Continuing the $365 portafilter theme, I give you ... ta daaaa... the moonraker... https://youtu.be/6Xu3pWOPVdA Let the howls of derision begin!

I may as well get in first: with the cost of a unifilter and a moonraker you could buy a new Breville Dual Boiler. Any yet the Ultra Moonraker sold out in two hours. Not sure how many units that was but I suspect it was a decent number. I guess that there is still plenty of money around when they can sell a moonraker for around $US500 which does the job of a paperclip or Dave's toothpick. Mind you, he must be on at least his third one by now. I know, I know, it's better than a paperclip or a toothpick ... or is it? Not saying I wouldn't buy, just saying it's amazing what's happening at the top end of the market.

But then if it wasn't excruciatingly expensive, it wouldn't be a Weber. I mentioned in another thread that I was fortunate enough to have a chat with Douglas Weber when at MICE last year. I was trying to convince him to develop a hybrid grinder but he wasn't having any of it because he didn't think that it would achieve anything more than a normal pre-breaker on a large conical like an 83mm Mazzer Robur (HG-1 and 2, Key) . There's a slight chance to be knows a lot more about these things than me but nevertheless he was very patient with my persistent pleadings. The upshop of the conversation was that he didn't want to develop any products unless it was going to make a difference. Something new or something better or something different. And you would have to say that he's consistently stuck to that philosophy right from the outset. Color me impressed.

While it’s staggeringly expensive, it is definitely a thing of beauty. I’m going to stick with my piece wood with a few needles I though

This seems to be the way the coffee industry is going……god help us!

Weber at this point are taking the pee with the prices The guy is using his apple knowledge very well Fool and his money comes to mind. But hey if you can afford it then why not Ive only ever had one Weber product the bean cellers and they lasted less than a year. Each to their own but this is a bit ott for me.

As a fan of Swiss mechanical watches, I approve.

Question is… those cogs are needed in a watch or a clock. But why are they needed in a distribution tool? 🤔

@"MediumRoastSteam"#p42569 Because without them the $485 markup on a standard WDT tool would be an even bigger ask, even for Weber!

To be fair I do really like it, fantastic piece of engineering and WDT aside I can see it bringing a little moment of joy every time it’s used. Obviously very expensive taken at face value but I suppose the coffee equivalent of a Leica or Patek.

They are defo going for the James Bond vibe with that music… I notice Moonraker has the TM after it.. wonder if they had to license the name (or they have). Love the look - very mechanical watch… but wow.. I like a gadget but would draw the line there ! @"tompoland"#121 There is a standard version you can still buy - and 150 dollars cheaper 👍

Weber moonraker

MediumRoastSteam

I’ve been getting good results with my printed WDT tool. My workflow now does not involve funnels, and any mess is contained inside the WDT tool box, so no coffee fines on the counter anymore. And… it’s a win win for consistency: 10 spins on the thing (notice there’s a handle which makes turning it a lot simpler).

DavecUK

MediumRoastSteam You should bring it next time you visit…..

JHCCoffee

MediumRoastSteam been getting good results with my printed WDT tool. My workflow now does not involve funnels, and any mess is contained inside the WDT tool box, so no coffee fines on the counter anymore. And… it’s a win win for consistency: 10 spins on the thing (notice there’s a handle which makes turning it a lot simpler).

Thanks MRS. So what is your updated (step by step) workflow now?

As for the tool, how many long vs short needles did you install? What thickness? How slow or fast do you turn the wheel?

Are you seeing any channeling or uneveness?Better or worse than manual WDT?

MediumRoastSteam

DavecUK I will do!

tompoland

Jury is still out for me on these devices. They are clearly more consistent than a puck rake but I’m not seeing that they get to each corner of the basket.

Consistent but perhaps not thorough.

I’m going to wait for Matt Pragers Urban Barista version and run some side by side tests using an acrylic/transparent basket and video the results.

DavecUK

tompoland Jury is still out for me on these devices. They are clearly more consistent than a puck rake but I’m not seeing that they get to each corner of the basket.

At the price of the moon racker it’s not for me, but cheaper made ones…who knows.

MediumRoastSteam

DavecUK - Dave, are you doing any form of WDT these days?

tompoland

DavecUK like most Weber products it’s hard to justify the cost relative to other options. It’s certainly a thing of beauty but I wouldn’t be recommending it at the current price.

I suspect that as worthy competitors emerge such as Matt Pragers AutoComb (had a play with one today at Melbourne International Cofee Exhibition) Weber will have to cut their price dramatically like they did with the unibasket (roughly 50% drop in price overnight) after Pasedo came out with their HE basket at 20% of the original unifilter price.

DavecUK

MediumRoastSteam Dave, are you doing any form of WDT these days?

Not really, sometimes I might with certain grinders, usually if grinding directly into portafiler. This is usually to sweep static coffee from the portafilter ring.

chlorox

tompoland

What did u think of the auto comb?

MediumRoastSteam

Another video for those interested. Sorry it’s not top production quality, and my phone is just leaning against a glass so hopefully in position!

And the aftermath. After that I just tamped with the Bravo. This is using the Niche Duo, and, as you can see not perfectly dialed in for those beans just yet. Coffee is Kenyan from Wogan Coffee roasters in Bristol, UK.

tompoland

chlorox well it was interesting.

Completely different design to the likes of the moonraker. I liked the way that it got very close to the edge of the basket which is one of my concerns about the spirographic models I’ve used so far (moonraker, 3D printed sent to me for testing, etsy).

Matt Prager said he’ll email me a link to order an AutoComb at a special price and I committed to producing a review/comparison between that and the Moonraker. I have an acrylic basket which means I can shoot a video and show what’s happening to the grinds, not just on the surface but also on the sides and bottom. I’ll also shoot videos of several pours with each.

Then of course I’d like to also compare the winner of that comparison to using a WDT puck rake.

Currently I’m sticking to my Sworksdesign puck rake with 11× 0.25mm needles which I suspect results in a more thorough distribution even if it is not more consistent. I’m not yet convinced that other options are better. Consistency without thoroughness is not especially helpful.

And right now I couldn’t recommend the Moonraker other than to admire its beauty. And my goodness it is a thing of beauty.

chlorox

tompoland

My manual wdt tool is also partially based on the sworkdesign distribution of needles as well and I like it’s results too.

On the auto comb, did barista hustle say if they r planning to make it for different portsfiltet sizes like the LSM 54.4mm size? Or will their normal auto comb also fit smaller portafilters like the LSM size? I asked them that question through their website but received no reply.

tompoland

chlorox they r planning to make it for different portsfiltet sizes like the LSM 54.4mm size?

I’m not aware of any plans in that direction

MediumRoastSteam

Link to auto comb: https://baristahustletools.com/autocomb

« Previous Page