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Aquach vs Goodful Side-by-Side Comparison
Our Verdict
Overall Verdict
- Brew Quality (50%)7.2/10
- Design (15%)9.2/10
- Ease of Use (35%)9.0/10
- Brew Quality (50%)7.5/10
- Design (15%)8.7/10
- Ease of Use (35%)8.8/10
The Aquach is a stylish glass carafe with a stainless steel filter. It’s defined by its unique insertable stainless steel neck which also holds the filter. The filter lifts out with a little handle and the stopper is a good fit with or without the filter inserted.
The brew quality of the Aquach is a little below par since its fine filter doesn’t allow for enough cross-flow during brewing. It does, however, give a better quality brew than the Goodful. The Goodful is a large all-plastic brewer. It has a spill-proof design, but the lid is clunky and cumbersome. A similar but much better brewer to the Goodful is the Takeya.
Goodful Cold Brew Coffee Maker
- Bouquet (10%)7.0/10
- Drinkability (70%)7.0/10
- Sediment (20%)8.0/10
- Bouquet (10%)7.0/10
- Drinkability (70%)7.5/10
- Sediment (20%)7.5/10
Bouquet
When testing the bouquet, we noted that the steel decanter lip provided the perfect chamber for sampling the coffee’s aroma. The concentrate had an understandably medium-strength bouquet. Notes were not harsh or even roasted. Instead, we detected a light chocolatey note with a sweetish overtone.
The bouquet of the Goodful brew was borderline medium. It had a distinctive woody aroma with mild-roasted notes coming through. Considering the brew ratio and filter design, this was not unexpected.
Drinkability
The final drink, diluted at a one-to-one ratio, was comparatively weak. That’s not to say that it was unsatisfying. It lacked a complex body, but had a sweet overtone. Without dilution, a roasted and nutty flavor came through, but still, the aftertaste was not so rounded.
If you prefer a weaker brew with a milder taste, the drinkability of the Aquach is not bad at all. The brew ratio would suggest the coffee should be drunk as it is and not diluted. You could brew using the hot blooming method, brew at room temperature and for a longer time, or add flavor enhancers for a more robust drink.
Based on the brew ratio and the bouquet test, we chose not to dilute the brew. It had a mild-roasted flavor with a slight bitterness to it. There was no sourness so it was smooth to drink, but the aftertaste, although sweetish, was a little watery. You could drink the brew straight, but with a little milk, or even sugar, it’s not too bad. We would recommend adding just enough water to cover the grounds and to brew for a longer time. The brew yield of 67 fl oz or 2 liters is quite good for the quality.
Sediment
The Aquach, with its super-fine filter, produced little sediment with only fine granules. Although it didn’t measure up to our leading brewer with a bottom tap filter, it was pretty comparable. For an immersion filter, however, this suggested a lack of permeability contributing to a weak brew.
Surprisingly, the Goodful produced a fair amount of sediment. Of course, this is not a bad thing for an immersion brewer since it often indicates that the filter is permeable enough to produce a good brew. Very fine filters, on the other hand, tend not to brew so well.
We would recommend letting the brew settle after removing the filter, then decant, rinse out the container, and return the brewed coffee. Make sure you have a larger container or enough on hand for two liters of liquid.
Goodful Cold Brew
- Stopper / Lid (30%)10/10
- Filter (40%)8.0/10
- Build Quality (30%)10/10
- Stopper / Lid (30%)8.5/10
- Filter (40%)9.0/10
- Build Quality (30%)8.5/10
Goodful Cold Brew Coffee Maker In the Box
- Box WDH: 2.1 x 2.1 x 9.6 inches
- Fully assembled unit
- Brew guide & manual leaflet
The Aquach comes in a nice box with key parts labeled on the side.The box is double layered, but we felt the decanter was a little overpackaged with three layers of plastic bubble wrap. The brew guide and manual were inside the decanter, and there were instructions for brewing tea as well as cold brew coffee.
