The design-first coffee brand reshaping the brew gear conversation

I love coffee gear. I care about burr geometry, water flow rate, burr alignment, and retention. But I also care about how something looks and feels on my counter. There’s nothing wrong with that. Most of us don’t brew in labs. We brew in homes, in cafés, in spaces that reflect our identity. Good design isn’t decoration. It shapes the way we interact with a product. It helps us take coffee seriously without feeling clinical.

Timemore gets that.

Founded in Shanghai in 2012, the company has spent over a decade quietly building a product line that respects both craft and design. The team behind Timemore includes mechanical engineers, industrial designers, and coffee lovers. They didn’t rush to market with gimmicks. They focused on usability, visual simplicity, and honest materials. You can feel that approach in everything they make—from the click of a Chestnut grinder to the pour of their Fish kettle.

Timemore doesn’t trade off function for form. It’s one of the few brands in specialty coffee that has consistently delivered both.

A company born from inside the design studio

Timemore’s co-founders – James (Operations), Fish (R&D), and Chan (Supply Chain) – didn’t come from marketing backgrounds. They came from the worlds of product engineering and industrial design. That origin matters. It shows up in the way the products are assembled, how the interfaces are arranged, and how each tool feels in the hand.

Fish, the brand’s Director of Design, has received multiple renowned design awards and helped lead product design at mobile corporates. His design language runs through every Timemore product. There’s restraint, precision, and a sense of quiet confidence.

That foundation has led to global recognition. Timemore has now won dozens of international design awards, including:

• Red Dot Design Award
• iF Design Award
• Good Design Award

These aren’t just coffee industry nods. They are benchmarks from the wider world of design, placing Timemore in the company of some of the most respected product brands globally.

Sculptor: the grinder that changed everything

When Timemore launched its Sculptor grinder series on Kickstarter, it didn’t just sell grinders. It sold a vision for what home coffee gear could be.

The Sculptor range features precision flat burrs and turbo burrs, magnetically aligned chutes, the patented rotary knocker (a pleasing tactile mechanism that limits retention), and a silhouette that looks like it came from a design museum. It was a bold product—both technically and aesthetically – and the market responded. The campaign raised over US $5 million, making it one of the most successful coffee hardware launches in crowdfunding history.

And it delivered. The Sculptor series is now regarded as one of the best options for home brewers who want commercial-level performance without spending thousands. It’s not flashy, but it’s quietly better than almost anything in its class.

Awards followed. The Sculptor 078 won the iF Design Award 2023, further cementing Timemore’s reputation for world-class product development.

A full brewing ecosystem

What sets Timemore apart from most boutique gear companies is scale. This isn’t a one-product brand. It has built a full suite of brewing equipment that covers the entire process, from grinding to pouring to weighing.

Here are a few of the standouts:

• Chestnut C5/C3/C2: The grinders that introduced many people to Timemore. Reliable, affordable, and solidly built.
• Chestnut X: Their flagship manual grinder, with magnetic construction, precise adjustment, and exceptional consistency.
• Millab M01: A new generation manual grinder featuring “Pineapple Burrs” and P7-grade bearings for unparalleled control.
• Whirly 01S: A compact electric grinder that brings café-level consistency to your backpack or picnic table.
• Black Mirror Scale Series: Their most widely used product. Trusted by both professionals and home brewers. Dual sensor models offer weight and flow rate data for those who want full control.
• Fish Smart Kettle: Digital precision with a beautifully balanced pour, now available in 600ml size.
• PUCKS Espresso Accessories: A newly launched accessory set that pairs professional-grade tampers and distributors with warm wood finishes.

The consistency across the range is what impresses most. Everything shares the same visual language. Nothing feels like an afterthought.

Not just hype – backed by champions

You can build beautiful gear. But if it doesn’t work in the real world, it won’t last. That’s where Timemore’s growing list of advocates matters.

• Anthony Douglas, 2022 World Barista Champion, is Timemore’s Global Brand Ambassador.
• Matt Winton, 2021 World Brewers Cup Champion, endorses the grinder lineup.
• Cole Torode, coach of the 2023 and 2024 WBC Champions, is the face of the Black Mirror scale series.
• Dale Harris, 2017 World Barista Champion, is Timemore’s UK Brand Ambassador.
• Hiroki Ito, 2024 Japan Barista Champion, is Timemore’s Japan Brand Ambassador.
• Carlos Escobar, 2024 Colombia Brewers Cup Champion, is the Ambassador of Timemore Education.

These aren’t just familiar names. These are professionals who stake their careers on precision and performance. Their trust in Timemore reinforces what so many brewers have already discovered on their own: this gear holds up under pressure.

Timemore continues to grow

Timemore continues to grow. It’s now trusted by leading coffee retailers across Asia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East. Its Sculptor grinder is becoming a benchmark. Its scales are already on countless café counters. And its design DNA is only getting stronger.

This is a company that understands where specialty coffee is going and what brewers actually want along the way. Whether you’re making your first pourover or refining your competition routine, Timemore has likely built something for you – and made it beautiful.