[HN Gopher] An Open-Source Espresso
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       An Open-Source Espresso
        
       Author : lxm
       Score  : 125 points
       Date   : 2023-03-26 23:12 UTC (23 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (hackaday.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (hackaday.com)
        
       | amelius wrote:
       | I can't handle coffee anymore :(
       | 
       | Please invent a drink that is like it but not as toxic.
        
         | all2 wrote:
         | You might enjoy matcha (especially with toasted rice in it), or
         | ground and brewed cacao nibs. Both are earthy, a tad bit
         | bitter, and very delicious.
        
           | yeswecatan wrote:
           | Yerba mate as well
        
             | diego_moita wrote:
             | It also contains caffeine.
             | 
             | Depending on the variety and if it comes from male plants
             | it can have almost as much as coffee.
        
       | LesZedCB wrote:
       | This is a relevant watch by James Hoffmann on how open source
       | espresso machines kinda turned into Decent Espresso. (edit: ok,
       | on rewatch i guess it wasn't open source, it was kickstarter,
       | however philosophy was the similar - use off-the-shelf components
       | and software)
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKA2COJRt6M
       | 
       | For what it's worth, i've had a Decent DE1+ for about 2 years,
       | and while it's very unlikely i'll change, i am excited to see
       | what other options crop up in the coming years. for me
       | personally, there is no competition, mainly from a quick-to-heat
       | and pressure/flow profiling perspective, both of which are quite
       | important to me.
       | 
       | my understanding is the hardware side for accurate flow-profiling
       | really is quite hard with off-the-shelf components, so the open
       | source espresso machine is unlikely to become a widely available
       | commodity, unlike say 3d printers which can easily be homebrewed
       | and work amazingly well.
        
       | ackfoobar wrote:
       | This reminds me of the story of ZPM. It tried to use off-the-
       | shelf components and custom software to make it work well.
       | 
       | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKA2COJRt6M
       | 
       | The world of atoms is so much harder than the world of bits.
        
         | sho_hn wrote:
         | The hardest part of hardware is mass production and support.
         | For a lot of things doing a good one-off is merely expensive
         | and time-intensive, but great as a hobby. That's why a lot of
         | DIY efforts are super impressive and have satisfying results,
         | even if you could never scale and productize them.
        
           | buildbot wrote:
           | Right, my theoretical one off hacked espresso machine might
           | be perfect, but requires troubleshooting or programming
           | skills or soldering to keep it working perfect - pretty much
           | a no go for most consumers.
        
         | mongol wrote:
         | In wonder how hard they tried, really. Feels like they more or
         | less took the money and called it quits
        
           | hn_throwaway_99 wrote:
           | Wow, this is so unfair to them. I followed the project with
           | intense interest from day 1, and "Feels like they more or
           | less took the money and called it quits" is total BS.
           | 
           | To be clear, I think the original ZPM gang got in _waaaay_
           | over their heads - one of the biggest problems is that the
           | kickstarter was just far too successful: the ZPM team had to
           | go from building a prototype to actually worrying about how
           | they were going to manufacture these at a sizable scale. I
           | think it 's totally fair to say they handled things quite
           | poorly as it became clear they were struggling, and if I were
           | a backer left with very little to show for it I'd probably be
           | mad, too, but to say "they more or less took the money and
           | called it quits" is not, at all, what happened.
        
           | malermeister wrote:
           | Seems like they tried pretty hard. Here's James Hoffman, the
           | authoritative Internet Coffee Weirdo, reviewing a prototype:
           | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKA2COJRt6M
        
       | intrasight wrote:
       | I'd say my stovetop espresso maker is pretty open-source. And has
       | worked fine with no changes except new gaskets for 5 years now. I
       | did just have to replace it with a steel one since I now have
       | induction stovetops.
        
         | hn_throwaway_99 wrote:
         | I don't consider what a moka pot makes to be "espresso", and
         | neither do most coffee experts like SCAA.
        
           | intrasight wrote:
           | It's plenty strong for me. Wouldn't want it any stronger.
           | 
           | I got it after using one in Italy for several days, and
           | couldn't go back to drip.
        
