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DiyPresso: DIY Espresso Machine

diypresso.com

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Re: DiyPresso: DIY Espresso Machine

#261

Post by BizarroLand »

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #256
dessimus wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone actually did a blind study comparing flat vs conical grinders with over 150 coffee professionals [0] to find they could not discern a difference in how the coffee was ground before being brewed while controlling for other variables. So it would seem that Audiophiles are the perfect analogy. 0: https://youtu.be/3XYTi6OBecA?t=2400 (Discussion on the study begins around 34:00)

I’d love to see what grinders and specific burrs she used. We also setup a blinded coded triangle test, there was only 3 of us and four grinders: one $5k grinder, 2x$2.5k, one $700. 2 flat 2 conical. The flats have teeth supposedly for filter brewing. One coffee. We picked the grinders correctly. Obviously we could have better methods, but the differences seemed obvious between the flats and conical. Within the same…

I bet the temperature of the beans when they are ground and brewed make more of a difference than the grinder you use.

Re: DiyPresso: DIY Espresso Machine

#262

Post by untech »

BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #229
Thrymr wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And a moka costs $20 and lasts through a nuclear war. Good luck finding quality coffee beans after the war, unless your bunker has a coffee plantation attached.

Nuclear war is unlikely to hit anywhere beans are actually produced. Nobody out there with nukes is like "we gotta wipe out those fuckers in Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, and Indonesia!"

Brazil is a potential superpower. Indonesia is 4th most populous country in the world.

Re: DiyPresso: DIY Espresso Machine

#263

Post by jcgrillo »

Calling this thing "DIY" and shipping a box of prefab components is a little rich... I was expecting to see blueprints for a lever machine or similar not something using a bunch of production components kludged together.

That said, not everyone is looking for a machining project, but this is basically "some assembly required" not really my flavor of "DIY".

Re: DiyPresso: DIY Espresso Machine

#264

Post by jcgrillo »

drrotmos wrote: post #145

The more I think about the more I feel that this is the wrong solution to the problem. Disclaimer: I'm doing a small open source espresso controller project, check it out if you're interested, but it's not ready for prime time yet: https://github.com/variegated-coffee . My thinking is that this machine appeals mostly to people who already has an espresso machine. It's not particularly technologically advanced. It's a…

Personally I really like my Luddite espresso setup--OE hand grinder and La Pavoni lever machine. The tech, pumps, etc really don't do it for me.

The only thing I'd change is the electric heating element. I'd like to be able to use it on my boat where electric BTUs are expensive compared to gas. Maybe there's a DIY boiler in my future.

Re: DiyPresso: DIY Espresso Machine

#265

Post by turnsout »

shrx wrote: post #257
avidphantasm wrote: post #236

Looks cool but for me a manual machine like a Flair is ideal. I don’t have to spend a lot of time or money and I get consistently good espresso.

The downside of all manual espresso machines is that it's difficult to achieve good and consistent head temperatures. Pre-heating takes additional time in the brewing process.

I feel like this is less of an issue than people fear. I use a Robot, and the heat retention is totally sufficient even without preheating.

Re: DiyPresso: DIY Espresso Machine

#266

Post by everybodyknows »

bch wrote: post #233
everybodyknows wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not my Baratza Vario grinder. First two units had line-hot shorted to ground.

Now the big question - was Baratza cool to deal with? I haven’t had too much interaction with them, but I replaced (they sold me) a controller board for my Vario-W for a reasonable price, as well as burrs and the drive. The machines are good for what they are, but their service (what they pride themselves on) is exceptional in my experience.

Yes, response was good.

Re: DiyPresso: DIY Espresso Machine

#267

Post by righthand »

ip26 wrote: post #210
satvikpendem wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pareto principle. I bought a Gaggia but didn't do all of the extra stuff you mentioned, because I simply don't care enough for marginal returns. That's why a moka pot, which I had before, would still not be a good enough successor, because getting just the Gaggia is enough for most people who want to make espresso, the optimizations you talk about, while I have heard of all of them, are pretty much unnecessary if you…

Espresso is a weird animal. In my experience, there’s basically “good espresso” and “bad espresso”. The fancy equipment mostly helps you make the good kind more frequently. Experts can critique your cup, but hitting the sweet spot of “good” feels more like 97% of the output. If anything, the Pareto principle applies instead to the frequency of “good” extraction.

That’s about right. Sometimes my machine makes a great cup and I have no idea what I did that day. Sometimes my cream froths almost instantly, others it barely froths. No discernible difference in steps. Maybe it’s related to horoscopes.

Re: DiyPresso: DIY Espresso Machine

#269

Post by 2muchcoffeeman »

BizarroLand wrote: post #261
2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d love to see what grinders and specific burrs she used. We also setup a blinded coded triangle test, there was only 3 of us and four grinders: one $5k grinder, 2x$2.5k, one $700. 2 flat 2 conical. The flats have teeth supposedly for filter brewing. One coffee. We picked the grinders correctly. Obviously we could have better methods, but the differences seemed obvious between the flats and conical. Within the same…

I bet the temperature of the beans when they are ground and brewed make more of a difference than the grinder you use.

The same bean on my setup with 2 pre-weighed doses at room temp. One dose is vacuum packed and frozen over night.

When making espresso, the frozen beans straight from the freezer, must be ground finer for the same rate of output. And it tastes slightly more intense. I would guess that TDS went up but I can't prove that. All I can prove is that the space between the burrs is smaller.

This is a very different difference than between flats and conicals. If you brew for cupping, that is grinds straight in water, the conicals produce a muddier coffee. Basically more fine bits of coffee are in suspension and you can feel it.

This woman was serving up filter coffee. If she used good filter paper, and ground coffee appropriately, I can totally buy that almost all the fines were removed from the final product and no difference can be tasted.

Re: DiyPresso: DIY Espresso Machine

#270

Post by a10c »

drrotmos wrote: post #145

The more I think about the more I feel that this is the wrong solution to the problem. Disclaimer: I'm doing a small open source espresso controller project, check it out if you're interested, but it's not ready for prime time yet: https://github.com/variegated-coffee . My thinking is that this machine appeals mostly to people who already has an espresso machine. It's not particularly technologically advanced. It's a…

> https://github.com/variegated-coffee

This is your project?

If so, thank you for the ESPHome Acaia component. I repurposed it to do brew-by-weight on my Linea Micra!

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