What Decent do you own and what's your experience been like? Quality? Functionality? Service? Do you still own one? Would you buy it again? Why? Here is my experience thus far. So I have just entered the world of Decent, having acquired a Decent DE1XL V1.42 from a current owner located in Vancouver. It's now sitting in my son's apartment awaiting my pick up in late August. I expect to be operational on August 30. The Decent team are just phenomenonal. Very helpful, very responsive, great service! Their approach to the sale and transfer of ownership of pre-owned units is rightfully very security conscious, but very supportive. They wisely understand that they are gaining new customers and fans. And, I can and will buy an extended warranty for piece of mind and convenience. It's worth every penny (well every $$). They will also sell me version upgrade parts at nominal cost. Assuming that I like the machine, which I am confident I will, Decent will have me hooked into their upgrade path. And an added benefit. As I was able to fund the purchase through prior / excess equipment sales, adding only $600 CDN (well$ 1,000 after I buy the extended warranty), my wife is now acclimated to this next price point in espresso machines 👌

I bought a DE1 Pro v1.43 in October, upgrading from a Gaggia Classic. The upgrade has been incredible in everyway. I get much better coffee from the DE1 and I love the control I can get from it. The integration with the Acaia scales is second to none, I couldn't imagine not using this feature, the ability to stop by weight is incredible. Being able to see the shot parameters mid flight is very useful. In terms of the actual machine, it's small compact and fairly light. I did have an issue in December where the group head ring light froze and I couldn't reset it. I spoke with Decent and I shipped the machine back to them and they repaired a board free of charge ( i didn't pay for shipping) Would I buy it again? - Yes. It's offerings are completely unique at the price point.

Congrats on the purchase @"JHCCoffee"#639 I've had my DE1XL for 2.5 years now. Hasn't missed a beat and comes with a life time extendable warranty. That speaks volumes about John Buckmans confidence in the durability of his machines. A swirl of espresso machines have come and gone around my Decent in those two and a half years.. It's simply extraordinary. For example, this morning I used a DF64V with Gorrilla Gear burrs which pairs well the "Adaptive" profile for medium roasted beans very well. Well balanced, full bodied, full flavored. Later I used a Niche Duo with SSP Espresso burrs and with just two taps on the tablet I switched to another solid match in Scott Rao's "Blooming" profile (designed for lighter roasts) and enjoyed all the bright juicy intenstity that those burrs can offer up. Adding to the easy-to-access diversity of options on the Decent, the Decent Diaspora has members such as John Weiss, the Barista Hustle guy, Scott Rao, John Buckman and a host of other vastly experienced and helpful professionals posting and contributing to anwers. It's really quite extraordinary. Almost as good as CT! People love or hate the Decent. They are like a black jellybean: people who like them tend to love them and the rest can't stand them. And that's just fine. Celebrate that diversity of opinions. Accept and applaud differences. The Decent is the mainstay of my coffee island... [URL=https://i.imgur.com/noTa2gn.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/noTa2gn.jpg[/IMG][/URL] PS my first shot of the day generally has me simply pushing the button through blurry eyes, just to get a quick caffiene fix. So it's not all about nerding out. The Decent can be as simple or as complex as you enjoy making it.

Thanks @"tompoland"#121. I appreciate your Decent insights. That's definitely a full bench! Just curious. What brand is the pour over kettle and base on the right side of the bench. I’d like something that is more temperature controlable than my current stovetop gooseneck kettle.

@"JHCCoffee"#p50221 yes Fellow Stagg with optional wood accents. Hario Server 01 with a Hario Switch on top. Acaia Pearl scale. The Stagg features a useful "hold" option that will keep the water at the set temperature for up to an hour.

I have the scales and the connection has died on one of the buttons. Despite it being a common occurrence they are not interested. Seems like they view the scales as a beta play thing that their customers who buy £4K machines can view as disposable and buy the next model they release. Won’t buy from them again.