             | hn_throwaway_99 wrote:
             | I think that's a misconception about moka pot coffee vs. a
             | well-made espresso. Espresso isn't really "stronger" than
             | moka pot coffee. Moka pot coffee is actually brewed at a
             | higher temperature, but a lower pressure, than espresso.
             | Espresso temperature is not even boiling (200 F is a common
             | temp), but under much higher pressure by means of an
             | electric or manual lever pump (9 bar is the common
             | definition).
             | 
             | The result, to me at least, is that espresso has a much
             | "thicker" mouth feel, but much less bitterness, than moka
             | pot coffee.
        
       | fellowmartian wrote:
       | This is neat, but I wish we'd move from retrofitting Gaggia
       | Classics to something more modern. Decent Espresso showed us that
       | boiler machines for home use are a dead end, because they have
       | too much thermal mass for rapid switching between brewing and
       | steaming. This is why I initially considered buying a Gaggia and
       | modding it, but ultimately got a Breville Infuser as it basically
       | comes pre-modded and is thermocoil-based, so you can quickly
       | switching to steaming. It's not the fastest steaming in the
       | world, but I think it's actually good for beginners to learn how
       | to steam on a slow machine.
        
         | newsclues wrote:
         | I hope this is more of a proof of concept.
         | 
         | I think this is an example of part of the future of
         | manufacturing.
         | 
         | Some things will be built from COTS parts. Others will be built
         | as custom one offs. Obviously there will be products made with
         | a hybrid of methods of building things.
         | 
         | But increasing there will be an industry of people taking
         | products and modding or rebuilding them. From people who
         | upgrade cars, to modding watches for a unique look. Or taking a
         | common product like an expresso maker and make it open like
         | this, which could end up creating a market for COTS parts
         | instead of modding old products.
         | 
         | As much as people are excited about 3D printing and high end
         | technology for manufacturing, rebuilding and upgrading old junk
         | has huge potential, as companies converting old cars into EVs
         | have found.
        
         | prpl wrote:
         | Lelit is the counterpoint to that - I have a Lelit Elizabeth
         | which, while expensive, is a fraction of what a Decent costs -
         | So I'm not sure "don't use boilers" pans out.
        
           | pnut wrote:
           | Another vote for Lelit, I have an Anna PL41TEM with the PID
           | controller, have made 2-3 perfect espressos every day, 7 days
           | a week, since 2017 like clockwork.
           | 
           | That's >4,000 shots and counting... A very solid piece of
           | kit.
        
           | mixedCase wrote:
           | Yep, even the Lelit Bianca which is a dual-boiler and has
           | both flow control and a pressure knob is still cheaper than
           | the cheapest Decent despite the much more robust build.
        
         | eirikbakke wrote:
         | Switching from brewing to steaming takes about 4 minutes on a
         | single-boiler Rancilio, during which I can prepare the rest of
         | the breakfast or empty the dishwasher. For home use, this is
         | very practical. Besides, a single boiler means less work to
         | descale the machine, and fewer components that can break.
        
           | [deleted]
        
           | [deleted]
        
         | eschneider wrote:
         | I'll admit to being a complete heathen and warming milk in the
         | microwave and frothing it with a $10 hand wand before pouring
         | it over my moka pot brewed expression, but I'm happy with my
         | coffee.
        
         | nicolaslem wrote:
         | > Decent Espresso showed us that boiler machines for home use
         | are a dead end.
         | 
         | Do you mean single boiler machines? Many home machines have no
         | problem switching because they just use two boilers, one for
         | brewing and one for steaming.
        
           | horsawlarway wrote:
           | Yeah, double boiler is very, very worth it IMO.
           | 
           | Our machine has a 300ml boiler for brewing the shot, and a 1
           | liter boiler for the steam wand and hot water wand, and it's
           | great.
           | 
           | I can pull shots quickly after turning the machine on because
           | the 300ml boiler heats up fast. Steaming takes a few minutes
           | to heat up, but once there it'll keep going for a long time,
           | and I can keep pulling shots at the right temp in the mean
           | time.
           | 
           | Way happier with the double boiler machine than I was with
           | the single boiler we used to use. Much less planning required
           | for my own use and I can actually serve several guests a nice
           | espresso/latte/cappuccino from the machine in a reasonable
           | time.
        
             | nicolaslem wrote:
             | I agree, having the two parts of the machine working
             | independently from each other makes a big difference even
             | at home.
             | 
             | Dual boilers are more common but the same concept applies
             | to machines with dual thermocoils, like the one I picked.
        
