Ooh, now I like tha WDT tool it looks very sophisticated, very Mayfair.Whereas mine… more Old Kent Road…


Mine is a bit of a step up from a cocktail stick, thought I’d splash the cash 😲

DavecUK unstickied the discussion .
10 days later

@danielpugh

54.9 mm. Got stuck at the customs for 2 weeks.

@DavecUK - I am not sure if a thread already exists. I couldn’t find. Thx

    Merged 96 posts from What did the postman bring today?.

    LMSC am not sure if a thread already exists. I couldn’t find. Thx

    It’s this thread, so I merged yours with it

      Well I got this yesterday and just opened it…will get started on it tomorrow.

      I’m taking a slightly different approach to this one….It’s a retailer evaluation (to see if they want to sell it) more than a full-blown review. The reviews take many 100s of hours. The little sandbox smart was so much work to review, especially as I had to use a different camera, not my phone one, and paste in the application roasting real-time data, matching the speed to the video on a separate camera

      My thoughts to Bella Barista can be summarised as:

      • Let people see what I am doing and my impressions
      • Let me Vlog it if you like (now this isn’t for the likes and subscribes, my channel is not monetised to I don’t car)
      • It saves me a lot of hours to do it this way, there still won’t be production values
      • Sandbox get to absolutely see my comments all over YouTube, and they can choose or choose not to take notice.
      • If Bella Barista decide not to stock it….you can draw your own conclusions from the videos and they don’t have to explain why, which just looks like sour grapes, or a retailer trying to turn you off a product, because they don’t sell it.
      • I get a bit fed up with evaluating stuff that’s not great BB don’t stock it but other people do
      • I am not sure if there have been other reviews on Youtube, but I want to make my own mind up forst
      • I wouldn’t mind a manual, but I hope I will figure it out, or perhaps be able to download one

      I and Bella Barista want you to go into this one eyes open….even if they decide not to stock it. It’s always important to me that anything I review is worth buying. I don’t normally like to do a negative review….those go to manufacturers and retailers. However, this one is on Kickstarter, it’s a lot of money. So you deserve to see everything. My thoughts on the price from a UK stockis based on the Taiwan price (adding VAT and Import duties) is slightly north of £2200, but that is a guess. Obviously if you go direct to the manufacturer you have shipping on top….and for this baby…I would not recommend buying direct from Taiwan.

      I think it’s called the Sandbox Smart R2 and it has a 550g capacity….the market has actually needed a small roaster with this sort of Capacity as 100g-150g is not enough for larger consumers…. So join me on this journey over the next few weeks and let’s see what it can do!

      My plans over the next few days are to:

      • inspect it and understand the parts
      • try and find a downloadable manual or some videos of basic use
      • Find a 2 amp USB power supply for something I think will be useless
      • See if my app can update to this model of roaster, apparently you can just select it…hopefully the app will hold both the Sandbox 1 and Sandbox 2
      • Gird my loins and bung some beans in after a bit of study and see what happens on autopilot.

      I will try it initially in the kitchen, but my extractor fan isn’t super brilliant…so will probably end up decanting it to the workshop. 550g of beans is going to produce a fair bit of smoke! I don’t want to roast in the kitchen as I suspect I know what will happen…but I will take one for the team!

        DavecUK Wow Dave! I had thought you will be reviewing this piece when you wrote you have got a roaster. What a journey this is going to be! You are a great story teller. We are looking forward! 😊

        Got a Hario v60 filter holder and a Hario bean storage canister today.

        Received a 51.6mm tamper and a pressure profiling kit for my La Pavoni Europiccola from Coffee Sensor this morning. I have to say I’m seriously impressed by the speed of delivery at 36 hours after ordering from Romania to UK.



          Flat_Eric Nice, I dream of one day owning those two. Just TOO expensive for me at the moment.

            Sham Yes, they’re not cheap. I would love a big lever machine but I really don’t have anywhere to put it. I’ve considered something like the Lelit Bianca, I could probably justify it as part of my hobby but it is a big chunk of cash when I live on a pension. So in that sense, the PPK for the Europiccola is a justifiable expense; it feeds my need to buy more “stuff” for my coffee corner and it keeps my upgradeitis in check. 😁

            Grill - we mainly use for Panini and Grill Sandwitch.

            Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

              Cuprajake Be interesting to see the roast coffee and a bit about how they taste…especially whether they match any taste notes on the bag. Can’t quite make out what the coffees are?

              Ive been inpressed with northstar so far.

              The 1kg is Brazil Fazenda Rainha Da Paz

              Milk Chocolate | Date | Hazelnut

              This one tastes of all three, esp the hazelnut. When youve finished the drink and the cups been left theres such a nice aroma, almost a butterscotch smell

              The second is El Salvador Finca Margarita

              Cherry | Orange | Marzipan

              Ive one tried this one once and was a tad out on the dialing in, ran a bit quick. For a first time i had a sweet aftertaste with what i describe as a coated tongue, and thats through a eb super fine basket

              Decent De1pro v1.45 - Niche Duo - Niche Zero - Decent is the best machine ever made -

              Not quite received today but did get this email today! Black Friday was funny (sorry couldn’t find that thread to post this on so thought I’d throw it up here!) but now they using Valentine’s Day to sell off at discount?!!