Hi, my name is Otto! Who is going to buy me?

by **poison** on Mon Aug 17, 2009 12:59 am

I'm sorry, I NEED a Dalla Corte or Vivaldi, but I WANT Otto. I'm exceedingly curious to see if it actually extracts pseudo-espresso, instead of burnt coffee water like most stovetops.

http://www.ottoespresso.com/index.html

by **Bluecold** on Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:31 am

I'd rather buy the Sorrentina, which is closer to the original Atomic than this thing which refuses to mention that's its a carbon copy of the Atomic.

I've never tasted the coffee from it. Also, if you get burnt coffee water from mokapots, that's just you doing something wrong.

by **poison** on Mon Aug 17, 2009 3:44 am

I like moka pots, but they're hardly ideal, temp-wise. If you don't know what I mean... :roll:

by **orphanespresso** on Mon Aug 17, 2009 4:04 am

What IS the difference, besides badging, between the original Atomic, the Bon Trading Atomic, the La Sorrentina, and the Otto? Is there any difference? Are they all interchangeable?

by **Bluecold** on Mon Aug 17, 2009 4:54 am

The Sorrentina and BT Atomic are carbon copies with interchangeable parts with the original Atomic (afaik), the Otto is a loose copy in stainless steel. Especially the upper neck area is different. Also, with the Otto, you use the PF as a wrench to screw open the lid (check the video). This is a recipe for a dirty portafilter. That alone would be enough to choose the Atomic over the Otto to me.

The australians even gave the Otto a design prize in 2008. I won't make too much fun of that since they also got a president who wants to censor the internet.

Also, that mokapots blast the coffee with steam and burn it is a common misconception. The brew temps are maybe a bit high, but they don't go above 100C if you do it right.

by **michaelbenis** on Mon Aug 17, 2009 6:13 am

I agree that Moka posts tend to be under-rated, not least of all because they are no more plug and play than an espresso machine.

Apparently there are differences between the two, with the Otto being stainless steel as opposed to aluminium and also having two separate pressure valves: one for steam and one for brewing. This could be why the cap needs to be closed with more pressure, hence the portafilter wrench idea. Seeing as you only have to tighten cap before using I can't see there is such a big hygiene problem.

On the other hand, I do find it comical that someone should receive a design award for tweaking someone else's design. The videos on the site don't however in any way conceal that the Otto was conceived in homage and with affection for the original Sorrentina.

As always, of course, the proof is in the cup. Has anyone actually compared both of these side by side?

Cheers

Mike

by **Bluecold** on Mon Aug 17, 2009 6:30 am

The screw is directly beneath the grouphead. There will be drips in the screwhead. And the resulting residue will end up at the pf spout if you use it to screw the lid off.

by **doubleOsoul** on Mon Aug 17, 2009 11:53 am

There was a great little contest on coffee crew dot com for Otto (a great site that originates from my home town of Victoria BC) and I submitted my story (Double Shot Mama). Alas I tried to win Otto...but I didn't get enough votes! :cry:

by **sorrentinacoffee** on Sun Aug 30, 2009 3:10 am

Moka pots can make great Coffee. If you make watery or burnt coffee with them that is your problem- not theirs. I think Bialetti have sold something like 60,000,000 of them over the years...

Having said that: the atomic, sorrentina and otto coffee machines are not moka pots.

Unlike moka pots the original atomic design has two separated pressurised zones- one in the boiler and one in the head, in addition the head is heavily cast and acts as a heat sink cooling the water before it hits the coffee. If you make a brew with one you can feel the head of the machine: it suddenly heats up when the water rushes in- and the atomic type machine there is a lot of material there and the alloy absorbs any excess heat quickly. In addition the water has to travel further on its journey to the grinds than with a moka pot. There is also a secret 'pressure increasing' device built into the water tube...

Not to mention they all froth milk.

The otto from what I understand (havn't tried one yet) works quite differently that the traditional atomic type machine: apparently it has an internal 'flash' boiler that is separated from the body somehow. this could be the reason they went with the 'boiler cap under the jug' design. also from what I understand the otto weighs maybe 3 times the original atomic type machine! maybe 4.5kg's which is a lot of metal! I look forward to giving one a go.

by **michaelbenis** on Sun Aug 30, 2009 6:31 am

I've got some very interesting photos and info about the machine which was in fact a precursor to the original Atomica, and also on the Otto, which as Jack states uses a separate internal flash boiler to produce a double. As soon as I have second (working today) I will get it all together and post.

If nothing happens, please send me a rude PM to rouse me from my torpor, which is the main purpose of posting this message....


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