             | fatnoah wrote:
             | Jumping on the double-boiler fan train. My family likes
             | lattes and I like espressos. I make them one at a time, and
             | it's nice to go from pulling the shot, to steam, next shot
             | & steam, etc.
        
         | nullityrofl wrote:
         | Dual boiler machines have been a perfectly fine solution to
         | this problem for a very, very long time.
         | 
         | Decent's offering is good but vastly overcomplicated for the
         | majority of people who don't want a tablet on their coffee
         | machine in their kitchen. I much prefer the tactile experience
         | of using a traditional espresso machine.
        
           | stouset wrote:
           | You could also use a single boiler (which are better at
           | temperature regulation) for espresso pulls and a thermoblock
           | for steam.
           | 
           | That said, boilers are pretty niche for home use. In order to
           | maintain good thermal regulation you need a decent sized mass
           | of water. That means a long time to preheat and a lot of
           | wasted energy.
           | 
           | This isn't a dealbreaker for some, but for a casual consumer
           | who pulls one or two shots per day, it's pretty lacking in
           | convenience.
        
           | esperent wrote:
           | > Dual boiler machines have been a perfectly fine solution to
           | this problem for a very, very long time.
           | 
           | A fine, but expensive and mechanically complex solution. Dual
           | boiler machines generally cost thousands even for small home
           | machines. Commercial dual boiler machines will set you back
           | at least $10-30k, easily.
           | 
           | Besides that, there's the warm up time. Often 30+ minutes on
           | a commercial machine, then the electricity cost of keeping
           | several litres of water and heavy blocks of metal at boiling
           | point too.
           | 
           | It's high time espresso machines got a mechanicals simpler,
           | cheaper, more environmentally friendly update. On the home
           | front, Breville and Decent are doing this, while commercially
           | I think some Ascaso machines use the same tech as Decent (not
           | 100% sure on that though and when I reached out to them about
           | it when considering one of their machines they just told me
           | "work with your local dealer". There's exactly one Ascaso
           | dealer in the country and they don't speak English so that
           | wasn't much help).
           | 
           | Not to dismiss dual boilers or even good heat exchangers.
           | Both of them are beautiful technological designs. But they
           | basically haven't changed since the sixties.
        
             | nullityrofl wrote:
             | > A fine, but expensive and mechanically complex solution
             | 
             | I'm not sure I agree that they're mechanically complex.
             | They're engineering 101. A pump, a heater and a thermostat.
             | They're rather mechanically simple.
             | 
             | > Dual boiler machines generally cost thousands even for
             | small home machines.
             | 
             | The _cheapest_ Decent is $3500.
             | 
             | > Commercial dual boiler machines will set you back at
             | least $10-30k, easily.
             | 
             | You don't need a $10k-$30k machine to get a competent dual
             | boiler. If you look at something like a Lelit Bianca, a
             | dual boiler with preinfusion and flow control while $500
             | cheaper than the cheapest Decent, you can pull your first
             | shot in 10 minutes. A home brewer making espresso on a
             | Bianca isn't going to notice the difference on a $10k or
             | $30k machine because at that price point what you're paying
             | for isn't the ability to pull a shot, it's the ability to
             | pull thousands of them every day of the year.
             | 
             | > But they basically haven't changed since the sixties.
             | 
             | That's true but I argue they don't need to. We don't need
             | to iterate on everything. Technology doesn't always make
             | things better.
        
