IMO, any features that has been applied to a coffee machine surely is an improvement, but not all are for a real espresso in the cup benefit.
Trying to mention some other recent “innovations” strictly for the espresso in the cup benefit, i would say the Slayer shot system, the KVDW E61 mod, the introduction of the gear pump for pressure profiling.
Bottomless portafilter?
I wonder how many innovations we could churn out if we designed a machine from the bottom up engineering wise. A lot of professional or prosumer machines have decades of legacy designs/systems. One thing I’m keen on is keeping the total cost low (which is actually the hardest part).
Sham I wonder how many innovations we could churn out if we designed a machine from the bottom up engineering wise
In my opinion, the Decent is the closest thing to what you described above right now. No boilers. That’s an achievement and a half in my book.
But it ain’t cheap.
Sham Why not open a new dedicated thread, i’m sure will be an interesting reading
MediumRoastSteam Decent is pretty good, but too expensive. A lot of their components are actually really cheap, but their development costs were too high hence the high price. From looking at some of their posts their R&D process seemed very inefficient. The actual thermo coil system for the water and steam is sub £100, not sure how long they spent doing fluid heat simulations, but I guess that added a lot to the cost. They have to recoup it somewhere.
Sham I’ve seen quite a few (and tried building myself) a co2 powered simple espresso machine using a 3d printer primarily. Comes to under $100 and is quite ‘innovative’ i guess. Thias one is cool https://www.fourbardesign.com/2020/10/diy-espresso.html I did consider a 3d printing ceramic burrs on demand too, but its all dried up as I have got a bit consumed by my current project. (Copy scanners are hard to build ok)
It’s easy to motorise hand grinders for example but I think we’re only starting to enter the ability for the consumer to design and engineer as currently metal and ceramic 3d printing and cnc machining is in infancy, and you still need prosumer equipment like kilns and lasers to do things right. In 10 or 20 years we should be able to 3d print a basket or boiler for example, but currently this costs $$$ to buy. Similarly any PCB design needs sent off for manufacture currently and it all adds time and money.
I look at coffee machines sometimes and see a slight disconnect between the information era and the previous one. I know we have a lot of talented engineers here like dave and tompo but most of that knowledge seems mechanical, and sometimes I wonder if other than Sage, any other manufacturers even care about costs insofar as design or they just don’t want to employ the kind of people who might flip the philosophy around.
A lot of the best work seems to be stuff like @hornbyben does (or the guy who made the kit) who are modding older machines to bring expensive functionality. Probably because of the prohibitive cost in ordering pcbs and printing metal parts.
capuchin That CO2 espresso design is quite nice, but a bit wasteful. These guys did it with an air pump instead which seems better, but their design is still quite expensive for what it is.
I like how Sage machines are so cheap for what you get, their Bambino range have gotten really popular with espresso enthusiasts. Cheap sheet metal casings and cheap components, but still pretty good shots and milk steaming. Currently there’s the trend of making everything premium and high-end, mainly because it still sells and you get more profit in the end compared to selling cheap machines…
I want to see some serious work going into making a cheap next gen machine, I guess something as iconic and cheap as the gaggia classic.
I have been following a youtube page called Niti The Craft Shop. They do a lot of conversions based on the Staresso, some CO2 powered from small sodastream type cylinders, some from larger cylinders. I suppose that nitrous oxide gas cylinders would work too.
Here is a video showing a bicycle pump powered version.
Doesn’t look too expensive, I’m tempted to have a go at converting my Staresso.
Sham I still use a bambino plus in the office! Thinking of getting a Sage DB over a bianca to replace it. Sage are probably the only ‘consumer’ company making machines right now, but I do wonder if some of the old school design is getting lost with them. Probably not, but I don’t have much insight into the company itself. I think CO2 is good because essentially its cheap if you can recharge the canisters yourself, and it’s fast. You have me wondering about a design now though - You need to grind the beans anyway so why not get use the motor to compress air at the same time, which can then be used to pull the shot. I suspect it’s a wanting for profits wanting to drive the costs up.
I want a machine that can ‘dial in’ for me, but of the current companies I think only sage could really accomplish that. I’ve messed around with it, but it seems quite complex.
@Norvin I think the co2/air route is best used on the road or elsewhere where you have no access to big amounts of power.