> @"simonc"#p50391 have the scales and the connection has died on one of the buttons. Despite it being a common occurrence they are not interested. Seems like they view the scales as a beta play thing that their customers who buy £4K machines can view as disposable and buy the next model they release. > Won’t buy from them again. That’s unfortunate. They should stand behind everything that they sell. I’ve had pretty good service thus far. Who did you deal with?

@"simonc"#p50391 I’m sorry you’ve had that experience, that seems really weird. I’ve had several dealings with Decent and their support team, and they have been amazingly helpful every single time. I had an issue with one of the buttons on my v1 scale and they replaced the entire scale for free with the updated v1.2 model. It hasn’t missed a beat since. I’d definitely raise this with them again. I know John was away on a trip recently but should be back now. If it was me I’d go through the Decent support portal on their website or message him directly on Diaspora and I’m sure he’ll sort this for you.

I like that the machine heats up quickly, I just wonder how long it takes for the portafilter to heat too? There’s always the kettle to speed things a long but when spending £3k that seems a bit bonkers. I’d say by BDB takes 10 minutes from a cold start.

@"simonc"#p50391 Seems their entire approach is beta... granted some are fine with constant beta testing and 'possible' improvements, but when I buy an item I like it to be quite finished and tried/true for some time to come. Decent has approached trying to bring out the ultimate in every type of item coffee related, but IMBHO most items look like child's play, but to each their own. Seems every other month an updated version of their machine will be available... like oh it's 1.45111 in 2 weeks and there will be a slight price increase, blah blah blah. Personally don't care to have a featherweight espresso setup with that type of water reservoir among other oddities. More power to those constantly seeking, but rarely finding, satisfying cutting edge items that are never fully refined. I like something that will work every single time I need it to and do so indefinitely and have parts available infinitely.

Decent Experience and Poll

Cuprajake

From reading he wants to go commercial and do all the services etc. Not sure if true or not

tompoland

The Bengle wil be safety certified for commercial use. The other models are not.

JonWoo187

dfk41 The whole influencer thing is a joke to begin with. Honestly who cares what others find works for them when every setup will vary in a different environment, various coffees being used, etc… If the social media garbage didn’t pay out in some way most of the videos would never exist as that’s the primary reason for it regardless of what some wanna claim.

One in particular was a product pimp for Breville, which is junk… as well as Baratza at one point, more junk… as well as Onxy Coffee which is over priced/hyped crap.

JonWoo187

tompoland Extraordinary duo, bwahaha… Seems Gagne might be trying to incorporate a bit much on the scientific end and IMBHO coffee (especially espresso) is the same as roasting in that it’s ⅓ skill, ⅓ art form and ⅓ science. Maybe he should stick with boring astrophysics as coffee is far more involved!

Regarding Rao, never been impressed with his style of roasting or arrogance… to each their own obviously as I’ll never get caught up following the typical (usually short lived) fad.

Regarding the Decent as the thread suggests, maybe one day they will actually get the thing maxed out and performing to the claimed/expected standards. Never used one and have no intention, but what I’ve read from plenty of users is it’s more of a jack of all trades, but clearly master of none.

JammyDodger

JonWoo187 Never used one and have no intention

Yes I find this the best of all ways to form a reasoned opinion.

Joking aside, surely we are better on this forum than just regurgitating whatever third-hand information has slopped into our echo chamber? Let’s keep on topic.

tompoland

JonWoo187

Never pulled a shot from one but you’ve reached a firm conclusion on them.

And it is Rao who is arrogant.

DavecUK

Something has been happening recently on another forum, and similar has happened in the past from the same manufacturer. Where a customer has not only been treated shabbily, but the manufacturer has gone out of their way to blame the customer. This prompted me to say…the Decent sales experience seems a good one, John works very hard to ensure customer satisfaction.

