The OXO Rapid Brewer or ORB has taken the specialty coffee community by storm since its release in 2024.
This Aeropress-esq coffee brewer has rapidly (pun intended) produced a cult following due to its ease of use, quick brewtimes, and above all, its remarkable versatility. Whether you are interested in cold brew, hot coffee, your own variation on pour over, or the famed SOUP (more on this to come), the ORB has you covered and at a very affordable price.
Oxo Rapid Brewer
The OXO Rapid Brewer is a compact, travel-friendly coffee maker that brews versatile hot or cold coffee quickly and easily wherever you are.
Understanding the OXO Rapid Brewer
The OXO Rapid Brewer is very intuitive to use and is made up of four easy-to-connect parts:
- A manual hand pump (that never breaks 1lb pressure)
- A water reservoir (can hold up to 160ml)
- A grinds basket (can hold up to 40g)
- A plastic cup/carafe
How to use the Oxo Rapid Brewer
Normal (or some would say boring) operation of the ORB is as simple as:
- Filling the grinds basket with the requisite grinds (40g for cold or 20g for hot, there are lines on the basket to show how much that is)
- Tamping the grinds (tamp included with brewer)
- Screwing on the water reservoir and filling to the marked line
- Screwing on the hand pump and waiting for the required time (2 mins for hot, 5 mins for cold)
- Pumping the coffee into the carafe and diluting as desired
However, this basic recipe (for hot or cold) really is just the beginning and a good starting point for brewing. This baby is flexible as, and your options for recipe, brew ratios, brew time etc are as wide as your imagination.
The ORB is remarkably easy to use, and the various videos struggle to convey just how fun/satisfying this brewer is to brew with. There is something about the mini tamp and pushing down the pump until you hear the hiss that just makes you feel good inside.
The brewer and its various parts are made of high-quality materials and feel durable and well-constructed. The water reservoir has a showerhead bottom that makes for even dispersion of water. While it has the same general size and feel to the Aeropress, I must say that I am far more taken with the ORB. I love the Aeropress, but the ORB is more versatile, more satisfying to use, and in my experience, is easier to get good results.
There is also a growing world of ORB mods or 3D printed extras to really maximise the ORB experience. These include an adapter to fit an espresso basket, an adaptor to be able to brew straight into a cup, or a travel kit.
Making Soup
However, what has really taken the ORB from just another brewer in an oversaturated market is the discovery that this brewer could have been custom-designed for SOUP. Now by SOUP, I do not mean chicken soup or even mushroom soup, but instead a shot with no crema that somehow sits halfway between espresso and pour-over and tastes downright delicious.
The name soup comes from the abbreviation of the less elegant Spro, Only Un Pressurized.
SOUP is this bizarre drink that kind of feels like espresso but has the clarity of a pour over. What makes the ORB so ideal for this drink is that SOUP requires no more than 1lb of pressure, and the ORB has a built-in catch to keep it from exceeding 1lb.
To make SOUP:
- Grind 20g of light roast coffee around half-way between espresso grind and pour over grind
- Place ground coffee in grinds basket sandwiched by an Aeropress paper filter above and below
- Tamp grinds
- Connect to water reservoir and add 82ml or so
- 1 slow push down of pump (around 5s)
- Rapid pushes until the ORB hisses
- Dilute as desired
This really is a unique and delicious brew method to try, and the consensus is that there is quite literally nothing better for it than the OXO Rapid Brewer.
Who should buy The Oxo Rapid Brewer
f you love experimenting with different brew styles and want one compact device that can do it all, the OXO Rapid Brewer is well worth a spot in your lineup. It makes superb coffee across a range of styles, is affordable, intuitive, and highly portable, and is genuinely satisfying to brew with. There’s also a strong global community sharing recipes and tips, making it easy to refine your technique and try something new. That said, it might not be for you if your kitchen is already overflowing with coffee gear — although, can you ever really have too many brewers?
Oxo Rapid Brewer- The Verdict
In takeaway, I cannot recommend the ORB highly enough. This has become my go-to brewer alongside espresso and my daily driver for cold brews in the heat of summer. There is a reason that the ORB won the 2025 Sprudge award for best new coffee product. The reason is that this brewer makes delicious coffee, is incredibly satisfying to use, is forgiving, and is about as versatile as a manual brewer can be.
So take the plunge, spend the little bit of money, and get brewing!
