Imagine a Chemex for purifying water. That, in a nut shell, is the premise of the Water Fall, a new water filtration system from Kor that presents an elegant alternative to a Brita filter, inspired by pour-over coffee.
While pour-over coffee seems like an unlikely source of inspiration for a water filter, it shouldn't. Coffee is just another way of filtering water, after all. But according to Kor Water's founder Eric Barnes, he stared at his Chemex every day for years without seeing it for what it was: the solution to two problems with other water filtration pitchers that had been annoying Kor for years.
The problem with most water pitchers, Barnes tells me, is their considerable chunk factor. Because the filtration system you find in something like a Brita pitcher fits inside the actual container, 25% or more of the space in your water pitcher is wasted.The Water Fall solves this.
The Water Fall's filtering mechanism is suspended above a carafe with a sleek stand. To use the Water Fall, you just pour water into the top and allow it to flow through a purifying filter made up of coconut shells. You can use the Water Fall with any one-liter glass or plastic carafe, swapping them out as needed. Overall, the device has a slim, clean profile: the stand sits on the counter, and you put the carafes in the fridge.
Is there room in people's kitchens for another gadget taking up counter space? Kor thinks so. "It wasn't that long ago that people would have thought you were crazy if you asked them to give up counter space to a gadget that makes soda, or brews a single cup of coffee at a time," Barnes says. "But Sodastream and Keurig have proven that people are willing to do just that."
Keurig is inspiration for another major feature that Kor hopes to introduce to the Water Fall down the line. Do you like mineral water? Alkalized water? Oxygenated? Vitamin-flavored? Although they aren't available yet, the Water Fall system has been designed to fit the Kor equivalent of a K-Cup, allowing you to switch up your water the same way you switch up your coffee.
But that's the next step, once the Water Fall hits store shelves next March. For right now, if you'd like a Chemex for your water, you can pre-order a Kor Water Fall starting at $35.