Hiroia pushes Hikaru into cafes with Refiller and updates

Hiroia is scaling its Hikaru automated pour-over to meet demand from cafes, restaurants, and hotels with a new hardware add-on and a suite of software and firmware updates. The moves aim to turn a home-focused, illuminated brewing machine into compact, commercial-ready equipment that reduces labor and improves consistency.

The headline change is the Refiller, an add-on that draws water from a plumbed source or an external reservoir to automatically top off the Hikaru’s internal tank. Compact enough to hide behind the brewer on a counter, the Refiller can also preheat water to 80°C (176°F), shortening recovery time between brews and helping the machine keep pace during service. Hiroia plans to show the Refiller publicly at World of Coffee Dubai, running Jan. 18-20, where the device will appear alongside a new line of Hiroia grinders. Shipments are expected to begin by midyear while pricing will be finalized after regional certifications and logistics are settled.

Software changes arriving this month unlock all of Hikaru’s physical buttons, allowing baristas to run more custom brew profiles without relying on an external tablet or phone. That update is paired with a new cold-brew mode that lets operators program slow-drip extraction overnight. In cold-brew mode users can fill the reservoir with ice and schedule an unlimited number of unheated pours as small as 5 milliliters at customizable intervals for up to 12 hours. Hiroia will sell a cylindrical steel cold-brew filter separately to support the new function.

Hikaru launched in 2023 aimed primarily at home users, with Kickstarter preorders delivered by mid-2024. Since then the majority of customers have adopted the machine in commercial and hospitality settings, prompting Hiroia to reposition the product as crossover equipment that packs professional-grade performance into a compact form. The company expects to keep the Hikaru’s current retail price at $799.

For cafes and hotels, the practical gains are clear: automated, consistent pour-overs that require less intensive barista training, fewer interruptions to service thanks to faster recovery and plumbed refills, and expanded menu options via overnight cold-brew. For small operations weighing labor and consistency against counter space, the Hikaru plus Refiller could fill a gap between manual pour-over and high-volume espresso service.

What comes next is hands-on evidence. Watch the World of Coffee Dubai debut and expect regional rollouts and pricing details in the months ahead as Hiroia moves from early adopters toward wider hospitality adoption.