The new Ratio Eight Series 2 coffee brewer. Images courtesy of Ratio unless otherwise noted.
Portland, Oregon-based home coffee brewer maker Ratio just launched online sales of a new generation of its flagship automatic drip coffee maker, the Ratio Eight Series 2.
Departing from the original model’s conical brewing format, the Series 2 features a dual-wall, stainless steel, flat-bottom filter basket. Yet the machine maintains the original Eight’s overall geometry, 40-ounce-maximum batch size and use of premium woods, metals and glass.
The new brew basket features a heat-retaining lid and rests upon either a redesigned hand-blown borosilicate glass carafe or an optional thermal-insulated carafe.
A Ratio Eight Series 2 on display at the recent SCA Expo in Houston. Daily Coffee News photo by Howard Bryman.
A less obvious addition to the Series 2 is its multiplicity of brewing profiles. Adopting a feature introduced with the Ratio Four, a long press of the new Eight’s single button enacts a half-batch bloom and brewing profile.
In place of die-cast aluminum, the evolved base design features a matte-finish polymer exterior with metal reinforcement within. The path that the water takes from the reservoir to the coffee remains plastic-free.
As a final, bittersweet evolution, the Series 2 will be manufactured and assembled entirely in China, at the same factory that makes Ratio Four and Six brewers. Now in its tenth anniversary year, Ratio is winding down the assembly line at its Portland headquarters, in order to scale production of the new Eight to volumes on par with the Six and Four, while also slightly lowering its price, according to its founder and CEO Mark Hellweg.
Daily Coffee News photo by Howard Bryman.
Hellweg cited the complexity of managing different subcontractors for electronics, wood, glass, metal and silicone parts amid increasingly fragmented global supply chains. These challenges have been compounded by new U.S. tariffs on imported goods.
“At our size, to produce a device that’s this complex ourselves is just incredibly difficult to do,” Hellweg recently told Daily Coffee News. “We’ve been battling it for 10 years.”
This fall, sales of the Ratio Eight Series 2 are slated to expand onto the shelves of major national brick-and-mortar retailers. The new version with the glass carafe will carry a retail price of $799, down from the $999 price on the original version.
“Obviously, we’re at the top end of the market, but the quality here should be clear. You’re not just paying for a brand; you’re paying for quality materials,” said Hellweg. “It’s really important for people to be able to see this in real life and not just on a website with photos. There’s no way that works with our old business model.”
The company’s headquarters, designers, media and repair services will remain at Ratio’s existing Portland headquarters. The company’s adjoining storage warehouse will eventually be repurposed.
“It’s an evolution of the business. I’m nostalgic for manufacturing. I wish we could still do it. We’re proud of what we accomplished,” said Hellweg. “We’re not going anywhere, and I’d rather stay in business with a viable business model than go down clinging to an old reality.”
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Howard Bryman
Howard Bryman is the associate editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. He is based in Portland, Oregon.
