Interest in cold brew coffee maker heating up

Hourglass Coffee, a young Vancouver company with a patented coffee maker that brews without heat or electricity, is one of six finalists competing for investment funding from the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network.

In the past two years, Hourglass has sold about 11,000 of its coffee makers at specialty shops and online. The company was named as a finalist for the entrepreneur network’s Angel Oregon investment prize, which is available to companies based in Oregon and Southwest Washington. The prize is in the range of $175,000, and Hourglass is trying to raise $480,000 to expand its inventory and tap a larger consumer market. Exactly how much is awarded will depend on the angel investors who fund the prize.

Bob Neace, the coffee maker’s co-inventor, says he first learned about cold brew coffee from his grandfather, who used the brewing technique for decades. The idea got a push when his business partner, Todd Mass, read a Wall Street Journal article about a maker of cold-brew coffee. The two men went to work developing a simple, clean, and consistent cold brew system. “We believe we have achieved that,” Neace said.

The cold brew method offers health benefits — the company says that lab tests show that coffee brewed in an Hourglass coffee maker has 69.6 percent less acid than hot-brew coffee. Tests have also shown that the Hourglass cold brew is much lower in cafestsol, a cholesterol-elevating compound, and in tannic acid, which erodes tooth enamel, Neace said.

Here’s how it works: a stainless steel filter is filled with coffee and attached to a brew chamber. The chamber is filled with water and brewed for 12 hours, or longer for stronger coffee. The unit is then flipped and the coffee extract is poured into a container for refrigeration of up to two weeks. The extract can be added to hot water or, for a cold drink, to milk and ice.

The Hourglass sold so well during the holidays that the company now has a backlog of orders. It is preparing to launch production in China of an improved, dishwasher-safe model, Neace said. The Hourglass sells for $59.95 retail, with the storage container an additional $12.

So far, the company has operated out of Neace’s home, but he hopes to establish an office in Vancouver after an expanded marketing push this spring.

Hourglass was chosen as a finalist from nearly 40 companies competing for the startup funding. The competition is divided into two categories, each with six finalists: companies that are in the launch stage, including Hourglass, and those still in the concept stage, which compete for a $25,000 prize.

Each company will make their pitch at the Angel Oregon 2011 conference at Portland’s Governor Hotel on March 16. Winners will be announced at the conference.