NUCLEUS Paragon

I love experimenting with all sorts of pour-over techniques, and the Paragon will give you just that. The items that come in the box are of high quality and precisely engineered to look perfect on your countertop. The two ice balls are of higher quality than the ones I've purchased from Amazon.

Taste-wise, it definitely brings in more smoothness, which I like. It removes some of the harshness of the coffee, and you can definitely experiment with how to use the tool. I personally just leave the ball there throughout the brew, simply because my sensory skills still need a lot of work to distinguish the minor difference that it makes by removing the ball after the second pour.

Anyway, it's a great tool and looks amazing on the counter!

Gives an interesting twist on some roasts

very happy with this beautiful piece! ... it looks great, and when you think of the comparable price of other brand stands, the add-ons of the frozen ball tray and drip tray (which is REALLY nice-to have) make it that much better value for money (worst case, if you eventually don't care for the flash brew thing, you just slide them off and use the rest as an (adjustable height which is rare!) pour over stand!)

i use it on a Timemore Black Mirror scale, and actually align it in the same direction as the scale (i'm left-handed but didn't want to flip it 180 and see the white writing on the back of the pole). so it fits perfectly on top when not in use, and i just slide it back on the scale when in use (it hangs off the back, but with no problem).

as others have said, not all brewers will fit based on their stands (classic plastic V60 and Origami resin base, for example, are a little rounded underneath which doesn't sit flush on the flat paragon stand so they slip off) the best is to have your brewer sit right inside the opening, but then you need to watch that you're level as your brewer can easily be at an angle even while stable.

to be honest i haven't done side-by-side testing to see the difference the frozen balls make, but the coffee's good, and there's all the other aspects that still make it worth it to me!

all in all, even if it's a considerable price, very happy with it!

This opens up so much more room for playing around with pour over. It does make quite a significant difference in how the coffee comes out in terms of flavor and body. The build quality is also top notch.

However, it is not fully compatible with quite a few drippers. Less than most pour over stands. Some drippers will either bean leaning heavily or will slip off. But otherwise, no complaints!

Well, you could always use a whiskey ball and a mesh screen for a fraction of the price, but the build quality is quite nice. I can't say I'm consistently able to get better coffee with it yet, but I did notice that cups come out differently and some seem more fragrant. I find it fun to experiment with.

That said, it's a bit awkward to move the ball out of the way once the brew hits the suggested 20-30% of total water because it's actively dripping at that point. I've adjusted my recipe to do a 30s bloom and then a "second bloom" that hits the target and drains out most of the way before pouring the rest of the water in pulses to avoid this, though I'm not sure how this affects temps and overall extraction.

The paragon and unboxing experience themselves feel somewhat premium.
Unfortunately when you are paying 200 CAD for what is effectively a fancier pour over stand you do expect it to be able to be compatible with ALL brewers.

The paragon will not work with any brewer that has a lip at its base as the ring that holds the brewer has a little handle to move it (which is fine) however this means that any brewers that isn't an Orea, Kalita, Metal V60 (specifically the stainless silver or black as shown in the product page) etc will NOT BE LEVEL.

I simply can't understand how the Nucleus team didn't test what is probably one of the most common home brewers (plastic V60).

As stated in this product page and the Nucleus one this stand is advertised as "Paragon's top tier has been designed to accommodate your favourite pourover dripper" but that simply isn't true and I wish that both teams would amend the description to avoid hassle for both potential customers and themselves.

Too bad, the idea of the product is enticing but the execution is lacking - for the price, do better Nucleus.

P.S: This isn't intended as a slight against the Eight Ounce team as my return was processed incredibly quickly and all my interactions with their CS team have been good. This is purely a reflection on the poor product design from Nucleus.