In Which We Make Coffee With The Founders Of Bonaverde, A Machine That Roasts, Grinds, And Brews

Last we heard from the founders of Bonaverde, they had just launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $135,000 to produce a coffee maker that turns green, unroasted beans into a cup of coffee in under 14 minutes.

At this point the startup has raised $465,475 with eight days to go, so we caught up with founders Hans Stier and Felix Artmann when they were in New York to check out a prototype of the machine. You may be wondering if this was just an elaborate ploy to get a free cup of coffee. The answer is yes.

As far as user experiences go, the Bonaverde is about as easy to manage as the Keurig you bought for your dad on Black Friday - although presumably less so on the cleanup. A couple spoonfuls of green coffee beans go in the hatch on top, you hit “On,” and the machine does its thing: roasting, cooling, grinding, and brewing the beans.

Unroasted beans stay fresh for months - much longer than the pre-roasted beans you might otherwise buy - so flavor is one of the claims on which Bonaverde is staking its business. Turns out their machine brews really solid coffee that's neither stale-tasting nor bitter. Some critics have pointed out that roasted beans should be allowed more time to air before they are ground, and while that may be optimal, Bonaverde's coffee was still really good.

When it launches Bonaverde will also serve as the online marketplace for the raw beans, meaning coffee farmers can connect directly with their end consumers. Down the line, the site will feature all of the producers that shoppers can buy from.

Note that coffee maker in the video is just a prototype of the one that will go to market, which has a much prettier exterior.