If you’ve been chasing the perfect cold coffee experience only to end up with watered-down disappointment or sad, stale store-bought brews, it’s time to reclaim your mornings. Or afternoons. Or that random 8 p.m. craving when you’re not trying to pull an all-nighter; you just want a really good cold decaf espresso. Enter: The Cumulus Machine, a café-quality countertop marvel that delivers nitro cold brew, cold brew, and cold espresso at the touch of a button, and yes, everything it brews comes out chilled and ready to sip. No ice required. No waiting around. And absolutely no barista attitude.
The Backstory: From Starbucks Boardrooms to Your Kitchen Counter
The Cumulus Machine comes from Mesh Gelman, a former Starbucks executive who spent years observing how people built their routines, and sometimes their identities, around their daily coffee rituals. He noticed that cold coffee wasn’t just trending, it was taking over.
Even as cafés tried to keep up, the finesse and flavor that cold coffee deserves often got lost in the shuffle. And at home? Forget it. Making decent cold brew yourself was a waiting game of 12 hours or more, with inconsistent results and a questionable texture.
That’s when Mesh decided to do something about it. After years of development, Cumulus Coffee was born; it’s a company built around the idea that cold coffee deserves the same attention and artistry that hot coffee’s been getting for years.
Three Cold Drinks, One Smart Machine
The Cumulus Machine’s pitch is simple yet bold: three types of cold coffee, perfectly chilled and ready in under a minute, tailored to taste amazing. Choose between cold brew, nitro cold brew, or cold espresso. Each drink is designed for a different mood, occasion, or moment of indulgence.
Cold brew is crisp and clean, made without the usual overnight steeping process. Nitro cold brew takes it up a notch with a velvety finish, thanks to Cumulus’ Cold Cloud technology — a micro-bubble infusion that makes every sip feel like a treat.
And cold espresso? That’s your secret weapon. A bold, intense shot that’s already chilled and ready to pour into an iced latte, a martini shaker, or a scoop of gelato. Your call.
The Cold Cloud: It’s Not Just Marketing Fluff
If you haven’t had it before, you might be wondering what makes nitro cold brew different, and why it’s not just “fizzy coffee.” In traditional cafés, that creamy mouthfeel comes from nitrogen tanks that infuse cold brew with fine bubbles. The result is silky, rich, and just a little luxurious.
The Cumulus Machine replicates this café-level quality without the industrial setup. Its patent-pending Cold Cloud technology pulls nitrogen from the air, pressurizes it, and whips it into the brew with no clunky gas canisters or hidden extras. You’ll see it in action the moment your glass starts to shimmer and swirl.
You won’t see the bubbles — they’re smaller than half a human hair — but you’ll definitely feel them. The texture is thick, creamy, and elevates the natural sweetness of the coffee. It’s not carbonated, so you’re not getting the sharp bite of seltzer; it’s just a soft, creamy cascade of flavor that moves like silk and drinks like dessert.
Who’s It For?
If you’re someone who hits the coffee shop daily for a nitro fix, this machine pays for itself fast. At around $5 to $7 per café visit, you’re probably spending close to $150 a month just on cold brew. With the Cumulus Machine, you can get that same (or honestly, better) experience from home—no tipping, no barista misspelling your name, no waiting in line while someone debates milk alternatives.
It’s great for early risers who don’t want to deal with a noisy grinder or a full brew cycle, night owls who want something chilled without a caffeine spike, or anyone trying to impress guests with a cold espresso martini that didn’t come out of a can.
It’s also ideal for those in warmer climates where hot drinks don’t always hit the spot, or for the creatively caffeinated types who want to build cocktails, float espresso over ice cream, or just nerd out on a perfect cold foam texture.
That said, the Cumulus Machine isn’t for everyone. If you only pop into Starbucks once or twice a month, this machine might feel like overkill. If the act of ordering your drink, chatting with your barista, and soaking in the café ambiance is a meaningful part of your day, the at-home tradeoff may not scratch that same itch. And if you’re strictly a hot coffee person or someone who likes their daily drink to be spontaneous, you might not fall in love with a cold-brew-only system, no matter how good the coffee is.
In short, the Cumulus Machine is for people who know what they like, crave consistency, and wouldn’t mind saving time, money, and fridge space, all while elevating their cold coffee game to something they’ll actually look forward to drinking.
Capsules, Flavors, and Coffee That’s Built for the Cold
Unlike many pod machines, the Cumulus system was designed specifically for cold. The recyclable capsules contain slow-roasted coffee that’s sealed fresh and optimized for cooler brewing temperatures. You won’t get the weird bitterness that comes from brewing hot and chilling later. Instead, each capsule delivers clean, nuanced flavor meant to be savored straight from the machine.