               | esperent wrote:
               | > You don't need a $10k-$30k machine to get a competent
               | dual boiler
               | 
               | Commercially, you do (I own a small cafe chain so I can
               | claim some knowledge here). The Lelit Bianca is a
               | beautiful home machine but you can't use it commercially
               | - first of all, due to safety certs (not sure about the
               | Bianca specifically but most small home machines don't
               | have commercial certs). But also because it just isn't
               | built to handle a morning rush of customers. I don't
               | think you could make more than 10 or so lattes in a row
               | before it would lose steam.
               | 
               | > I'm not sure I agree that they're mechanically complex.
               | They're engineering 101. A pump, a heater and a
               | thermostat. They're rather mechanically simple
               | 
               | I think that list is missing a _few_ of the components
               | that make up an espresso machine :)
               | 
               | https://66.media.tumblr.com/2a1cfb37655e5ddc1dfa820b15eef
               | ca9...
               | 
               | But nonetheless I agree, there are far more complex
               | machines in regular use. My complaints are more about
               | warm up time, hard limits on how many coffees you can
               | serve in a row, and electricity use.
               | 
               | > That's true but I argue they don't need to. We don't
               | need to iterate on everything. Technology doesn't always
               | make things better.
               | 
               | I partially agree with this but again, from a commercial
               | perspective I guess I have different goals. Actually at
               | home I use a Flair 58 manual lever machine and a hand
               | grinder. Beautifully simple and I could heat water using
               | a wood fire and make it work.
               | 
               | But commercially, I want the tech I use to improve. I
               | want better efficiency, better reliability, and lower
               | energy use. I don't have the numbers for our yearly
               | electric bill just from the coffee machine, but it's a
               | lot and a good chunk of the day it just sits there
               | reheating water over and over.
               | 
               | It's the same as saying you should never need to upgrade
               | your work laptop. Wasn't the 720p screen you had in 2005
               | perfectly adequate? Why do you need more than 1gb RAM?
        
           | roflyear wrote:
           | Decent has awful software, and the owner is also kind of a
           | backwards-thinking stuck up dude, so...
        
             | malermeister wrote:
             | Could you share more details on the owner?
        
               | LesZedCB wrote:
               | most of the bad stuff is interpersonal drama caused by
               | the fact that John (Decent Owner) is fully committed to
               | TCL for app and firmware development.
               | 
               | some prominent community members have rewritten a lot of
               | the front end using python and JS.
               | 
               | when disagreements and call outs arose between this group
               | and the owner, well, access to the company Basecamp is
               | controlled by the owners. there are big personalities all
               | around.
               | 
               | as somebody who enjoys a bit of the popcorn but is
               | uninvested in the outcome, it's not a big deal as a
               | consumer of the machine. if you want to hack on the
               | software, his personality is probably going to affect you
               | a little more.
               | 
               | of course, somebody else may step in to give a different
               | historical account.
        
               | mometsi wrote:
               | No, and I do not even know him, but it irritates me to
               | hear him everywhere called 'the Decent'.
        
         | WastingMyTime89 wrote:
         | > Decent Espresso showed us that boiler machines for home use
         | are a dead end, because they have too much thermal mass for
         | rapid switching between brewing and steaming.
         | 
         | I will hasard that most espresso machine owners are like me,
         | just like espresso and never steam. I can count on one hand the
         | number of time I used my Silvia steam wand in the past five
         | years.
         | 
         | I think regular milk drinks are mostly an American thing.
        
           | klausa wrote:
           | I would be very surprised if that was the case; you'd see
           | much more machines out there that omit the steaming wand
           | entirely.
           | 
           | While _I_ mostly drink espressos when making coffee for
           | myself, I think overall I made more flat whites for my wife
           | and any friends that come over, then I did shots just for
           | myself on my machine.
        
             | marcosdumay wrote:
             | If you have two machines with very similar price and
             | quality, but one was espresso-only, and the other had a
             | steamer, what do you think the people that only drink
             | espressos would buy?
             | 
             | Zero marginal cost features have some very unusual
             | economics.
        
           | dkasper wrote:
           | Absolutely not. Lattes and cappuccinos were invented in Italy
           | after all.
        