- Box WDH: 11.8 x 7 inches
- Assembled brewer
- Instruction leaflet inside
The Goodful is completely made of plastic, so it’s quite durable. Perhaps for this reason it didn’t come in a fancy box. We received it bubble-wrapped and bundled with other cold coffee brewers we had purchased.
The Goodful reminded us of another cold brew coffee maker we have reviewed — the Takeya. Goodful, however, has a slightly larger brewer. It’s also oblong shaped to fit in a refrigerator door, the lid design is similar, but the filter is quite different. The Goodful filter is made of stainless steel mesh and not nylon, and the filter base is detachable. We were really interested to see how the two would compare.
Goodful Cold Brew Decanter
- Height With Stopper Lid:8.5 in (215 mm|)
- Base Diameter:5.5 in (140 mm)
- Width:6.3 in (160 mm)
- Weight:borosilicate glass
- Material:18.5 oz (526 g)
One way in which a cold brew coffee maker can distinguish itself is with a stylish decanter. Aquach does pretty well here. On the side is a measurement scale in milliliters and cups. The base, however, is a little wide, so it may not fit some fridge doors.
The flattish handle is very nice to grip, and the stainless steel lip and stopper are also very pleasing. Although the black silicone seal looks like any others, it’s better quality than we’ve seen on most brewers.
- Height With Stopper Lid:11.8 in (300 mm)
- Base Diameter:4.5 x 3.9 inch oblong (115 x 100 mm)
- Width:7 in (180 mm)
- Weight:14.1 oz (400 g)
- Material:plastic
It appears that the decanter is made of Tritan plastic. However, there is no clear information about the materials used either in the included literature or on their website (Amazon store website only). There is also no information about the BPA-free status of the device, but it is made in China.
In our small 97 L refrigerator, the brewer didn't fit in the door bin so be sure to check all measurements carefully before purchasing. In comparison, the Takeya fits a small refrigerator door bin, is made in the USA, clearly labeled BPA-free, and made from Tritan plastic.
Stopper / Lid
- Diameter:3.1 in (80 mm)
- Material:stainless steel & polyurethane
- Additional Features:silicone seal
The nice thing about this brew decanter is the filter which simply lifts out of the container and its resting base remains as it is. This means there’s little difference in how the stopper fits with or without the filter present. The silicone seal is better quality than what we’ve seen on other brewers.
- Diameter:6.3 in (180 mm)
- Material:Plastic
- Additional Features:2 silicone gaskets, detachable grip
The lid consists of three parts. There is a rim with an attached handle that screws over the top, and an inner lid that partly unscrews for pouring or completely removes for brewing and cleaning. Each part has a silicone gasket, and the handle has a detachable silicone grip.
We really liked the comfortable grip and size of the handle. However, although airtight, the rim and the inner lid are rather clunky when screwing.
Filter
- Length:5.9 in (150 hmm)
- Diameter:2.6 in (65 mm)
- Material:fine stainless steel
- Additional Features:lifting handle
The Aquach filter design is quite unique. For one, the filter has a convenient handle. It rests on the stainless steel lip so you can simply lift it up. The filter is smooth with no sharp edges. There are also holes on the bottom of the filter.
What surprised us, however, is how finely it filters. The tiny laser-cut holes are arranged in small rectangles. Our brew tests showed that the high quality filter design was a little too fine to allow a good brew to develop.
- Length:8.1 in (230 mm)
- Diameter:2.6 in (75 mm)
- Material:Plastic & stainless steel mesh
- Additional Features:Flip-up plastic handle, detachable base
The brew core is of robust construction with a significant amount of plastic cover. The filter itself is made of a stainless steel mesh. We wondered if this type of design was permeable enough to produce a good brew, but the brew test results were favorable. The handle fully extended is 9.1 in (260 mm), but this function is only deployed during decanting.
