[decent_espresso]

Is the 0.0001 term on the denominator there to avoid the possibility of dividing by zero?

Exactly.

 

[decent_espresso]

Drop testing the DE1XL suitcase

We've made new suitcase internals so that our larger DE1XL espresso machine, and all its parts, can fit inside.

We were worried that we'd risked the safety of the components, especially the ceramic parts, and so we dropped-tested the suitcase, with a machine and its parts, a full 11 times, to make sure the new foam help everything safely.

 

[decent_espresso]

Robot-made mirrored front faces

I've written before about how difficult it is to make perfect mirror panel front faces. We've previously had samples from 5 manufacturers, and settled on one for the past year.

They only were able to deliver 300 of the 550 panels we ordered for our DE1 v1.3 run. Small scratches from the manufacturing process cause little flaws, that mean we have to totally reject the part:

Instead of starting with perfect mirrors, as we do now, we're trying a new process, whereby we coat the panels with a PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) mirror coating, once all the cuts have been made. Our current manufacturer can't do that, so we're trialing 2 new producers. One sent us this video of their robot making our test run of 50 panels:

We'll shortly have these in our hands, and be able to see if this is a more promising approach to making this part.

We're also trying a new design, where we only mirror-plate the upward-facing lip. We'll make the rest of the panel brushed steel. The idea is to have an easier to maintain surface (brushed) with a mirror just where you need it (on the mirror looking into the bottom of the espresso shot).

-john

 

[decent_espresso]

The Decent Suitcase

Two days ago, I mentioned something about a DE1XL suitcase, but I think lots of people don't realize:

Every Decent Espresso Machine comes in a custom made suitcase. The high density foam is die cut for each component.

This makes it easy for you to take your espresso machine with you. Also, if we ever need to pick up your machine and ship it back to our repair center, it is well protected.

It's a bit more expensive for us to make a high quality suitcase, than it is to use cardboard and styrofoam. However, I think it's much more ecological to make something permanent instead of disposable packaging.

In the past, the larger DE1XL model has not fit into the suitcase, and so we have shipped customers a DE1PRO, and (separately) a conversion kit. This meant it they had to convert their DE1XL back to a DE1PRO to transport it. That's not ideal.

With our v1.3 DE1XL model, we've figured out how to fit everything into our suitcase, but with a different arrangement, and totally different die-cut foam. We were very nervous that the more compact packing of a accessories might compromise their safety, which is why we did the 11 drop tests, which you can see in the recent video.

Now that the new foam design has been designed, we'll soon be able to make the v1.3 DE1XL model and ship it in its own custom suitcase.

-john

-john

 

[filthynines]

As somebody waiting for the DE1XL that is very good news. Were you holding off making the XLs until this was finalised?

 

[decent_espresso]

As somebody waiting for the DE1XL that is very good news. Were you holding off making the XLs until this was finalised?

Yes, exactly. I want to ship DE1XLs in a suitcase for v1.3, and not ask people (as we did for v1.1) to assemble it themselves.

-john

 

[decent_espresso]

<img data-fileid="37632" data-ratio="74.90" width="1000" alt="doggy.thumb.jpg.9a466d3d3d2ea82c348ee8831a1028f1.jpg" data-src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2020_04/doggy.thumb.jpg.9a466d3d3d2ea82c348ee8831a1028f1.jpg" src="https://www.coffeeforums.co.uk/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Doggy in a cart

Decent owner and small-roaster/entrepreneur Karl Vonmecklenburg http://bubblebeans.biz recently put a Decent Coffee Cart together https://decentespresso.com/coffeecart

However, as Decent is temporarily out of knockboxes, Karl has been quite creative about uses for the hole in the table, ready for that knockbox.

There's a beer tap, a dog, a vinyl DJ setup...

Quite a funny guy, this Karl. He is wonderfully not embarrassed to put his "bloops and blunders" online, where they make for a funny interlude.
https://www.bubblebeans.biz/post/bubble-beans-bloops-and-blunders

-john

 

[filthynines]

Yes, exactly. I want to ship DE1XLs in a suitcase for v1.3, and not ask people (as we did for v1.1) to assemble it themselves.

-john

Did I read somewhere that you're also waiting on some components to come in?

 

[decent_espresso]

Did I read somewhere that you're also waiting on some components to come in?

Yes, we're waiting for the legs and mirrored front faces to come in. The v1.3 DE1XL has a front panel pushbutton, for standby power, that the other models don't have.

But.. all should arrive about the same time, hopefully in a month.

-j

 

[filthynines]

Yes, we're waiting for the legs and mirrored front faces to come in. The v1.3 DE1XL has a front panel pushbutton, for standby power, that the other models don't have.

But.. all should arrive about the same time, hopefully in a month.

-j

Thanks John. Have a good weekend!

 

[decent_espresso]

53mm espresso in a 58mm machine

In John Weiss' review of the DE1+ on Home Barista https://www.home-barista.com/reviews/decent-espresso-de1-review-t57610.html he wrote about how his 53mm La Spaziale espresso machine, made thicker espressos than the Decent. The clarity of flavor was less, but Weiss did like the "La Spaz's" mouthfeel for certain kinds of beans.​

A lot of work has gone on since that review, in the Decent community, to try to understand mouthfeel. A lot of people believe that a spacer behind the shower screen, pushing down on the coffee puck, increases drink thickness, i.e. "mouthfeel"​

However, there's still another variable to consider. The "La Spaz", like many classic Italian espresso machines (such as Dalla Corte's current machines, like the "Mina") use 53mm baskets instead of the (more common) 58mm basket.​