             | mastazi wrote:
             | > Lattes and cappuccinos were invented in Italy
             | 
             | This is a commonly held belief, I'm Italian and I would
             | like to clarify a bit.
             | 
             | - I have worked at a bar (1) in Italy and more than 90% of
             | the coffee drinks ordered during any given day were single
             | shot espressos. Cappuccino orders however were not uncommon
             | in the morning.
             | 
             | - Cappuccino was invented in Austria, however it was
             | popularised in Italy and it still is very popular to this
             | day. It is consumed only in the first half of the morning,
             | for the rest of the day Italians prefer to drink
             | exclusively espresso shots.
             | 
             | - The drink that is known in the Anglosphere as "latte"
             | doesn't really exist in Italy except in some touristy
             | areas, normally, if you ask for a "latte" in an Italian
             | bar, they'll give you a glass of milk.
             | 
             | We have however two drinks that are similar to what you
             | call "latte":
             | 
             | - Caffe latte, which is similar to the French cafe au lait
             | but the coffee is made in a moka pot. This is usually
             | consumed at home.
             | 
             | - In bars you can order a "latte macchiato" which is
             | similar to what you call "latte" but the coffee is added at
             | the end, on top of the milk, and it is much weaker than a
             | latte (this is reflected by the name "latte macchiato"
             | which means "stained milk" i.e. all milk with just a dash
             | of coffee).
             | 
             | PS Latte macchiato is not to be confused with caffe
             | macchiato which is what is known internationally simply as
             | "macchiato" i.e. almost all coffee with just a dash of
             | milk.
             | 
             | (1) An Italian "bar" roughly corresponds to what English
             | speaking people refer to as "cafe" although it will also
             | serve alcoholic drinks. Actual cafes are not popular in
             | Italy and they are only found in touristy spots.
        
               | cpach wrote:
               | So far I've only visited Italy once, but your account
               | rhymes well with what I've read about Italian coffee
               | culture.
               | 
               | One thing I'm curious about:
               | 
               | Is ristretto and lungo popular in Italy? Or is that also
               | mostly for tourist spots?
        
           | boomskats wrote:
           | In case you're looking for advice: I went from being a daily
           | HX machine (rocket) user to a Cafelat Robot at the beginning
           | of the pandemic & haven't looked back. It has zero warm-up
           | time and I make better espresso with it more consistently
           | than I ever could with the e61.
           | 
           | I'm not sure I agree with you about 'most espresso machine
           | owners', but if you do only care about the spro, I can highly
           | recommend the manual approach.
        
           | ace2358 wrote:
           | Hello from Australia! Not only are most coffee orders with
           | milk, Aussies drink a load of milk at home. Like I used to
           | easily smash a litre of milk a day (cereal, coffee, tea, just
           | drinking it from the fridge).
           | 
           | I now don't drink milk at all and have black coffee at home
           | and out and I am not the norm.
        
           | crazygringo wrote:
           | I use the steam wand every single morning. It's a cappuccino
           | to start the day, then regular espresso after that.
           | 
           | Cappuccinos are quite popular at breakfast in Italy, which is
           | where espresso is from. I don't know what makes you think it
           | has anything to do with America.
        
             | valarauko wrote:
             | Context of the comment was in modding machines. Are modders
             | more likely to be American or Italian?
        
               | carlob wrote:
               | These 5k espresso machines (or a DYI project where you
               | spend the equivalent in time) don't really make sense in
               | a country where an average salary is 1.5k and the average
               | coffee is 1.
        
         | inasio wrote:
         | I've been meaning to upgrade from a Breville Bambino, but key
         | for me is a machine I can turn on and brew coffee right away on
         | a whim (small footprint would also be nice), but I haven't
         | found any options between the Brevilles and the Decent.
        
           | cjrp wrote:
           | I have my Gaggia Classic connected to a smart plug. Okay,
           | it's not _instant_, but I can decide I want a coffee, turn on
           | the machine from my phone and it'll be heated by the time I
           | go and make it.
        
             | inasio wrote:
             | I know this is how many people do it, it strikes me as
             | surprising that you don't need this compromise at the very
             | low end (Breville Bambino), nor at the high end (Decent),
             | but there's nothing in between
        
         | roflyear wrote:
         | Have you seen: https://meticuloushome.com/ seems to be what
         | you're looking for. Not on market yet.
        
           | boomskats wrote:
           | Not for another couple of days!
        
       | naet wrote:
       | I've been wanting an Espresso machine recently but it seems like
       | they're a lot more expensive than I hoped for a decent one. I was
       | spoiled by the one my Italian American parents had that was very
       | nice but probably cost them a pretty penny to buy. It was a
       | beautiful old metal machine with none of the digital bells and
       | whistles that seem to plague the newer machines.
       | 
       | Sometimes I use my moka pot which isn't the same but still
       | produces very nice coffee when used right.
        
         | binarymax wrote:
         | We were given a Capresso 117.05 as a gift and it's a really
         | great entry level espresso machine for the price (which I just
         | looked up).
         | 
         | I was actually surprised how well it worked, even with a cheap
         | palm grinder.
        
