SEATTLE — Leveraging their patented precision brewing technology that serves as the foundation of their innovative craft beer brewing appliance line, PicoBrew today announced the launch of Pico U, the world’s first universal craft beverage brewing appliance, on Kickstarter. Pico U brews a huge range of craft beverages including coffee, tea and kombucha, milk-based drinks, yerba mate, horchata and dry sodas, as well as craft beer. PicoBrew’s unique precision time, temperature and fluid-flow control enables users to brew high-quality beverages for every part of their day with a single appliance, offering tremendous value and convenience. Pico U is a smart, WiFi-enabled appliance with a sleek new design making it the company’s smallest appliance to date.
“Beer brewing is very exacting work,” said Dr. Bill Mitchell, CEO of PicoBrew. “When pioneering the world’s first craft beer brewing machine, we had to ensure incredibly precise process control to accurately produce great beers from around the world. We realized this technology also enabled the most precise brewing of coffee and tea and began exploring a broader world of brewed beverages. We’re incredibly happy to introduce this breakthrough fusion brewing technology, and to be able to offer it at our most accessible price point ever.”
The Pico U Kickstarter campaign begins today at 9:00AM Eastern Time and continues through mid-June. Kickstarter backers can choose from two bundle options of the Pico U:
- Pico U – Basic: Pico U Basic supports a precision single-serve coffee configuration, which allows you to brew perfect pour-over coffee with your own coffee beans, and to dispense precise-temperature hot water for tea and other beverages. It also includes a small step filter that allows brewing compostable “PicoPak Minis” and a 1-liter Bruet vessel for use in brewing larger batches (4-6 cups) of craft coffee, tea and fusion beverages. Pico U Basic starts at $169 USD on Kickstarter and will retail for $249 USD.
- Pico U – Deluxe: Pico U Deluxe supports the single-serve configuration and Bruet batches (4-6 cups), but also includes a larger step filter and Pico keg to enable brewing 5-liter batches of craft beer, kombucha and cold-brew coffee. The Deluxe bundle enables brewing of more than one hundred great craft beers from the available PicoPaks on PicoBrew’s BrewMarketplace. Pico U Deluxe starts at $189 USD on Kickstarter and will retail for $299 USD.
An upgrade bundle containing the new smaller step filter and Bruet will allow current Pico Model C and Pico Pro owners to brew this exciting new assortment of fusion beverages as well. The upgrade bundle starts at $49 USD on Kickstarter and will retail for $99 USD. Additional stretch goals will be revealed throughout the Pico U campaign.
“Pico U is an amazing utility appliance that allows you to uplevel your coffee crafting experience and brew high-quality fusion drinks, and of course, craft beer,” added Mitchell. “For the first time ever, customers can craft an expansive menu of specialty beverages using one appliance, eliminating the need for a counter full of expensive devices in your kitchen.”
Designed to be compact, affordable and easy-to-use, the Pico U measures 13-inches x 9-inches x 10-inches and weighs just ten pounds. PicoBrew’s add-on accessories allow you to use just as much counterspace as you need for the beverage you’re crafting. Control and monitoring is enabled via a simple front panel display, as well as through a smartphone app.
The Pico U will be available at retail in the first quarter of 2019. For more information about the Pico U Kickstarter campaign, visit: https://picobrew.com/u
PicoBrew, and its line of brewery appliances have been recipients of numerous awards over the years including being named among Fast Company’s The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies in 2017 and CES Innovation Awards Honoree for Eco-Design and Sustainable Technologies in 2017 and Home Appliances in 2016.
About PicoBrew
PicoBrew was founded in Seattle in 2010 by brothers Bill and Jim Mitchell, a former Microsoft executive and food scientist, along with engineer Avi Geiger. Combining their food science and technology expertise with their passion for homebrewing, they set out to improve the craft beer brewing process for small producers and homebrewers. PicoBrew introduced its flagship product, the award-winning Zymatic automatic beer-brewing appliance for beer brewing professionals and homebrewers, in 2013. The Pico™, designed for consumer craft beer enthusiasts, followed in 2016. Both machines are designed to improve the precision, repeatability and overall quality of the brewing process to create consistently delicious craft beer. For more information, visit www.picobrew.com or follow PicoBrew on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.