The xBloom Studio landed in my coffee corner courtesy of xBloom, who sent it to me for testing. Honestly, if they hadn't, I think I would have gotten my hands on one myself sooner or later. My opinion remains completely independent.

Why choose the xBloom Studio?

After years of using manual methods (V60, Chemex, AeroPress) and my trusty espresso machine, I wanted to simplify my morning routine without sacrificing quality in the cup.

The problem with manual methods? They take time and attention. Controlling the pour with a gooseneck kettle, watching the timer, keeping your technique steady... It's rewarding when you have the time, but sometimes you just want an excellent coffee without thinking about it.

Then there's the geek side, which I fully embrace: I love beautiful electronics, well-designed interfaces, machines that combine technology and design. The xBloom Studio checks all those boxes. And after reading plenty of glowing reviews of this machine, I was sold.

xBloom Studio in my coffee corner
The xBloom Studio has found its place in my coffee corner

An all-in-one machine

What won me over about the xBloom Studio is that it packs everything I needed into a single compact device:

An investment that makes sense

At first glance, the price of the xBloom Studio ($699) may seem high. But add up the cost of the equipment it replaces (grinder at ~$390-450, scale at ~$56-170, gooseneck kettle at ~$170, dripper at ~$56) and you easily reach $672 to $846 for an equivalent setup. And that's without counting the clutter on your countertop.

xBloom Studio Midnight Black
Midnight Black
xBloom Studio Moonlight White
Moonlight White

My daily routine

In the morning, my coffee routine has become disarmingly simple:

  1. I pour my beans into the hopper
  2. I set my cup in place
  3. I press a button

The machine takes care of the rest: it grinds the pre-weighed 15 g of coffee according to the recipe settings, heats the water to the right temperature and pours with the movements of a barista.

Making the morning coffee
My simplified morning coffee routine
The result in the cup

The result in the cup? Reproducible clarity of flavor from one coffee to the next. That repeatability is what I struggled to achieve with my manual pour-overs.

What I like about the xBloom

After several weeks of use, here's what makes the difference:

  • Consistency. Every cup is identical to the one before. No more "this one was better than yesterday's" without knowing why.

  • Speed. From bean to cup in a few minutes, with no complicated steps.

  • Minimal maintenance. No grounds container getting grimy, no internal passages to clean. The coffee drops into the filter, I throw the filter away. That's it. It's actually the reason I've never been drawn to automatic espresso machines: I always worry about maintenance not being done properly, about internal passages getting grimy out of sight.

  • Versatility. I can use my own beans from local roasters, create my own recipes, or simply press a button and let the machine do its thing.

  • The ritual stays. Part of what I love about coffee is the little ritual around making it. And even though the xBloom is an automatic machine, I still get those moments that are all my own. Sometimes I disable the built-in grinder to use one of my manual grinders. I like watching the water run through the dripper and seeing the bloom form. I like checking the extraction graph on my phone afterward and analyzing the curves. And while tasting, I often catch myself thinking "maybe if I adjusted this parameter, I'd get that particular nuance." In short, you stay in control of a huge number of fine details. It's an automatic machine that offers a lot of manual control.

Further reading

This article is part of a series on the xBloom Studio:

Who is this machine for?

The xBloom Studio is aimed first and foremost at connoisseurs, lovers of good coffee who can appreciate the aromatic subtleties of a quality bean.

It will also appeal to pour-over fans who want to take even more control of their brews, with adjustable parameters and perfect reproducibility.

Finally, it will suit those who want to get fully equipped with a compact setup, without piling accessories onto the countertop.

Coffee made with the xBloom Studio
A perfect pour-over, effortlessly

My verdict

The xBloom Studio has earned a permanent place in my coffee corner. It hasn't replaced my Lelit Mara X espresso machine (they serve two different purposes), but it has become my go-to method for pour-over.

Do I recommend it? Yes, as long as you're the right audience for it. It's an investment, but one that's worth it. I have no regrets about adopting it.

xBloom Studio
The xBloom Studio: automated pour-over, every day

Keep reading the review