         | stouset wrote:
         | Yeah, it's definitely not cheap to get into home espresso if
         | you want any level of control and consistency to the process.
         | 
         | I got a Bambino Plus, which I'm generally happy with. There are
         | some flaws, but for "only" $500 it's a pretty competitive
         | machine for my use-case. Unfortunately that's where the costs
         | _begin_ , not end. Generally "necessary" upgrades include a
         | non-pressurized filter basket ($20), a bottomless portafilter
         | so you can observe your pulls and make adjustments ($50), and a
         | coffee distributor which will help significantly with
         | consistent pulls on a consumer-grade machine ($50). You'll also
         | need a scale ($50).
         | 
         | And now you need an espresso-capable grinder. A lot of people
         | use a Baratza Encore ($150), but the stepped grind-size
         | adjustments can render it impossible to dial in correctly. For
         | a continuous-adjustment grinder you're talking at least $500.
         | There are very good hand grinders you could use instead for
         | $100-$200, but grinding espresso shots by hand every time gets
         | old fast.
         | 
         | All in all with taxes, you're talking a _minimum_ of around
         | $750 for a bare-bones setup that will have a lot of frustration
         | and difficultly with consistency to about $1,250 for a more
         | recommended setup that will have you repeatedly pulling decent
         | shots.
         | 
         | Obviously I'm being a bit loose with the definition of "bare-
         | bones", as plenty of people are happy with a Bambino ($350) and
         | a cheap grinder ($50). But this is what I think would be the
         | definition someone who prefers third-wave specialty coffee
         | would use as a competitive alternative to going to their local
         | coffee shop.
        
           | fatnoah wrote:
           | FWIW, I have a fancier machine, but don't have any of that
           | optional equipment. I have a decent and consistent burr
           | grinder, but other than that my optional equipment is the
           | tamper and a toothpick for distribution. This is mostly
           | because the biggest variable I seem to deal with is bean
           | quality and age, and the only way I've really been able to
           | get consistent results is purely by feel based on how the
           | beans look in the filter basket after grinding and a quick
           | stir with the toothpick. The result is that I generally get
           | the shot spot-on about 9/10 times. As for the 10th, an iffy
           | shot can be turned into a decent latte. ;)
           | 
           | In any case, I think all of the extra equipment definitely
           | helps with consistency, but I think one can get good results
           | with practice without all of the extras. At the very least,
           | one could work their way up to that point.
        
             | stouset wrote:
             | Surely you have a scale :) And if you have a fancier
             | machine, I'm guessing you have a non-pressurized filter
             | basket as well. At that point you're (I think) only
             | skipping the distributor and the bottomless portafilter.
        
         | anon84873628 wrote:
         | FWIW I think the Flair brand offers the best price performance
         | for entry level espresso. It takes more practice to get a
         | consistent shot, but it can definitely make good coffee. There
         | are now many good hand grinders that can do espresso grind for
         | less than $200. Then you just need a kettle.
         | 
         | The Wacoco products also make a solid shot, but they are even
         | more inconvenient for home use.
        
       | klausa wrote:
       | Of all the things that I could possibly think of "making a DYI
       | version of would be fun", a machine that has ~0.5-1.5 liters of
       | boiling water at significant pressures is on the very very very
       | end.
       | 
       | Hats off to you if you feel comfortable with that, but I wouldn't
       | want to be in the same _room_ as that thing.
        
         | hn_throwaway_99 wrote:
         | Water under significant pressure is not really that big of a
         | deal. It is largely incompressible, so if there is a leak, it
         | just, well, leaks. Sure, it can spray, but even then I've been
         | hit with hot water from my espresso machine and while it was
         | temporarily painful it didn't burn me.
         | 
         | Air or steam, on the other hand, is a different story - steam
         | boilers obviously can fail explosively. The pictures of the
         | machine makes it look like it has a steam wand but I think
         | that's just because he salvaged an old boiler - I don't think
         | he's actually bringing up the temperature in the boiler high
         | enough to make it a steam boiler.
        