However, the somewhat narrower basket causes the puck to be thicker, which likely has an effect on the drink. Clive Coffee compares them here: https://clivecoffee.com/blogs/learn/53mm-vs-58mm-portafilters​

So... I was wondering... can we (Decent Espresso) make a 53mm basket that fits into a 58mm standard portafilter? Ben Champion drew up the idea, and you can see that in the bottom of the photo attached.​

This basket would work in all bottomless portafilters, in all machines, that follow the 58mm standard. Ie, all E61, La Marzocco, Nuova Simonelli, etc.... ie, most good espresso machines!​

As part of thinking about this, we're making some prototype 53mm Decent Espresso v2 tampers.​

​

YOUR OPINION WANTED​

Would you be interested in such a basket?​

What do you think of this idea?​

Your feedback will give us an idea as to whether this project (a new basket!) is worth our pursuing.​

-john​

 

[Nikko]

It is a good idea. The diameter of the basket undoubtedly plays a role but comparison testing is difficult due to the difficulty of "standardising" all the other variables across several machines. Having a 53mm basket that fits s 58mm holder would enable the comparison of two baskets.

Now, a variable diameter basket - that would be something

 

[filthynines]

It is a good idea. The diameter of the basket undoubtedly plays a role but comparison testing is difficult due to the difficulty of "standardising" all the other variables across several machines. Having a 53mm basket that fits s 58mm holder would enable the comparison of two baskets.

Now, a variable diameter basket - that would be something

Isn't the Decent machine the ideal machine for comparison purposes? Control every variable on that machine other than the basket, and therefore establishing whether or not the basket alone makes a difference?

 

[malling]

I did test a 53mm vs a 58 years back and can say my findings where less clarity and complexity on the 53mm, but it's hard to say if the effect where down to basket or machine differences or a combination, but I did find the same trend both on La Spaziale and Dalla Corte.

Whether that is important is debatable as the aforementioned machines comes with a smaller basket, so it's more something to keep in mind when purchasing a machine.

However I do think the Mina has the ability to use 58mm, I also had modded my Dalla Corte to take a 58mm basket, but never used it as I did not find it to work very well with it.

 

[decent_espresso]

I did test a 53mm vs a 58 years back and can say my findings where less clarity and complexity on the 53mm, but it's hard to say if the effect where down to basket or machine differences or a combination, but I did find the same trend both on La Spaziale and Dalla Corte.

Whether that is important is debatable as the aforementioned machines comes with a smaller basket, so it's more something to keep in mind when purchasing a machine.

However I do think the Mina has the ability to use 58mm, I also had modded my Dalla Corte to take a 58mm basket, but never used it as I did not find it to work very well with it.

Thanks for the info.

My hunch is that you'll trade clarify for mouthfeel. Rao (and others) argue that those two are at opposites poles, and you can't have both. Hoffmann has really liked paper-filtered espresso for its clarity.

But if you like medium to dark roasts, and want syrupy thick shots, I'd like to make sure my espresso machine can deliver that.

I did notice that the Mina offered a 58mm adapter kit, but it's hard to get any info as to whether the shots are any better afterwards.

-john

 

[decent_espresso]

USA shipping challenges during coronavirus

Last tuesday, we were told that because there were virtually no consumer airplane flights between Hong Kong and the USA, that there would be no more air mail. We ship everything except our espresso machines via air mail, so that was a bit annoying.

Fortunately, UPS is still running, as they have their own airplanes. However, their prices are way up, and it doesn't make a lot of sense to sent a USD$49 funnel via UPS for USD$50 in shipping costs.

We held tight for 4 days, hoping the situation would improve. It did not. The same thing has just occured with Canada.

As Bugs and I are "trapped' in California at the moment, we decided on a work-around:
- every 2 days, all the orders to the USA go into a big box
- and that big box is 2-day UPSed to me in California
- I'll then collect the box, use stamps.com to prepay the stamps, labels each package, and then drop it all off at the local USPS (which remains open)
- this does mean that our tracking info is going to be incorrect
- but with stamps.com I can send these packages "Tracked", so if anyone asks, we can find out where their package is.
- We're going to do this for the foreseable future, as I don't think Hong Kong/USA consumer airline flights are going to resume anytime soon.
- Overall, this should cause only maybe a 1 day delay in getting orders to you, as what we're doing is more or less identical to what HK Post does (fly the packages to the USA, then hand off to USPS)
- Next week, we're expecting our new pour-over baskets to arrive, along with puck simulators, double spouted portafilters, and espresso glassware. Knockboxes and tamping cradles should arrive the week after.

Lots of stuff we ordered way back when has been delayed due to China's early shutdown, and now things are starting to come in.

Thankfully, after a scary rise in cases in Hong Kong in mid-march, it seems to be under control again, so Decent Espresso Hong Kong is able to continue to operate as normal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_coronavirus_pandemic_in_Hong_Kong

Thanks for being patient!

-john

 

[-Mac]

I thought I'd read that Perger said mouthfeel was about levels of TDS. Did the Decent group measure the diff between the La Spaz TDS and the Decent TDS?

 

[decent_espresso]

I thought I'd read that Perger said mouthfeel was about levels of TDS. Did the Decent group measure the diff between the La Spaz TDS and the Decent TDS?

Yes, people have measured it, and they feel that TDS is not accurately giving them a number that reflects the mouthfeel they feel.

 

[MWJB]

Yes, people have measured it, and they feel that TDS is not accurately giving them a number that reflects the mouthfeel they feel.

Mouthfeel is largely down to non-dissolved solids, TDS measurement excludes non-dissolved solids.

 

[-Mac]

Sorry, yes, non-dissolved is what I meant. Is there a way to measure those?