4 ms·

Honest question — How is this better than say a $100 capresso ec50 15 bar espresso machine w/ steam wand?

• theledman 5y ago
  Hey! I'm the guy behind this design! Couple thoughts: 1. I approached this project with the goal of making good espresso as cheaply as possible. EC50 uses pressurized portafilter baskets which are mostly used as crutches for preground "espresso" coffee which is too course. The basket that's being used in my project comes from a manual machine that a lot of people like and works really well. It's easier to take good parts and work backwards than trying to upgrade a cheap machine to work well imo 2. This allows me to dial in preinfusion and extraction pressures manually which is why some people like manual espresso. More control. 3. Most electric machines use vibe pumps which some die hard espresso nerds think disturbs the coffee puck too much. Manual machines like the one I designed are much gentler on the puck which (allegedly) leads to less channeling and more consistent shots. No answer for the steam wand though!
  • regulation_d 5y ago
    This is super cool! One thing I’m curious about is whether using CO2 noticeably increases the brightness of the shot.
    • theledman 5y ago
      Definitely something I was worried about too. I did some A/B testing with an actual espresso machine and didn't notice a difference. I also looked up some papers that had CO2 solubility in water as a function of temp and pressure and at the brew times/pressure/temp we're at, there's very little being absorbed into the water. Certainly not enough to affect taste. I use an air compressor to drive it now and haven't noticed a decrease in brightness either.