When you manufacture, you inevitably create waste. In fact, in most sectors, manufacturers assume 15-30% of stock is scrapped in the process, removed during quality control before it ever makes it to you. These types of scrap rates can be even bigger at the start of a product's journey, especially if new materials or processes are used. Units that are scrapped are thrown away or sent to some kind of recycling centre. In fact, some of the plastic used in the OREA V3 recycled base comes from this kind of scrap waste from a sports bottle manufacturer.
I was very unlucky to suffer such a bad early batch - where the majority of stock came with small visual imperfections. This was not only heartbreaking, causing delays and knock-on problems - but it also just did not fit with the philosophy of this company. It's just not acceptable to throw so much stock away - even though that's what everyone else does.
Rather than going to the recycling centre, this stock went to a storage unit, sitting there until an idea to save them could come. Luckily it did - towards the end of the summer. Working with a local partner here in the UK, we tested various post-processing methods to fix the small issues. This resulted in two beautiful finishes to solve two different types of imperfections, giving birth to ICE (semi-matte) and FROST (matte). Both of these finishes are OREA V3 Clear (the original model), bead blasted with different size media and with different exposure times.
Each unit is post-processed individually and carefully checked, one by one, to make sure it's as perfect as if we meant to make it this way from the start. In a huge triumph, we're managing to save 99.5% of these units. The result for you is an incredibly unique piece with a story behind it. This is your chance to own a unique piece of OREA history and to use the first brewer 100% made of waste!
Horia
Founder & Director
The Orea Brewer has a unique ring design and a totally flat bed, which reduces inconsistencies experienced with other flat bed brewers. Because there are less factors at play, you will inherently have more consistent brews. Due to the fact that you don't have a series of small holes that can easily clog, you will get less stalling. Finally, because the bed is totally flat, adding more coffee won't impact flow and consistency.
The chosen material, TROGAMID®, has one of the lowest thermal conductivity rates. It acts as an insulator - which you will notice as you brew. It's so good at insulating (or so bad at heat transfer) that we don't need a handle or a sleeve, because it doesn't get too hot to the touch. This means that the heat and energy remains in the coffee bed while brewing, rather than escaping. This will increase extraction and we find that it brings more sweetness in the cup.
This brewer is incredibly light, starting at 39g (Small brewer) or 53g with the base (Small brewer). It's also really small, taking a lot less volume in a bag than other brewers. It's hard to find anything to match it! If you opt for the Large size, you won't compromise too much on weight and packability, as both are fantastic for brews on the go.
There is a lot of clever marketing in the coffee brewer world - but you can rest assured that this is not an example of that. We chose this material because it's flexible, impact-resistant, and crack-resistant. You don't believe us? Here's a video where we smash it with a mallet.
The V3 Base is made 100% from post-consumer recycled Polypropylene plastic, right here in the UK. We collect waste before it's ever thrown in the bin, clean it, sanitise it, and shred it into new raw material. This is then re-injected into the beautiful V3 bases in an artisanal process. Your Orea V3 base will be made from rescued bottle caps, takeaway containers, and discarded tupperware. All of this, 100% local. A true waste to treasure journey, not a marketing stunt.
In the case of the ICE & FROST models, the brewer itself is made from our very own unfortunate industrial waste, from scrap units that did not pass quality control. These have been blasted into a matte finish in order to alleviate the small issues they suffered. This product is certainly a world first.
The unique ring design creates a huge amount of space for water to flow across the whole coffee bed. The cut out space would be as big as a 2.7cm hole in the middle - but we spread this across the whole bed in order to give water a more efficient way to exit the brewer. The amount of space we create allows for a totally flat bed - not needing to use little prongs or other inefficient methods to raise the paper away from the bed. Since we remove this feature and replace it with a totally flat bed - there is one less variable that can go wrong. In conclusion, with this design we create a flat surface with ample space for water to flow, covering the whole bed and ensure less variation brew to brew and very consistent drawdown as a result.
Both Orea Brewer V3 sizes (large and small) have the same geometry and drainage design. This means you can use the Large version to make small 1 cup brews like with the Small version. Go from 10g of coffee to 36g of coffee in one brewer - with great performance over different quantities. If you tend to brew just 1 cup (10g-18g) then the Small version will be more suitable.
We've been supporters of an open-source project called Precious Plastic for years. It's a community that provides free designs and knowledge for machinery, tools and methodology to recycle post-consumer plastics.
We take plastic that would have been thrown into a bin and process it locally. It's collected in the community, sorted, cleaned, shredded and re-injected into these beautiful bases. Normally, only about 10% of plastic that is put in a recycling bin actually gets recycled. Most of it ends up in landfill - which is a problem.
We love this process because it keeps everything local and it avoids the traditional waste stream, creating more local circularity.
Besides being a great process, we also love the outcome. Unique results in each product, crafted locally.
© 2023-2024
OREA
86-90 Paul Street
London
EC2A 4NE
