Hey gang, Valkor here. As the weather starts to heat up, we’ll all be looking for ways to cool down. And the best method is to cop a cold beverage. Lately, the drink of choice is cold brew coffee, and I’ll admit I’m on that bandwagon. It’s delicious and rather refreshing, but if I wanted to make some at home the process would be rather time-consuming. But there’s a new product on the market called “Dripo” that looks to shorten the length of time when making a delicious cup of iced coffee. Is it worth the investment? That gold award says yes, and I’ll tell you why!
Dripo is a three compartment system meant for making cold brew coffee a snap. The top cup is your tumbler for holding water and ice. It even has a hole at the bottom for water to drip through. The second container is for storing the coffee and at the bottom of that cup is a steel filter. The last cup is where the mix of coffee and ice water mix together to give you your cold brew. And you can even use the top from the water compartment on the bottom tumbler, but be careful how you handle it as the cap doesn’t form a proper seal and it will spill if tipped over or sloshed around. So, the process is pretty simple – water and ice in one cup, coffee in the other, set aside for approximately 2 hours and voila! You’ve got your cold brew!
The process in how I prepared my cold brew was met with mixed results; none of which is at fault with Dripo. My first attempt, I used a small packet of Pablo coffee that I brought from Japan. It doesn’t even fill the coffee section halfway, but I also applied a filter at the top and bottom of the coffee. The end result was a very light brown concoction, which you could say was more like water infused with a coffee taste. Honestly, it was delicious! But not the ice brew I was expecting. For the second round I used more coffee of a different brand – but NO filter (I figured I’d experiment). The end result was that the water was a little darker than before, but also left more dry grounds than wet. Is third time the charm right? Right! Because I followed the proper instructions, using one filter on top of the coffee grounds, which disperses the water evenly. When completed, I was treated to the look and consistency of a cup of coffee that I was expecting when I first started the process. See, if I had just followed instructions… But no, Val wants to be different!
I’ve made many attempts at making ice coffee at home and it almost always turned out not quite right. Not like how it does if I buy it from a Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks. I mean am I adding too much ice or too little ice? Should I chill the coffee first and then add ice? I don’t quite get it. Thankfully, Dripo has entered the scene and has made the process easier.
The Bang:
If you’re like me and you’re a little clumsy in the kitchen, then you’ll want something that’ll simplify the process of making iced coffee. Or maybe you’re not clumsy at all, but you want something that fits well with your busy and/or lazy schedule. And that’s where Dripo steps in! Its three compartment system handles the task of iced coffee/cold brew creation with ease. Sure it’s a bit of a wait, but the end results justify the means. Since I’ve been testing out the system, I’ve always churned out one delicious cup after another. Even my failures were delicious (yes I drank them). Drinking my coffee straight away (no milk or sugar) once the process is done, I have to say that it tastes brisk and not too strong. I don’t even mind drinking it this way, which is something I never do unless I’m in Japan. I don’t get it, coffee taste great over there! Dripo is easily portable and fits well in most messengers and large handbags, plus it sits well on top of a desk at home or at work. Though you might want to keep it away from edges just in case someone bumps into it and it takes a crushing turn for the worse. But other than that, if you enjoy the taste of iced coffee, any time day or not, at home or on the go, you can’t go wrong with Dripo. It’s the perfect companion for any type of lifestyle.
The Slack:
If there’s another iteration of Dripo in the future, then there should be work on the cap as it doesn’t form a tight enough seal to keep coffee in when using the tumbler. I can perceive a few heads out there who’ll want to travel with just the tumbler part filled with coffee and maybe placing it in their bag. If that’s the case, then expect a mess if the tumbler moves around a lot.
I really enjoy the taste of cold brew! And now I’m enjoying it even more with Dripo. It's easy to use, great for travel, and what comes out taste great. Dripo was part of a successful Kickstarter campaign and it’s available now to its backers and anyone else who enjoy the taste of a brisk iced cup of coffee. So, out of TOV 5 stars, I’m giving Dripo a 4.5. And it’s been Valkor tested, TOV Approved!