       | quijoteuniv wrote:
       | What kind of pressure are we taking about? This project would
       | definetely benefit with chating with a barista and understanding
       | the principle of brewing a coffe shot, or working/getting
       | experience with a professional machine. Personally i think the
       | best you can get at home (unless you can afford a pro machine) is
       | aeropress. Dead serious
        
         | pmarcelll wrote:
         | Pressure is not an issue since a vibratory pump in the most
         | basic espresso machine can produce 15 bar of pressure quite
         | easily. In fact, manufacturers have to put an overpressure
         | valve in their machines to limit maximum pressure to the
         | optimal 9 bar.
         | 
         | Also, this project is about sophisticated temperature and
         | pressure/flow control, something even many/most professional
         | machines simply can't do. So I really don't think the person
         | who built this machine lacks experience in brewing coffee.
        
           | andrewxdiamond wrote:
           | Pressure is resistance to flow. In the aeropress, the coffee
           | and the plastic filter screen resist flow and thus create
           | pressure.
           | 
           | Not very much pressure, but there is pressure
        
         | qbasic_forever wrote:
         | Espresso is typically made with 9 bar of pressure.
         | 
         | An aeropress doesn't actually generate any pressure. It just
         | moves a column of water through a puck of coffee like a
         | percolator. You can buy some special add-ons for the aeropress
         | that cause it to build pressure but it's really just for
         | generating more foamy/crema brew and not getting a proper
         | espresso shot out of it. All that said the aeropress is still
         | awesome and a great way to brew coffee, it's just not going to
         | replicate espresso shots.
        
           | BlandDuck wrote:
           | About the Aeropress, I guess the question is: When I press it
           | down (in my case, using the elbow for added pressure) how
           | many bars can a typical user reach?
        
             | anon84873628 wrote:
             | Maybe 1 bar. You need a big lever or pump to get more than
             | that. Check out the Flair or Wacoco brands if you want
             | entry level manual espresso.
        
             | DoubleFree wrote:
             | Let's do a little calculation. For an upper bound, let's
             | say you press your full weight onto it and the coffee
             | grounds' resistance is not the limiting factor. That's
             | maybe 90kg, times the acceleration of gravity, for about
             | 900 newtons. That force is applied to a pi*(30mm)^2 or
             | ~3^-3 m^2 area. That gives us a pressure of 900/3e-3 = 3e5
             | Pa or 3 bars.
        
               | valarauko wrote:
               | Hoffmann measured this with a pressure sensor modded
               | aeropress - most typical brews would not exceed half a
               | bar.
        
               | klausa wrote:
               | Getting over 1 bar gets you to a spray of coffee that
               | sprays everywhere: https://youtu.be/Qz_GZpzpst4?t=500
        
             | valarauko wrote:
             | James Hoffmann answered this with a modded aeropress with a
             | pressure sensor: a typical aeropress brew is in the range
             | of half a bar. The max he could achieve was 1.5 bars, but
             | like he says, no one brews like that. He also found
             | anything past 0.5 bars began to taste awful.
             | 
             | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBXm8fCWdo8
        
           | quijoteuniv wrote:
           | No. The aim of the aeropress is good extraction , not
           | foam/cream. And i doubt you get 9 bars from that thing in the
           | photo. Therefore i suggest an aeropress (and learn about
           | extraction and taste) instead of building a machine without
           | understanding the principle of brewing a shot. For which you
           | need a ceramic grinder by the way. But do not get me wrong, i
           | am all for open source and building things. It might not be
           | about coffee though.
        
             | anon84873628 wrote:
             | What? The way you are responding to qbasic doesn't make
             | sense.
             | 
             | Their point was simply that the high pressure attachment
             | only creates the superficial appearance of crema, not
             | actual espresso.
        
             | klausa wrote:
             | Almost nobody is using ceramic burrs. All the top grinders
             | you see in people's homes and most cafes will be using
             | steel burrs.
             | 
             | Your EK43's, Mythos Ones, EG-1s etc have steel burrs.
        
         | falsenapkin wrote:
         | How do you know this person hasn't had plenty of relevant
         | experience? And no hard disagree on aeropress. You can make
         | great espresso at the correct temperature/pressure with non-pro
         | machines. I make a few a week with a Flair Pro 2 and they're
         | very consistent. Like <$700 for lever+grinder+kettle. I also
         | have an aeropress and it's fine but they make different drinks.
        
       | ladberg wrote:
       | Hah, I clicked expecting an open source version of Apple's on-
       | device ML runtime.
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2023-03-27 23:00 UTC)