Why Is The xBloom Coffee Machine So Expensive?

Many consider the xBloom coffee machine a marvel of brewing innovation and original thinking. It's an automated coffee maker that takes specialty whole-bean pods and turns them into pour-over coffee, thus minimizing the potential for at-home coffee mistakes. However, this piece of equipment comes at a steep price — $799, to be exact. Why on earth is this machine so expensive?

Well for one, this curated machine can seemingly do it all. Its left half contains a coffee bean grinder with a range of 30 settings. Its right half stores all the brewing functions: a 700-milliliter water tank system (which can pour water at up to 203 degrees Fahrenheit) and a built-in scale. Upon purchasing the xBloom, you receive eight complimentary xPods, which are compostable, filter-lined drip cups containing whole beans from partnering roasters. On the bottom of each of these cups is an RFID chip, or radio frequency identification chip, that transmits the bean's specific grind size and brew settings to the machine. These settings were selected by the roasters themselves, so the coffee should taste exactly as intended.

Perhaps xBloom can charge so much for its machine because of the streamlined brewing process. First, you select your xPod beans of choice or use their reusable dripper pod and add your own favorite beans. Then, tap the pod's RFID chip onto the top of the machine, pour the beans into the grinder, and place the compostable drip cup into the pod-holder underneath. After the beans are ground, the pod-holder will slide under the water spout, which will shake the pod to level the beans and use magnetism to swirl the stream of water around the cup. Perfectly robotic coffee will fall straight into your mug underneath. You can also input your preferred grind, temperature, and pour settings into the xBloom app and save them for future use.

Another big part of the xBloom's appeal is its sleek, tech-y design. In fact, it's made out of anodized aluminum, the material Apple uses for its MacBooks. The xBloom also has a relatively small footprint at 8.5 inches by 6.9 inches — great for saving space in tiny kitchens.

So, who is this machine's target audience? Certainly not the people who find joy in the routine of manually brewing a cup of coffee. Although the experience is semi-customizable in the sense that you get to select beans and app settings, it's mostly for people who want a good cup of coffee quickly (or coffee nerds looking to try the latest and greatest coffee gadgets).