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Goodful vs Toddy System Side-by-Side Comparison
Our Verdict
- Brew Quality (50%)7.5/10
- Design (15%)8.7/10
- Ease of Use (35%)8.8/10
- Brew Quality (50%)10.0/10
- Design (15%)9.4/10
- Ease of Use (35%)8.0/10
The Goodful is a tall 72 fl. oz. brewer that easily stands in the refrigerator door. Once you decant the filter after brewing, the vessel is spill-proof so you can place it on its side on a shelf. While the filter is good quality and works well enough, the lid is rather clunky and the quality of the materials is unknown. It’s very similar in design to the Takeya, which is an all-round better product.
The Toddy uses a free-style brewing method so it requires a fair amount of shelf space for brewing. The Goodful requires 3.8 oz of grounds to brew, while the Toddy uses 12 oz. After brewing, the Toddy decants into a very stylish carafe that easily fits in a refrigerator door.
The Toddy has exceptional brew quality. The concentrate it produces scores high not just in terms of strength, but also for the complexity of the brew. The full package is eco-friendly and you can also use the Toddy to brew cold tea with the included paper brew bags.
Goodful Cold Brew Coffee Maker
- Bouquet (10%)7.0/10
- Drinkability (70%)7.5/10
- Sediment (20%)7.5/10
- Bouquet (10%)10/10
- Drinkability (70%)10/10
- Sediment (20%)10/10
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.
Like a good wine, the first thing you want to note about a cold brew coffee is the bouquet. Our three coffee appreciators found that the Toddy created a rich and complex bouquet. Hearty and bright notes complemented sharp and deep ones. The sweeter notes also tended to be more floral.
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 Toddy Cold Brew System recommends a 1:2 or a 1:3 dilution. We chose a 1:2 ratio (one part coffee to two parts water) based on a sampling of the initial brew strength.
The Toddy has so far produced the most complex flavor balance of any device we’ve tested. The overall flavor was full-bodied and well-rounded. Roasted, nutty, and chocolate flavors were strong, with a somewhat sweetish aftertaste. There was no single overpowering flavor. Our tasters also picked up a very slight bitterness and sourness.
The Toddy brew quality was excellent all around with perhaps the most complex flavor balance of any device tested.
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.
While the Toddy Cold Brew System scored low in terms of the filter’s practicality and ease of use, the brew nevertheless had minimal sediment. The Toddy filter has proven one of the best we’ve seen in our testing program. Our initial test used the reusable felt filter which plugs into the bottom of the brew vessel. You can also use a paper brew bag or even double filtration if you wish.
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%)9.0/10
- Build Quality (30%)9.5/10
Goodful Cold Brew Coffee Maker In the Box
- 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: 7.5 x 7.5 x 11.8 inches
- Brew vessel with detachable handle
- Decanter with suction lid
- Silicone lid
- 2 felt reusable filters
- 3 paper brew bags
- Silicone stopper
- Product manual
The Toddy Cold Brew System is not only well-boxed, but also ecologically packaged with no unnecessary plastics. The decanter flask sits neatly in the brew vessel and a flip lid with a hole secures the flask in place.
The latest Toddy Brew System includes three sample paper brew bags. These can be used as alternatives to the felt filter, for extra filtration, or for tea brewing. The product manual breaks down how to do each.
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:8.7
- Base Diameter:5.1
- Width:NaN" (NaN cm)
- Weight:1.4 oz (40 g)
- Material:borosilicate glass
The elegant decanter is quite eye-catching. The ringed neck is easy to grip and pour from, but with a full-brew weight of around 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg), you should use both hands. A key design feature is its height — it measures just as tall as the brew vessel, meaning it can fit the same space in your fridge.
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:3.5 in (90 mm)
- Material:low-density polyethylene (LDPE)
- Additional Features:N/A
The stopper is another excellent design feature of the Toddy. It sits slightly above the rim, thus protecting the rim from above. The stopper also has a clever suction design and the fit is perfectly secure and airtight.
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:NaN" (NaN cm)
- Diameter:2.7 in (70 mm)
- Material:felt filter x 2
- Additional Features:3 paper brew bags
There are two types of filters you can use. Both are a healthy and environmental choice. The felt filter can be used up to 10 times. Newer models now include three unbleached paper filter bags. You can use a bag in lieu of a felt plug or in addition to it. The bag filter is perfect for finely ground coffee and for brewing tea. You can easily buy filter pads, Toddy brand filter bags, or generic replacements online.
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 Toddy is made from safe, durable, high-quality materials. We particularly liked the quality of the decanter, and the design of the decanter stopper is excellent. The silicone lid is very practical, but we, like many reviewers, felt that the handle build could be improved. The packaging is very minimal and also environmentally friendly. If anything goes wrong, Toddy offers spare parts on their website.
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%)8.0/10
- Decanting (35%)7.5/10
- 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 Toddy Cold Brew System’s felt filter demands a bit more precision than most other brewers. You must add water and grounds in a staggered manner and be careful not to stir the contents. Also, it takes some time to properly wet the grounds by gently pushing them down and mixing in.
If you use a paper bag filter for brewing, it’s a lot easier. Just add the grounds and water, and you can stir around the contents all you want. If you try to stir without the paper bag, the felt filter will clog. The process takes a few brews to master.
The lack of measurement markings on the brew vessel is an unfortunate oversight. Therefore, we had to weigh grounds for each brewing. The brewer vessel may also be a bit heavy for some. We found it best to carry with two hands, but removing the detachable handle made it easier to fit the refrigerator.
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.
- Total height when decanting: 15 in (380 mm)
Decanting is simple enough. You hold the brew vessel by the handle, pull the stopper, and slip it onto the decanter. The liquid won’t immediately come out, so it’s unlikely to make a mess.
We found, however, that the lively stream can slow to a steady drip. The felt plug filter was temperamental. We actually had to remove the contents of the brew vessel, clean the filter, and then resume. Decanting can thus take 20 to 40 minutes.
Alternatively, you can use a paper bag filter. This works out better and decanting takes 20 minutes or less.
The filter pad, despite its drawbacks, produced the best filtration results. It may also help remove coffee oils, especially if you use an additional paper brew bag. The biggest disadvantage is that you’ll need to continue buying replacement filters and/or bags.
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.
- Storage Diameter: 8.6”
- Storage Deight: 11”
The Toddy Cold Brew System has minimal components, so storage is straightforward. The brew vessel is easy to clean and all parts can go into a dishwasher, but hand washing is recommended for a longer lifespan.
The decanter neck is wide enough for all but the largest of hands to reach in and clean. It fits comfortably into the brew vessel for storage. Since the silicone lid is flexible, it too slips in nicely.
The felt filter, however, must be placed in a plastic bag while wet and then put into the refrigerator, which is a little inconvenient. You can easily keep the silicone stopper in the brew vessel when not in use, or place it into the empty decanter.