There are currently nine flavor profiles to explore, each with its own personality. For instance, Lucid (a light to medium roast) offers notes of citrus, cherry, and honey nectar; it’s bright and refreshing, great for warm afternoons. Sospeso (a light roast) leans more toward toasty, with notes of vanilla and brown sugar. Ritual? That’s your dessert coffee, with hints of chocolate, nuts, and caramel available in dark or medium roasts as well as a medium decaf.
Most Cumulus coffee capsules cost between $25 and $29 for a sleeve of 10, which breaks down to about $2.50 to $2.90 per drink—still far less than the $5.45 you’d spend on a Grande Nitro Cold Brew at Starbucks.
There is one extravagant outlier, however: the Gilded 001: Wush Wush. Priced at $60 for 10 capsules, it’s made from rare Ethiopian beans grown in Oromia’s fertile highlands and put through a 96-hour dry fermentation to bring out the beans’ natural sweetness. With notes of fresh berries and a soft, boozy finish, it’s a luxury cold coffee done right..
And through June 1, 2025, there’s a summer promo: buy two sleeves of Lucid capsules and get 50% off their Yuzu Limoncello Syrup. Bright, floral, and citrusy-sweet, it’s the kind of add-on that makes your daily brew feel like a vacation in a glass.
Easy to Use, Sleek to Look At
Cumulus didn’t just build a smart coffee machine; they built a gorgeous one. Available in Carbon or Cream, the machine is slim enough to fit on most kitchen counters, measuring just 6″ wide. It stands 20″ tall with the capsule holder extended, and it weighs a solid 30 pounds, which gives it a grounded, professional feel rather than something you’ll knock over while grabbing a spoon.
Setting up the Cumullus Machine is straightforward. Plug it in, rinse it with the included blank cleaning capsule (yes, that’s a thing), prime and load the included water filter, fill the water tank, and you’re good to go.
The pop-up capsule holder makes it easy to insert your coffee of choice, and the light ring gives you all the feedback you need: blue means it’s cooling water, white means it’s ready to brew, and orange means it’s time for maintenance.
The Cumulus Machine isn’t silent, and the water chamber is a bit small if you’re planning back-to-back brews for guests, but neither of these issues is a deal-breaker. Most importantly, the coffee it produces is consistently excellent every time.
Glassware Made for the Experience
Sure, you can drink your cold coffee out of any old glass, but Cumulus offers hand-blown glassware designed to preserve temperature and show off the visual theater of each brew. The Cold Coffee Glass holds 10.5 ounces and costs $45 for a set of two, while the smaller Espresso Glass is 5.75 ounces and sells for $35 for a set of two. Both are elegant, thoughtfully weighted, and meant to heighten the drinking experience.
These glasses aren’t just pretty. Because they’re designed specifically for cold beverages, they help maintain the perfect sip temperature without affecting the microbubbles in the nitro brew. And when those tiny bubbles start cascading in your glass? It’s part coffee, part performance art, and more than a little bit hypnotic.
Maintenance Isn’t Scary, Promise
Like any good appliance, the Cumulus Machine does require occasional TLC. After about 150 brews, you’ll get a gentle orange glow reminding you it’s time for a deep clean.
The process takes about 15 minutes and involves the included cleaning capsule and solution, a new water filter, and a 1L container to catch rinse water.
It’s more straightforward than most espresso machine maintenance routines, and you’ll only need to do it every couple of months, depending on how often you brew.
Cold Coffee, Elevated
Cold coffee isn’t just a seasonal fling anymore; it’s how many of us prefer to fuel our days, regardless of the weather. And while you can still grab a bottle off a store shelf or brave the coffee shop lines, the Cumulus Machine gives you something else: control, creativity, and an experience worth savoring. From the nitro-infused crema to the bold punch of cold espresso, every brew it makes is a little ritual in a glass.
Until June 1, 2025, you can purchase the Cumulus Machine for $545, a $150 discount off the regular price. This deal also includes a 12-pack coffee sampler, a water filter, and a cleaning solution, valued at $60, for free. Additionally, you’ll receive free shipping. In other words, this is a solid offer if you’ve been eyeing a more indulgent way to get your cold brew fix.
Whether you’re a cold brew lifer or just dipping your toes into chilled coffee territory, the Cumulus Machine might be your next countertop obsession. No ice. No compromise. Just cold coffee, made exactly how you like it.
Wish it had refillable capsules
Looks like such a sleek and modern machine – I’d love to have one in my kitchen!
As a caffeine addict, I need this!
This looks like a great machine, I need one.
It sounds like they really put a lot of thought into getting everything right with this cold brew machine.
That looks awesome!
My son loves cold coffee. Present list!