Caraway Home, the home goods brand known for rethinking everyday kitchen essentials through thoughtful materials and design, just made a major drop with the release of its first-ever powered appliance: the Caraway Coffee Maker. After five years, 200 iterations, and over 10 pending patents, the 10-cup Coffee Maker brings Caraway’s materials-first approach to one of the most-used appliances in the home. With this launch, the brand aimed to simplify the coffee-brewing experience and create a better, more elevated version of the most popular type of coffee maker used in homes throughout the U.S.
To get the scoop on how the brand has “rethought” the drip coffee maker over the last five years, we chatted with Caraway Founder & CEO, Jordan Nathan. Below, Nathan gives us an inside look at the many components that went into the long-anticipated launch of this coffee maker.
The beginnings of the Caraway coffee maker
“Coffee is such a central part of people’s routines, yet the traditional drip coffee maker hasn’t evolved much in the areas that matter most (to us). That made it an exciting category for us to explore,” says Nathan.
“It’s also our first powered appliance and our biggest bet yet, so we didn’t take it lightly. We spent five years developing it because we saw a real opportunity to improve three things: the materials that touch your coffee, the experience of using the machine, and ultimately, the quality of the coffee it brews.”
For the brand, the process began with an examination of the entire coffee-brewing experience with a traditional drip maker. This means examining every part of the brewing ritual, from what touches your water and coffee to how the machine brews, operates, and cleans. After this analysis, two things immediately stood out to the Caraway team. First, how much plastic was used throughout critical areas of the brew path and how complicated most coffee makers had become. From there, ideas began flowing for the inspiration behind the new Caraway coffee maker. The brief: Thoughtful materials, exceptional coffee, and less complication.
Designing the Caraway coffee maker
“Beyond eliminating plastic from the brew path, we removed screens, crowded control panels, and what felt like endless settings. We found that consumers prefer to set it and forget it and don’t use all the functions on their existing machines. Our entire machine operates with one physical dial and button,” Nathan shares. “But simple doesn’t mean basic. A lot of engineering happened inside the machine to ensure temperature control and the right balance of bloom, saturation, and extraction for a perfect cup of coffee every single time.”
In designing the Caraway coffee maker, the team also wanted the coffee brewer to do the work for users, so mornings don’t have to be complicated, without compromising quality. After more than five years of design and development, many features made the cut, while others didn’t. The team went back and forth, hashing out incredibly small details to create the product launching today. Along the way, the brand faced many challenges in making something technically sophisticated feel incredibly premium, elevated, and simple.
“Coffee requires precise control of temperature, bloom, saturation, extraction, and heat retention. We wanted to engineer all of that into the machine without asking someone to become a coffee scientist before their first cup. That’s why it took us five years, and we have 10+ pending patents on the machine.”
“We’re proud of where we landed, but we’re also never really done and will continue to push our bar higher and higher, says Nathan. “We’ll keep listening to our customers, learning how they use the product, and applying that feedback as we grow this part of the business.”
Materials of the Caraway Coffee Maker
If there’s one thing Caraway is known for, it’s using high-quality materials that set their home and kitchen products apart from the competition. In our conversation, Nathan stressed this, noting how important and foundational materials are to every product the brand builds. When transitioning into the coffee maker/appliance space, the brand was overwhelmed by how much plastic comes in contact with hot water during brewing. It’s a breeding ground for microplastics. As a result, they knew we had to tackle this common problem right away.
“Our reservoir and carafe are glass, and water travels through a stainless steel path, showerhead, brew basket, and reusable filter. Plus, the Coffee Maker is also made without PFAS, lead, or cadmium, and independent third-party testing labs verified both our internal and external hardware. Our philosophy became pretty simple: brew coffee, not plastic. But materials were only the starting point. The machine still had to make exceptional coffee,” he shares.
Throughout the design process, the team spent a lot of time talking to customers about how they actually use their kitchens. “Every counter and layout is different, so we designed the brew basket and carafe to face either direction, letting the Coffee Maker sit lengthwise or horizontally on the counter. Perfect for any orientation and space.”
Looking ahead for Caraway
For the brand, releasing the Caraway coffee maker marks a major step forward, taking a leap into the world of powered appliances for the first time. Caraway has expanded considerably beyond cookware, expanding the original vision of rethinking everyday use items with better materials, better design, and better function. Now, Nathan shares that the brand does not see the coffee maker as its last powered appliance.
“Development taught us a lot about building technically complex products without losing the simplicity people expect from Caraway. That gives us a foundation we can carry into future appliances. There’s more coming, but we won’t enter a category unless we believe we can bring something meaningfully different to it with a unique POV,” he shares.
While kitchen products may be a starting point for the brand, the “Caraway Home” brand is hopeful to expand beyond home products in the future. “The kitchen was our starting point, not our finish line. Long term, I want someone to walk into a Caraway store and have us help them curate an entire non-toxic home, from the kitchen outward.”