Cuprajake

Yeah I don’t mind john as a manufacturer, very open and honest, always looking to improve and the decent vids are some of the best manufacturer vids out there, lelit insider is another good channel

I find it odd more manufacturer dont do it.

JonWoo187

tompoland Yep, no fanboy here

tompoland

Real time manual adjustment of pressure or flow by tapping the group head. A bit of a party trick, not sure I’d ever use it.

JammyDodger

tompoland Real time manual adjustment of pressure or flow by tapping the group head. A bit of a party trick, not sure I’d ever use it.

I use it quite a lot when initially dialling in a new bean Tom. I don’t always know the grind size required on the Niche to get a tasty shot with the correct flow rate on the first go. With the manual flow control I can get it pretty much dialled in by watching the flow rate, and will adjust the profile or grind setting afterwards to fine tune it.

Generally though I agree, the DE1 is automated enough that once a bean is dialled, you get exactly what you’ve requested every time.

Igm45

JammyDodger

Like Tom, when I watched the video I couldn’t see myself using it.

However, the case use you suggested seems ideal. Thanks for sharing.

tompoland

JammyDodger ooh that’s very useful to know. great tip thanks JD.

MattH

Just watched this - interesting for me in that its the first time I have seen the machine unpacked and setup.

Have to say very impressed - liked the case and how it was packed. Also like the ceramics used for the drip tray and tank. Also liked the clear see through look - I would think it woudl be useful to keep an eye on the system without dismantling.

BrendaninBrooklyn

MattH Decent is the only machine I’d like if not using levers.

Cuprajake

There a machine that has always intrigued me, but I’ve never pulled the trigger on one

I’ve read loads of positive and negatives but that goes for any machine.

Just the noise that does me in haha

tompoland

Had the DE1XL for three years now. Lots of other espresso machines have come and gone around it. It can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. They are a very well thought out machine.

Access to presets/recipes from an active community of espresso obsessed nerds to sample on demand at the push of a button is pretty cool.

There is no “best” machine out there, but the Decent is certainly my favourite.

Chriss29

At this time the likely replacement for my Sage Dual Boiler is a Decent.

My only concerns are longevity. I’m pretty sure a Bianca for example will be serviceable for 10 years plus but will Decent be around then? Probably and if not I believe a lot of components are off the shelf.

A couple of questions I had for existing users is:

Can you enter coffee bean data on the tablet ie the roaster, orgin, roast date etc? If so I presume you can analyse this data fairly easily?
Does the portafilter heat up in the group or does it require a few flushes?

Thanks in advance!

tompoland

Chriss29 My only concerns are longevity. I’m pretty sure a Bianca for example will be serviceable for 10 years plus but will Decent be around then? Probably and if not I believe a lot of components are off the shelf.

So far, so good. Five years in the wild and very few issues reported. John Buckman has been pretty fussy about component quality.

tompoland

Chriss29 A couple of questions I had for existing users is:

Can you enter coffee bean data on the tablet ie the roaster, orgin, roast date etc? If so I presume you can analyse this data fairly easily?
Does the portafilter heat up in the group or does it require a few flushes?

Don’t think you can enter data. There may be a “skin” (display interface) for that but I’ve only used the stock skin. Alternate skins abound.

Yes the portafilter heats up in the group and the metal temperature is displayed on the tablet.

Igm45

Chriss29

I use despresso app on the iPad. That allows you to enter roaster name/bean/origin etc to build a data set. It also automatically uploads your shot to the visualiser website - this can be shared with other users to fine-tune your shots.

JammyDodger

Chriss29 Can you enter coffee bean data on the tablet ie the roaster, orgin, roast date etc? If so I presume you can analyse this data fairly easily?

Just to answer this point, yes you can enter all data into the tablet including roaster, origin, roast date, how much you liked it etc through an extension called ‘Describe Your Espresso’. It makes it really easy to keep track of which beans/origins etc you like best, and which grind setting you used to really make them sing.

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