Build Quality
The Aquatch Cold Brew Coffee Maker is a really well-designed product. It looks very stylish, the handle is easy to grip, and the filter design is practical. The stainless steel lip and lid work well together and the silicone seals are of good quality too. We also loved that there are no plastic parts except for the knob on the lid. However, as our tests revealed, the fundamental flaw comes from the actual design of the filter rather than the overall quality of the build.
The Goodful cold coffee maker is pretty solid and durable. We liked the quality and build of the filter, and the detachable silicone grip on the handle. The screwable parts, however, don’t have the best feel and are somewhat clunky. There was also very little information about the materials used for the different parts.
Goodful Cold Brew Coffee Maker Review
- Brewing (45%)9.0/10
- Decanting (35%)9.0/10
- Cleaning and Storage (20%)9.0/10
- Brewing (45%)9.0/10
- Decanting (35%)8.5/10
- Cleaning and Storage (20%)9.0/10
Brewing
The brew filter takes around 80 g of coarse-ground coffee (14-16 tablespoons). We had to weigh the grounds, but they filled the filter to about an inch from the top. First, however, you should fill the decanter with water to the 600 ml mark — a third of the way up. Then, you insert the filter filled with grounds and continue pouring water until the water rises to the ‘Max’ marking.
We found it best to pour slowly and to leave the filter handle up until the pour is complete. The base of the brew decanter may be a little wide for some refrigerator doors, but it fits well in a standard crisper box or on a roomier shelf.
As per the instructions, you fill the filter, or brew core, to the top of the mesh windows which is 16 tablespoons or 3.8 oz of grounds. After carefully inserting the filter, you should pour two cups of water to dampen the grounds. The rest of the water should rise to the top of the brew core mesh windows.
We measured the grounds to 3.8 oz (107 g) and poured approximately 68 fl oz (2 L) of filtered water. The brew ratio was, therefore, 1:18 which suggested a weaker kind of brew.
It took quite some time to pour all the water without the grounds overflowing. It may be better, therefore, to prefill the decanter with at least 800 ml before inserting the filter and pouring the remainder of the water. Goodful recommends brewing for 24 hours, but we brewed for 18 hours according to our testing procedure.
Decanting
As with any immersion filter brewer, decanting is as simple as removing the filter. The Aquach brewer has a really comfortable design. The high-grade stainless steel filter has a little flip-up handle so you can pull it out.
Not all immersion filters have holes on the bottom. We found this design quite favorable to brewing and faster at decanting. After decanting, you should rinse any grounds from the filter lip before inserting it again with the stopper.
Decanting simply requires removing the filter. However, the clunky lid design can make removing and securing the lid a little frustrating. The flip handle for lifting the filter, however, is a handy feature. Based on our sediment test, you may want to decant the contents to remove the sludge settled on the bottom.
One thing worth noting is that with the filter removed, you can lay the decanter on its side when storing in the refrigerator. The Goodful is somewhat similar to the Takeya brewer. With the Takeya, the filter screws into the lid and you can brew in a horizontal position, but you can’t brew this way with the Goodful.
Cleaning and Storage
The Aquach has a total of six parts. Including two silicone seals. The filter was a little long for hand cleaning, so we recommend a non-abrasive bottle brush. Because the filter is very fine, you’ll periodically need to descale it. This you can do by soaking it in a solution of water and baking soda, vinegar, or citric acid.
For the decanter, we were able to reach inside and hand wash it comfortably. However, all parts except the silicone seals can go in the dishwasher. It stores fully assembled, but check the complete dimensions to make sure you have space for it.
Cleaning the Goodful is a breeze because it has a removable filter base and it's easy to reach inside the sizable container. The filter is reasonably robust and the handle makes it easy to hang on a hook. You can also put everything in the dishwasher, but we would recommend removing the silicone gaskets first. The container is quite large, so storage may be a factor depending on your kitchen setup.