Reviewing the Marco SP9 Single Serve Coffee Brewer
The Marco SP9 is an automated single serve coffee brewer, designed to replace the labour intensive role of the barista in serving a fresh cup of pourover coffee. It’s simple to use and easy to learn, with just two dials that let you fine tune your recipes, and a single on/off switch to start the brew.
The SP9 is for specialty cafe that recognise the value in serving delicious cups of freshly brewed pourover coffee, but struggle with consistency between staff members and the time investment it takes to brew a single cup of pourover.
Where does the SP9 fit in?
Cafes that want to serve filter coffee typically have one of two options. Firstly, they can use a large batch brewer to make anywhere from 1 to 5 litres of coffee at any one time.
Large batch brewers are really simple to use and can make incredible coffee, but they’re slow and usually aren’t very good at making small batches. That can really limit the number of different coffees you can serve, and means that the coffee you serve isn’t always very fresh.
Their other option is to serve a manual pourover. These are fantastic at brewing 1 to 2 cups and allowing you to serve a wide range of coffees at once, but they require a good amount of knowledge and skill to use and they mean that your barista can’t do much of anything else for about 3 to 5 minutes.
Marco’s SP9 brewer sits somewhere in the middle and gives you the best of both worlds: It’s a fully automated brewer that is perfect for serving 1 or 2 delicious cups completely hands free – so you can have a few different coffees on offer, everything can be brewed fresh to order, and once your recipe is dialled in you’ll get delicious coffee with very little skill or labour. Let’s get into it…
SP9 Design and Physical Features
The SP9 is split into two parts: Firstly the brew head that sits on top of the counter which you’ll interact with on a daily basis and is always on display. Secondly, the water boiler that sits underneath the counter. This is the main powerhouse of the brewer being connected to the water line and where the power comes in.
The boiler is relatively simple and nothing to shout about from a design or materials perspective, but it sits out of sight under the counter so looks are generally not a concern. The above brew head is very sleek and minimalist in design with the brushed matte black metals being used. The brewer is cool to the touch and incredibly sturdy making it feel very premium.
The brewer has two dials and one switch on the side, a small water bath towards the top where water circulates back into the boiler and disperses down into the brew, and a magnetic stand to aid you in using a number of different pourover drippers with the brewer.
Installation process
Connecting the boiler to the water and power supplies is a simple process, and hooking it up to the brew head to allow power and water to flow is also relatively simple with just three connections needing to be made. The brew head does need to be drilled into the counter, which is not too fiddly, but is something you should take into account when deciding on where to install the brewer. It’s not going to move, basically.
Settings and Control
On the brew head, the user has direct access over the brew volume and time duration. Each number on the volume dial equates to about 100ml of brew water, so for a single serving we suggest using 2.5 (250ml). The brewer goes all the way up to 750ml, so you can brew for up to 3 people if you wish. The time dial adjusts the length in minutes that the brewer takes to pour all of the water on to the coffee, rather than the actual time to finish the brew. For our recipe, we’re going to recommend a short brew time in order to keep your slurry topped up, letting you grind finer at brew at a hotter temperature.
On the boiler, you have control over the brew temperature and a number of other settings that we just recommend leaving as default. During the brew, the water constantly circulates up and down between the boiler and brew head, giving you incredibly consistent temperatures between subsequent brews.
Brewer Options
The SP9 is perfectly suited to fit a six of eight cup V60, a chemex, or any small flatt-bottomed or cone dripper. The included magnet stand lets you use any combination of brewer and carafe as well. Any size brewer between 200-750ml will work perfectly with the SP9.
How to Brew with the Marco SP9
Brewing with the SP9 is incredibly simple – just set your brew volume, brew time and temperature, then weight out and grind your coffee dose and add it to the brewer, then start the brew. Our recommended recipe for the Marco SP9 is 15 grams of medium-fine coffee, 2.5 on the dose dial, 1.5 minutes, at 94 degrees. For 2 people, scale this up to 30 grams and a 5 on the dose dial.
This will make 1 cup of delicious filter coffee and is perfectly suited for a size 02 v60 or similarly sized cone or flat bottom brewers.
Should you Buy the SP9?
If you’re in charge of a coffee shop that is passionate about serving delicious coffees that are brewed fresh to order, but struggle with staff inconsistency and speed of serving, the SP9 is going to be perfect for you. However, you might also want to consider a small batch brewer that can serve 1 or two litres at a time – these can be brewed relatively fresh if ordered quickly and are typically very easy to use.