Goat Story Gina
The Goat Story GINA: a pour-over, immersion and cold-drip brewer with a valve, a built-in scale and an app. How to use each mode, what is in the box, and its history.
Contents
What is the Goat Story GINA?
The GINA is a coffee brewer from Goat Story that works three ways: pour-over with its valve open, immersion with it closed, and cold drip with ice water dripping slowly onto coffee in the carafe. A ceramic cone sits on a steel frame with a built-in Bluetooth scale, and the Smart version's app guides each brew. It launched on Kickstarter in October 2016.
At a glance
- Grind
- Varies
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Origin
- Global & Modern
- 2016
Method
Choose the mode
Decide whether you're brewing pour-over, immersion or cold drip, and set the valve to match. In the Smart version, pick the method, ratio and amount in the app.
Pour-over
Leave the valve open, put a paper filter in the ceramic cone and brew as with any cone dripper. GINA's own filters or Hario V60 papers fit, and the scale weighs coffee and water as you pour.
Immersion
Close the valve fully, add coarsely ground coffee to the filter, pour in the hot water, put the ceramic lid on and steep for your recipe's time. Then open the valve to drain.
Cold drip
Fit the cold brew adapter with coffee into the glass carafe, put a round paper filter on top, fill the cone with ice and water and set the drip rate with the valve.
Time the drip
In the Smart app's cold drip mode, tap the screen as drops fall; the app estimates when the brew will be ready or when to add more ice and water.
The Goat Story GINA is a brewer that does three jobs: a pour-over dripper, an immersion brewer and a cold-drip tower, switched by a small valve under its ceramic cone. It sits on a steel frame with a scale built in, and the Smart version connects to an app that weighs, times and guides each brew. Its makers called it “the first smart coffee instrument”. This page explains each mode, what comes with it and how it began.
The short version
- Three methods in one: pour-over, immersion and cold drip.
- A valve does the switching: open, closed or set to a slow drip.
- Built-in scale reading to 0.1 g, with Bluetooth on the Smart model.
- Ceramic cone, steel frame, glass carafe; takes V60 filters.
- Launched on Kickstarter in October 2016; Red Dot award in 2018.
How does the GINA work?
The key part is the valve in the base of the cone, which controls how fast coffee leaves it. Whole Latte Love describes the three settings:
| Mode | Valve | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Pour-over | Open | Paper filter in the cone; pour as with any dripper |
| Immersion | Closed, then opened | Coarse coffee in the filter, hot water, lid on, steep, then drain |
| Cold drip | Set to a slow drip | Coffee in the cold brew adapter in the carafe, ice and water in the cone |
Source: Whole Latte Love. In immersion mode it behaves like a Clever Dripper or Hario Switch; in cold drip, like a small Kyoto drip tower.
The valve also helps rescue a pour-over: if you realise mid-brew that the grind is too coarse, you can tighten it to slow the flow, Green Plantation notes.
What does the scale and app do?
The built-in scale measures to 0.1 g and connects by Bluetooth to the GINA Smart app, Green Plantation says. In the app you set the method, the ratio and the amount of coffee, then follow on-screen steps while the scale tracks the weight and time. Afterwards you rate the cup and the app suggests what to change, such as the grind. In cold drip mode you tap the screen as drops fall, and it works out when the brew will be ready or when to add more ice and water. You can save recipes and share them with other GINA owners.
The sources disagree on battery life, perhaps because of different versions:
| Source | Battery |
|---|---|
| Designboom (2016 launch) | Up to 15 hours of brewing on a micro-USB charge |
| Green Plantation | 1,000 mAh; 20 hours of continuous use, a month on standby; micro-USB |
Sources as listed. There’s also a GINA Basic without the smart scale, for people who’d rather leave their phone out of it.
What comes with a GINA?
Core77 lists a steel frame with the Bluetooth scale, a ceramic funnel with a cover, and a borosilicate glass pitcher with the cold drip module. Whole Latte Love adds that the carafe holds 0.75 litres and that paper filters for hot and cold brewing are included. It came in stainless steel, black and white.
Where did the GINA come from?
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 18 October 2016 | GINA launches on Kickstarter at $145 | Designboom; InsideHook |
| January 2017 | Pre-orders open on Indiegogo at $170, against a $245 retail price; shipping due April 2017 | Ubergizmo |
| 2018 | Wins a Red Dot design award | Whole Latte Love |
Sources as listed. Goat Story, the company behind it, had earlier crowdfunded the GOAT Mug, a horn-shaped coffee mug, InsideHook says. The GINA was designed by Luka Pirnat, Designboom and Green Plantation say. Whole Latte Love now lists its GINA Smart as an old product listing.
GINA and other hybrid brewers
- Clever Dripper: steep, then drain, with a simple valve.
- Hario Switch: a V60 with an immersion switch.
- Kyoto drip: slow cold drip, on a bigger scale.
What you’ll need
Words in this guide
- Pour-over
- Pour-over is a way of making filter coffee by hand: you pour hot water over ground coffee in a filter cone and let it drip through into a cup or jug.
- Immersion vs percolation
- Immersion brewing steeps all the coffee in all the water at once, as a French press does.
Questions & answers
What can the GINA brew?
Three methods: pour-over with the valve open, immersion with it closed (like a Clever Dripper), and cold drip, with iced water dripping slowly through coffee held in a glass adapter. Its makers also suggested it for tea, iced tea and cocktails.
Does the GINA need the app?
No. The scale and valve work without it, and there's a GINA Basic without the smart scale. The Smart app adds weighing and timing on your phone, step-by-step guidance and recipe suggestions based on how you rate each cup.
What filters does the GINA use?
It comes with its own paper filters for hot and cold brewing, and the cone also takes Hario V60 filters, Whole Latte Love says.
Where is Goat Story from?
Sources disagree: Green Plantation calls it a Slovenian company, while InsideHook called it Swedish in 2016. Goat Story's own website couldn't be checked for this page.
What's in the box?
A steel frame with the Bluetooth scale, a ceramic funnel with a lid, a borosilicate glass pitcher (0.75 litres, Whole Latte Love says) with the cold drip module, and paper filters.
Sources
- GINA, a Discreetly Smart Coffee Instrument. Core77
- Goat Story GINA Smart Coffee Maker in Stainless Steel. Whole Latte Love
- Goat Story Gina: Smart Dripper, Clever Dripper and Cold Brew. Green Plantation
- goat story's GINA is the smart coffee maker that helps you craft a perfect brew. Designboom
- This Handsome Device Makes Barista-Level Coffee, and Fast. InsideHook
- GINA Combines Multiple Coffee Making Tools Into One. Ubergizmo
General guidance only. Not medical, food-safety or professional advice. Always follow your equipment's own instructions.