growing tired of nespresso

Epicurean Exploits - Food and Recipes
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gene - please post back when you receive it. i was too late to get in, but look forward to these guys succeeding. an amazing project to follow.

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Yaacov - you can pre-buy one of the units on their website

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huh - missed that. still a pretty good price if it delivers. i guess i’ll wait, but maybe not…but i really like the ability to steam and brew at the same time which i can do now.

hmmm…

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If you don’t mind going manual…

and

http://www.orphanespresso.com/OE-Pharos-Hand-Coffee-Grinder_c_392.html

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That grinder seems like it was designed by rube goldberg. one could faint before finishing the process

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" It’s a open source PID controlled machine. The community will be able to reprogram the Arduino board and share it with other owners."

really? sorry gene, but that is light years beyond my grasp.

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the open source bit won’t apply to almost all owners. the PID is theoretically interesting as it electronically controls the temperature by taking into account the heating up and cooling down cycles of the boiler. This is ultimately the main issue with espresso machines - the ability to maintain a consistent and specific temperature. It’s the reason the best ones are typically massive – it creates a huge heat sink. A PID can theoretically control for this by actively heating (and letting cool) repeatedly over the brew cycle to achieve the desired temp. for example, if you want to brew a specific blend at 192.5 degrees (yes, it gets that specific) then you just dial in that temp and it should do it. that said, i’m wary of the claims that such a small boiler can achieve this over the course of 25-30 seconds required of a shot. there are many machines on the market that utilize PIDs - so that aspect isn’t new. most machines under a few thousand dollars “run hot” which means that you need to flush out some water prior to pulling a shot in order to get the desired temperature – as you can imagine, this isn’t a science and requires you to learn your machine. took me a long while on my expobar, and my silvia and gaggia before them.

long way of writing what i alluded to above - if you want a really good shot of espresso at home, you either need to buy something very expensive or embrace the fooling around bit. i enjoy it, but i can see how most won’t – there’s nothing inherently convenient about it – but it tastes great. perhaps the ZP machine really closes that gap - that would be truly amazing.

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[wow.gif] Yep, like all hand grinders! But seriously, the actual grind time in that video was about 45 seconds (31 revolutions). Not bad, especially for a hand grinder whose espresso grind quality legitimately rivals titan conicals priced in the thousands. Compare the pharos to grinders in the $500 - $1500 range, factor in the amount of time you spend with those grinders dealing with clumping issues, using the Weiss distribution technique, etc. (leaving aside chute retention, waste, etc.) and they get more comparable in terms of speed. Bottom line, pulling some shots will make you a believer, but you do need to have the time. (My forearms got quite the workout over a 2 week vacation with the portable rig, but my Vario still gets plenty of use at home.)

But for Mark’s benefit, I’ll say that I’ve had plenty of nice shots from low end machine/setups, but almost never consistently from a cheap grinder (the manual pharos and Vario are very notable, affordable exceptions). Overspend on the grinder. I’ll agree with George that freshly roasted beans and a quality espresso grind are of paramount importance; but this is also why I agree with Dave that the super-automatics are not worth the outlay, considerable maintenance, etc. None that I’m aware of have adequate grinders (and they get filthy).

Whatever you end up doing Mark, expect it to be like wine! What was once over-the-top will become routine. Whatever you buy, you will replace before it fails. Just get started! [cheers.gif]

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Whatever you end up doing Mark, expect it to be like wine! What was once over-the-top will become routine. Whatever you buy, you will replace before it fails. Just get started! Sean Moore Posts: 589Joined: Wed Jun 17, 2009 6:55 pmLocation: Seattle Private messageE-mail Sean Moore

nice quote sean. a little frightening considering the $$ spent on wine over the last 15 years, but a nice quote nonetheless.

thanks all [cheers.gif]

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Sean, I have no doubt it produces a perfect grind, just that the inventor was not very focused on practical use at all. The picking it up, taking a plug out on the bottom, and then hammering on it to get the coffee out? I literally laughed out loud when I saw that. Now that he/she perfected the mechanics, it might be time to focus on usability.

I have the Vario and yeah you are 1000% right; the grinder is an essential piece, you can’t make a great brew without it yet it’s always the one piece of equipment I see people cheap out on.

31

I agree, especially on the hammer part. Who has one of those reflex hammers laying around anyway? I’m not as meticulous about waste and retention as this user apparently is as I keep beans in it and grind enough to simply fall out of the bottom and into a tared cup (no need for the hammering [wow.gif] ). Hopefully future designs will be more user friendly though (and cheaper).

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Geez, talk about First World Problems…

[wink.gif]

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removed

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Oh yeah! [rofl.gif]

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Okay… what’s at the 1,000 level? I’m shopping and know ZIP. So I’m grateful for this thread.

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Brian - start looking into heat exchanger machines. single boiler, but they allow you to steam and brew at the same time.

read this first (if you care): http://coffeegeek.com/opinions/javajim/07-14-2003

then call wholelattelove or 1st line and ask them what they recommend in that price range (might have to spend a tad more than $1k for the machine). I have the expobar office which i’m pretty happy with.

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Sean, have you actually used that Presso machine? How are the results? Pretty tempting for portable, i.e. vacation, etc., particularly at only $100.

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I have. I also have a handpresso which I like for travel as well. But you can’t updose the handpresso while you can with the presso. It works very, very well, but doesn’t travel as easily as the handpresso. I find myself also bringing an aeropress on the road.

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With a budget a little over $1000, I’d buy a better grinder (mazzer mini or similar) and stick with the Silvia. Where you go from there depends if you’re making milk drinks or straight espresso.

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fiorenzato briccoletta. ask brent

http://coffeegeek.com/reviews/commercial/briccoletta/GrantT