Originally published at: James Hoffmann reviews a $20k espresso machine | Boing Boing
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Huh. I’m not sure how it’s worth it? We just replaced a €1000 machine that my wife had to have at the beginning of pandemic with a €100 Nespresso Vertuo machine that’s infinitely faster, easier to use, and more reliable. The coffee it makes is just as good without all the fucking around. I sold the old one to our local pho shop guy so he can have the joys of fiddling around with it.
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I totally agree that the beans and grind (even) are key to taste, but would also add that the roast can make or break the brew. I believe many over-roast their beans to try to get some sort of consistency, but I can’t stand burnt tasting coffee.
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Gah, Hoffmann has me coveting the 9barista which is already out of my reach… the least amount of fuss the better… in terms of design this 20k rig would make Max Bill’s stomach turn I bet!
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I like watching James Hoffmann, as a calm, rational host, frequently discussing absolutely crazy coffee equipment and/or practice. I primarily use a $35 Clever Dripper, and have aspirations to one day own some sort of espresso machine, but probably either a manual press, or like a $200-300 Breville machine. Decent espresso for a decent price. Though as a mechanical engineer, the industrial design of these prohibitively expensive pieces of coffee-making gear are always fascinating.
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It has the speed of a nespresso with the control of a decent espresso machine. No preheating necessary, and no pods.
Ah-- what do I know about speed? I use a flair.
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I’m just over here descaling my Coffee Gator like a pleb.
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I watched the video yesterday coincidentally and the main takeaway that i recall is that it has a particular new approach to heating water that is instant and requires no preheating. His conclusion is to just wait until the tech eventually makes it onto less expensive machines
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Where do I begin on the profligate narcissism of a society where such a ridiculous item exists…?!
Please, errant asteroid from the Oort cloud, descend upon us and wipe the slate clean.
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At least this is useful. You must’ve missed the “gold plated VR headset” I posted. Let’s increase the weight of something (by 1.5 kg*) that should be light.
* As a point of reference, the weight increase is that of ~3 PSVR2 headsets.
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I’m good with my $45 1992 Mr Coffee espresso machine, thanks.
If anyone can recommend a cheap burr grinder, though…
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Mr Hoffman has many videos reviewing grinders at various price points, electric or manual, etc.
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I have a Smart Grinder Pro.
Got it for about 150.
I use it for espresso, so I don’t use the extra course grind settings (where others have asured me that it’s weakest. The espresso grind is comfortably less fine than the finest it can grind.
I will say that it’s better than
by a long shot.
I tend to buy things because the previous incarnation has regrettably failed, so all my opinions tend to be clouded by the notion that things weren’t decent, and were therefore a waste of money. or they were decent and therefore I don’t have the money to buy something just to compare.
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I believe it’s to get “strong” taste out of not enough and lesser beans. It’s bitter and horrible and the taste of petrol station machine coffee.
And Fourbucks. That place sucks at coffee.
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I have a Capresso Infinity Conical Burr Grinder, and i think one of the contributors of BB recommended it. I bought it at the time for 80 bucks on an Amazon sale, like it fine and have no real complaints about it beyond it holding onto grounds and me having to slap it around to get it to all come out. I mainly use it for my drip coffee but i could see myself spending a little bit more for a nicer grinder some day in the future.
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That makes me almost nostalgic for my barista days.
Almost.
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Yep.
For many years, I thought “dark roast” meant “strong flavour”. I also thought espresso had to be a bit harsh and bitter to get the flavour depth. That was all before that day I had an espresso in a hole-in-the-wall Italian place. The signage all said “medium roast”, which I thought would be too mild for my tastes, but I was craving coffee and this was what I could get to quickly, so…
Jaysus. It was rich and strong and delicious and and smooth and not bitter at all and what the hell was I drinking before???
Since then, I’ve sought good medium-roast beans.
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I use one of these, because it forces me to stop what I’m doing and just grind some beans for a few minutes. I deliberately picked something that was not convenient, because I was looking for something that took as much time as a cigarette break, but without the smoking.
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