffee. In hind sight I probably could have
just heated the water in a separate pot and poured it into the Bripe,
but as I had not had my coffee yet, I was not thinking clearly.
I
could see it as feasible to use virtually any one of my camp stoves to
heat the Bripe. I suspect the small relative size of the Bripe to the
stove would be an inefficient use of stove fuel. It could eliminate the
need to carry the torch so should result in a net reduction in pack
weight.
As mentioned in the initial report cleaning the Bripe is
a rather simple matter. At least that is in urban settings. On the
trail however, cleaning out the Bripe and disposing of used grounds can
be more problematic. It is one of the reasons I moved away from using a
french press and now normally carry instant coffee. Getting the grounds
out of the Bripe and into a container for packing out is difficult on
the trail (it requires rinsing the bowl) so the alternative is to rinse
the pipe into a cat hole, which I tried and is effective (where
possible and allowed), but not always convenient, especially for day
hikes.
 My
overall conclusion is that the Bripe is a great little gadget. It makes very good coffee
and is a real attention getter, not to mention conversation starter. I
have yet to use the Bripe in public without virtually everyone who sees
it wanting to know what it is and how it works. I see it as an awesome
gift for that coffee drinker who has everything (if I did not already
have one I would have it on my wish list). I found it really good for
travel (hotel rooms and offices), and even for day hikes in cool
weather. I would note that the filled torch (and/or fuel) are not
allowed on commercial aircraft. What I look forward to is using it
while skiing this winter. I envision being the envy of everyone who
sees me sitting trailside sipping fresh hot coffee. Cleaning in that
setting should be a matter of just rubbing it out with some snow. The
grounds should dissipate with the melting of the snow and not be a
problem. This is not exactly LNT (Leave No Trace) so I know some will
disagree.
At the beginning of the test I envisioned the Bripe
becoming part of my standard overnight backpacking kit, but now doubt
this will be the case. Despite its convenience and the quality of
coffee it produces, the low volume it produces and its weight and bulk
combined with the issues of removing and disposing of the spent grounds
makes it less desirable for overnight trips than I had anticipated. So
at the conclusion of this test, while I doubt I will take this on many
overnight backpacking trips, I do fully intend to continue to use it
for day hikes in cool/cold weather and look forward to using it during
the upcoming ski season. I also fully intend to continue using this for
travel (personal and business).
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Likes/Dislikes | Likes:
- Comes as a complete kit
- Totally cool looking product (sure to get attention)
- Innovative design
- Makes coffee (what is not to like about that?)
Dislikes:
- Kind of heavy for backpacking
- The torch seems to be overkill but I have been unable to find a better alternative
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This
concludes
my report. I would like to thank the folks at BRIPE and BackpackGearTest.org
for the opportunity to test this product.
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