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30 of 31 found the following review helpful:
 Ronco Coffeetime Bewer Similar to the Toddy but Less Expensive Jan 20, 2010
By B. A. Sjoblom - Chyatte
This coffeetime cold brew coffee maker is great for the price. Sure, its made of plastic and I'd rather have an all glass maker but for the price I'm happy I bought it. The many benefits of cold brewed coffee: 1) it reduces the acid for those of us who have stomach, acid reflux, bladder problems or pregnant. 2) it nearly eliminates all the bitter taste of coffee. 3) we are all rushed in the mornings and its so fast to make a cup of coffee from the cold brewed concentrate. 4) I haven't been able to drink coffee for several years but now that I have this cold brew maker I can drink several cups a day. 5) it taste delicious!
Tips on use: this coffee maker calls for the old fashioned white basket style standard (8-10 cup) paper coffee filters. When using the old fashion standard size paper filter, you will find that your water and grinds will over flow the filter because its too small. I use the huge commercial size basket style filters along with the disk filter that comes with this brewer; using the two together makes for a quicker drip time. Use 1/2 lb of "drip grind" or preferably "electric perk grind" coffee (decaf or reg) per 5 - 6 cups of water. Let it sit for 12 - 24 hours (NOT in sunlight) then pull the plug/stopper at the bottom of the white Ronco "brew unit" funnel and your concentrate will flow out in about 30 minutes with the double filtering as mentioned above or an hour with just the felt type filter (I have allowed mine to drip for several hours to get every last bit). Note: most of your coffee comes out in the first 30 minutes to an hour. I again, cold brew the used grinds a second time for another 12 - 24 hours. The second brewing with the used coffee grinds gives me half the amount of concentrate as the first brew; I then add the two together. To prepare, I use = portions: 1/2 coffee concentrate and half almond milk. Place your finished cold brew concentrate in the fridge for up to 14 days (preferably in glass) because this unit is NOT BPA free. I do not use the plastic storage container that comes with the coffee maker; instead, I use a tall wide mouth mason jar or my sun tea jar because I am trying to lessen the BPA's from plastic in my food. Also, I do NOT use the white Ronco "brew unit" funnel with stopper to brew my coffee in either. Since the coffee sits ("brews") for 12 -24 hours, I, Instead, use a wide mouth glass jar. I only use the white funnel unit for about an hour to filter my coffee grinds; for all else, I use glass jars. It would be nice if this coffee maker itself was glass or a BPA-free plastic but then it wouldn't be this cheap.
Lastly, I hear people say they "cold brew" in a french press. This is not actual "cold brew" coffee since you are not filtering out all the volatile oils. Using a french press to make your cold brew is fine if you do not have a health issue. In some cases, it may even taste better. When you start using a filtering system, you will see all the "gummy" oils that get filtered out and trashed. Many of us can not consume them due to health reasons.
14 of 14 found the following review helpful:
5 stars for a cheap cold coffee unit, 2 stars for cleanup factor Feb 27, 2010
By DISenchanted
After looking into cold coffee units a few years back, I decided I wanted to revisit getting a cold coffee unit this year. When I did, the prices were rather high!
So when I saw this Ronco in the local walgreen's store's clearance area, marked down to $10.99, I decided to give it a shot.
[NOTE: Even if you pay the Ronco full retail price, it is the cheapest "cold coffee maker" I have found.]
What it is:
Basically this is a glorified funnel with feet (feet keep it standing upright during the "brewing" phase), that you "plug" during the brewing phase.
When it comes time to drain, you position the recovery bottle directly below the plugged hole
(plug is in the middle of unit, on the underside).
Pull the plug, seat the top funnel section on top the recovery bottle and let it drain.
Design:
Top of container is about 6.5 inches in diameter. About 5.5 inches deep.
There is a recessed area in the bottom of the top unit, that is about 2.5 inches in diameter and like half an inch deep.
A round, felt style filter goes in here, to stop the coffee grounds that the paper filter does not catch.
[Note2: And there can be a lot of grounds that the paper filter does not catch.
[The designers really should have included a plastic, ultra-fine screen filter as part of this unit].
Below the filter area is the drain hole. A rubber plug is used to close the drain hole during the coffee "brewing" phase.
A bit messy, but the resulting coffee has so far been worth the extra a bit of a "post-brewing cleanup" effort.
Bottom line:
A cheap way to experience cold coffee.
7 of 8 found the following review helpful:
Ronco Cold Brew Coffee Jun 19, 2011
By Trum
This product works great! I agree w/ those who wish the storage container was glass instead of plastic, but the brewing chamber works as advertised. I use #4 basket type paper coffee filters along w/ the felt pad filter the kit comes with. This keeps the grounds from clogging the pad and allows the coffee to drain much faster.
I came up w/ a 3 stage system that works very well. Use a full filter at the bottom, fill w. coffee and water, then place another filter on top of it (w/ a hole cut-out of the bottom of the filter approx the size of a half-dollar)then add more coffee & water. Add a third filter, w/ hole, and coffee and water. Most efficient way to drain and keeps the grounds (I recommend COARSE GRIND) from clogging the felt pad during draining.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Simple and does the job, filters need work Mar 21, 2011
By e-shopper101
This little brewer does exactly what is claims, nothing less nothing more. I would give 5 stars except for the filters. The ones included are not the best, they clog very easily and just are not efficient. I have yet to find replacements from this brand. The Toddy brand filters work wonderfully but have to be trimmed a bit. This is a smaller more affordable version of the Toddy.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
exactly as described Nov 01, 2010
By Tammy Bowers
This works exactly as described. The coffee is not bitter in the least - it is smooth.
The hardest part for me to regulating how much of it I drink...
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