A coffee brewer includes a drawer having an upper cartridge shell and a lower cartridge shell that enclose a coffee cartridge. Before the drawer is opened, an operator pulls an arm to rotate the upper cartridge shell relative to the lower cartridge shell. As the drawer is pulled, a slidable track moves relative to a fixed track, and the upper cartridge shell is biased upwardly. An ejector arm on the coffee brewer engages an ejector blade on the lower cartridge shell and biases the lower coffee shell downwardly to eject the used coffee cartridge into a used cartridge bin. As the drawer continues to open, the lower cartridge shell returns to the original position. A new coffee cartridge can then be added to the lower cartridge shell. The drawer is then closed and the brewing process can begin.