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Goodful vs Coffee Gator Side-by-Side Comparison
Our Verdict
Overall Verdict
- Brew Quality (50%)7.5/10
- Design (15%)8.7/10
- Ease of Use (35%)8.8/10
- Brew Quality (50%)7.2/10
- Design (15%)8.9/10
- Ease of Use (35%)9.2/10
The Goodful and Coffee Gator are somewhat similar in their basic design. Both are jug-type brewers for brewing in your refrigerator door bin. Both have a twist-to-pour lid and use a plastic and nylon immersion filter.
The Goodful holds 72 oz and is considerably larger than the 42 oz Coffee Gator. The Coffee Gator brew jug, however, is glass and not plastic. Once the filter is removed, the Goodful can actually lay on its side because it is completely spill-proof.
The Goodful tends to produce a slightly stronger quality brew. However, the quality of the design and material doesn’t match up to the Coffee Gator. The Coffee Gator also comes with a stainless steel measuring spoon and a silicone funnel. If you need a larger batch of coffee the Goodful is the better choice, however, the Takeya brewer is very similar to the Goodful and produces a much better brew.
Goodful Cold Brew Coffee Maker
- Bouquet (10%)7.0/10
- Drinkability (70%)7.5/10
- Sediment (20%)7.5/10
- Bouquet (10%)7.0/10
- Drinkability (70%)7.0/10
- Sediment (20%)8.0/10
Bouquet
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.
The bouquet of the coffee gator was of a slightly medium strength. We detected a mild roasted note, as well as a definite woodiness. There was a slight hint of caramel. This suggested that the extraction was either average or a little under par.
Drinkability
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.
The Coffee Gator produced a mild to medium strength brew. It had a dominant roasted flavor, but no real complexity. The aftertaste had a very slight sourness with a watery finish. It’s a nice enough brew especially if you prefer a little sweetness added. We don’t recommend diluting it, but the addition of a little milk or mixed as a smoothie or protein drink would work fine. You may want to brew for longer than 18 hours.
Sediment
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.
After decanting the brew, there was a moderate amount of fine granular sediment remaining. This was typical for the type of brewer and filter, or as good as one could expect. If you prefer, you can decant the brew a second time, but there is no grittiness to the final drink.
Goodful Cold Brew
- Stopper / Lid (30%)8.5/10
- Filter (40%)9.0/10
- Build Quality (30%)8.5/10
- Stopper / Lid (30%)10/10
- Filter (40%)8.0/10
- Build Quality (30%)9.0/10
Goodful Cold Brew Coffee Maker In the Box
- 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.
- Box WDH: 7 x 5.1 x 12.2 inches
- Borosilicate glass jug brewer
- Stainless steel measuring spoon
- Silicone funnel
- Instruction and message card
Our first impressions of the Coffee Gator cold brew setup were very positive. The carafe has a solid look and feel, the black and white design is very catchy, and it’s not heavy to lift. The stainless steel spoon is something you won’t get with other brewers, and the silicone funnel for pouring in grounds was very thoughtful.
We liked the personalized message card and instruction card too. The box had a seal saying ‘This product is not dishwasher safe’. The box also says if you register for a Platinum Membership, you get an additional year’s warranty, priority access to new products, discount codes, and coffee masterclass brew videos. They have full social media profiles and you can view their videos on Youtube.
Goodful Cold Brew Decanter
- 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.
- Height With Stopper Lid:10.2
- Base Diameter:3.9
- Width:6.7" (17.0 cm)
- Weight:19.3 oz (547 g)
- Material:borosilicate glass
The decanter is of excellent quality and the glass is quite thick, but not heavy. The full capacity is 1.2 liters. The plastic neck handle screws on tightly and the only fault is the handle. It’s a little short and uncomfortable while the grip is not so secure.
Stopper / Lid
- 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.
- Diameter:4.3
- Material:BPA-free plastic
- Additional Features:2 white silicone gaskets
We loved the design of the Coffee Gator lid. It’s made of clear see-through plastic with a silicone gasket around the inner rim. It fits very neatly into the hole of the screw-on handle rim. The rim handle has an additional silicone gasket for proper air-tight sealing. If you turn the lid slightly to one side, the spout opens up to pour.
The lid design is very practical, however, it’s practically identical to that of the Coffee Bear. Upon reaching out, we confirmed that there is no relationship between the two coffee brands.
Filter
- 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.
- Length:7.8" (19.8 cm)
- Diameter:2.5
- Material:White plastic & nylon mesh
- Additional Features:Detachable base
We loved the refreshing white design of the filter, and how it clips securely into the rim. The base of the filter unscrews and comes off for cleaning. Since the brew ratio is only 1:14, and the filter had a fair amount of solid plastic, we wondered how well it would actually brew. The mesh filter seemed porous enough on first inspection.
Build Quality
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.
The overall build quality is really good. The carafe is solid and the lid an excellent design. On the downside, the handle lacks a solid grip and feels uncomfortable. The silicone gaskets seem good quality, and the stainless steel measuring spoon and silicone funnel add excellent value to the product.
Goodful Cold Brew Coffee Maker Review
- Brewing (45%)9.0/10
- Decanting (35%)8.5/10
- Cleaning and Storage (20%)9.0/10
- Brewing (45%)9.5/10
- Decanting (35%)9.0/10
- Cleaning and Storage (20%)9.0/10
Brewing
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.
The addition of the silicone funnel and the measuring spoon made brewing practically effortless. The recommended amount of grounds is 75 g or 2.6 oz, however, we put in eight spoons to top off some of the space. One level spoon is 11 g, so the total weight was 88 g or 3.1 oz.
The silicone funnel was also perfect for pouring water around the edges so the flow was more gentle and gradual. If you pour too fast, liquid and grounds will move up the funnel, so be careful when you take the funnel out. You can use a teaspoon to push any grounds around the edges into the filter. The lid also made for a perfect air-tight fit.
Decanting
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.
Like any immersion filter brew, decanting was effortless. All you need to do is pop off the lid and carefully twist loose the neck ring. We detached the filter immediately and left it to rest in a jar to collect the last few drips. After rinsing the screw-on neck ring, we immediately resealed the carafe to protect the flavor and aroma. We returned the brew to the refrigerator to await our brew score testing.
Cleaning and Storage
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.
To clean the filter, you need to rinse out the grounds and then gently clean with a bottle brush and a small amount of liquid soap. We noticed a fair amount of coffee oil that required soap for cleaning. Also, the filter lost its pearly white appeal after the first brew. However, you can see the residue oil to wash off more easily than with a black-colored filter.
The carafe itself also cleans easily. We had no problem getting our hands inside, but larger hands may be a problem. You can put the glass carafe in a dishwasher, but Coffee Gator recommends hand washing.