MediumRoastSteam
A picture or video is worth a thousand words. But here are the thousand words 😁 I’ll do a video when I have a moment.
The water tank is a ceramic tray (rectangular with about 3 inch sides) that sits between the legs of the machine. It’s width is slightly less than the inside distance between the legs of the machine. Its depth runs from the back of the machine to front face of the machine (about ⅔ of the full grouphead to backplate length of the machine). Its height runs from just above your counter top to the underside of the machine. The drip tray sits in front of it, on top of the legs, below the grouphead. The water tank has no cover (the machine is effectively the cover).
To fill it, you remove the drip tray (another ceramic tray with a top stainless steel grate). You then pop off the back plate of the machine (which is velcro’d there for cosmetic purposes only; I think I may remove it as it covers the actual stainless steel back plate of my extended length model). You slide up a lever with one hand and pull forward the ceramic tray with the other. This exposes the tray, which you fill. You then reverse the process.
But there is a gap between the bottom of the machine and the top of the tray. Dust can get in through the gap and into your water, as can insects. This hasn’t happened to me, but it can. And if you move the machine when the tray is very full, water slops over the edge of the tray and on to your counter. This is an issue for me, as I have limited counter space and must push the machine (which sits on sliders that I placed on its rear feet) sideways against the kitchen wall to make room for dinner preparation at the end of the day. So I brought the stainless steel tray cover that Jake is referring to. I have not received mine yet (its enroute to me now).
The fit issue is due to the fact that the water tank/tray is ceramic. Which makes it very easy to clean in your kitchen sink or dishwasher. But it is very challenging to manufacture ceramic goods to precise tolerances, especially the thickness of the tray walls. So the lid dimensions had to spec’d to fit slight variations in the size of the water tray. Which means that it will perfectly fit some trays but not all.
The overall design of this water reservoir system definitely has its pros and cons. You can buy a “refill kit” which effectively is a hose connection between the water intake and a jug that you place beneath your countertop (or a direct connection to a water filter device). You can also buy a counter sink kit that allows you to inset the machine flush to your countertop. So if you invest additional $$$, potentially including renovations to your countertop and/or the purchase of a water filtration system, you can have a very good system. But if you don’t have or want to spend money on that, the water fill system is abit of a pain that you live with.
All of this being said, the Decent has been a hugely positive game changer for me. I’ve learned alot about how to make better tasting espresso. You can apply alot of mental effort or just tap and pour; it’s up to the user. You can use one of Decent’s “profiles” or someone else’s or one that you develop. And then reuse that profile again and again. Or periodically tweak it to match your bean or bean age. Or have a profile just for that bean. But it is definitely not a touchy feely pretty thing like a beautiful lever machine.
